A drug test can determine whether or not a person has used drugs in the recent past. Drug tests are utilized by rehabilitation centers to ensure compliance with their programs, by parents to ensure that their children continue to be drug-free, and by employers to ensure that their employees or potential hires are not users of drugs.
The problem of drug abuse cannot be solved or prevented by drug testing. On the other hand, they have the potential to serve as a deterrent until a more permanent solution, such as drug rehab treatment, is found. Drug testing can be of particular assistance to parents who are anxious about the possibility that their children are experimenting with or regularly using drugs.
Children and Drugs According to the statistics, children who use drugs are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as skipping school, bringing weapons to school, fighting, vandalizing property, stealing, and cutting class than children who do not use drugs. A child’s ability to concentrate is hindered by drug use, which also lowers the quality of their academic performance and disrupts the academic atmosphere in the school, both of which are necessary for the entire student population to learn. Everyone in the school community would benefit from a decrease in these disruptive behaviors. Here is where the importance of drug testing becomes apparent.
Commonly Investigated Medications
There is a set of protocols to follow when conducting drug tests. One of the mandates states that businesses that hire people with commercial driver’s licenses must perform random drug testing on their employees in order to ensure the safety of everyone else on the road. Marijuana, opiates, cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), and amphetamines are the five substances that are examined through drug testing the most frequently.
Techniques for Analyzing
Taking a sample of an individual’s urine, hair, blood, sweat, or saliva is one of the most common ways to detect the presence of drugs in their system. Each of these approaches to testing carries with it a unique set of advantages as well as disadvantages. The following sections contain information regarding these various methods:
Urine Drug Tests
This test is able to determine whether or not an individual has used drugs within the past week; however, it is unable to determine whether or not an individual has used drugs within the previous week. The results need to be verified by a laboratory.
Hair Drug Tests
It is a non-intrusive method of determining whether or not someone is using drugs. It is not possible to detect drug use over a short period of time, but it is possible to determine whether or not an individual has engaged in drug use over a longer period of time. In comparison to the urine test, this one is both more sensitive and more accurate in its findings.
Tests on the Blood for Drugs
It is the most expensive form of drug testing as well as an invasive method of determining whether or not someone has used drugs. It is the drug test that is the most sensitive and accurate, but it is also an unusual method for testing drugs.
Sweat Tests for Drugs
Because an individual is required to wear a patch for an extensive amount of time, this method of drug testing is regarded as an intrusive one. It is a drug testing method that is not commonly used and is fraught with controversy.
Saliva Drug Tests
It is considered to be a non-intrusive method of drug testing, but the results still need to be verified in a laboratory. This test is able to determine whether or not an individual has used drugs in the recent past. The test is reliable for determining whether or not someone has used opiates or amphetamines, but it is not accurate in determining whether or not someone has used marijuana.
