Family problems. When a recovering addict is dealing with family problems such as a divorce (often as a result of the addict’s drug use), this lessens the amount of calming neurotransmitters that the brain receives. For instance, the brain needs serotonin and melatonin for sound sleep and to maintain a calm mood as a coping mechanism for high stress. Someone who has abused drugs for a long time depends on substances to do this job. So, an addict may turn back to his/her drug of choice for comfort when a child runs away from home, or an older family member like a parent or grandparent passes away.

Money problems. Drug addiction leads to financial problems in many cases. When acquiring drugs is the addict’s main priority, he/she will do anything to get their hands on the harmful substance—including buying drugs instead of paying bills, or skipping work for days at a time. If an addict who is attempting to become sober starts to experience serious money problems during recovery, there is a chance that he/she will start using drugs again to cope with the anxiety.

Social problems. Some individuals start taking drugs in order to fit in more socially. For instance, drugs like cocaine and ecstasy can make a person more comfortable in social situations, or provide feelings of extreme friendliness and closeness. So when someone is being weaned from these drugs, social issues like reclusiveness or inappropriate social behavior may occur. The addict may also feel that he/she is being judged in social situations, and could start using drugs again to get over feelings of insecurity.

Pet peeves. Something as small as too much traffic on the way to work, or not being able to find a favorite accessory when getting ready for dinner with friends can lead a recovering addict to start using again. This is because there is an extreme imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain, so the addict’s mind will perceive a small matter as a problem that is too difficult to solve.

To ensure that your friend, family member or patient continues his/her journey to sobriety successfully, drug testing kits can be purchased for confidential results in the privacy of your own home. These evaluations will give you the answers you need right away  to determine if more intensive treatment is needed.

“It is envisaged that the city will benefit more from the research that the city seeks to initiate in partnership with the MRC using data from participating departments and directorates,” Qually stated.

This new project is called the Matrix project. It operates as an outpatient rehabilitation program keeping the workers in their normal day to day environment. It began with 15 employees who have graduated from round one, which is being sober for more than 120 days. Round two of the pilot program has been given the go ahead from the portfolio committee.

The city hopes that this program will encourage employees to come forward and seek help voluntarily for substance abuse problems. Out of those employees who participated in the Matrix program, 70 percent have been involved in a disciplinary hearing.

Qually said that many employees decided to resign before they could be served with notices of further action. Due to this, it was impossible to give an exact figure of how many employees were struggling with substance abuse.

A suggestion in the report recommends the city to purchase drug testing kits in order to perform on the spot drug testing. Also the managers and supervisors will be trained to “manage and test” employees who have substance abuse problems.

Home drug testing kits are one way to give your child an excuse to say no.

This method of drug testing is used in the privacy of your own home, at any time the parent feels necessary. By simply having  a home drug testing kit in the house can prevent drug use from happening, or simply assure you that your child is not abusing drugs. While some teenagers might feel this is an extreme measure, you the parent know it is out of love. If explained honestly to your child the risks of drug use and the dangers that it presents, they will come to understand. Keeping an open dialog with your child is key to recognizing peer pressure when it happens. And studies show- it will happen.

When testing teenagers three types of tests are used. The standard drug test, an alcohol test and also a tobacco test. This gives you a broad range of substances that they are pressured into. These days’ teens believe that putting illegal drugs into their bodies has no consequences. Given the statistics these are the real consequences;

• The United States spends more than $58 billion a year for underage drinking costs
• Teens who abuse alcohol have a 50% greater chance of consuming cocaine.
• Alcohol kills over more than 6 times underage drinkers than all illegal drugs do (usually through serious accidents)
• 60% of students say they know about drugs that are kept, used or sold at their school.
• In the past 30 days, 50% of teenagers have been drinking, with 32% being drunk.

Teenagers also find themselves in trouble with the law, due to the effects of drug use. Teen arrestees’ regularly test positive for drug use with  The National Institute of Justices Arrestee and Drug Monitoring System finding that 66% of underage male arrestees tested positive for marijuana.

If you have or know any child that is struggling with drug and/or substance abuse please get them the help they need in order to help turn their life around. It is this type of caring that can put an end to teenager experimentation that can lead to a life of addiction, an accident, rehab, jail or worse.

On average it takes between 2-3 days for the human body to breakdown and rid itself of opiates once they are ingested; meaning a person can only show positive on a urine drug test if they used in the last 72 hours give or take (the true time of how long opiates will stay in your body depend on a large list of individualized factors). The detox time or the length of time it takes Opiates to be expelled from your system is faster since they tend to be water soluble, in contrast to the fat soluble THC which can leave traces in your urine up to 30 days since last use. Opiates are classified as drugs that are derived from (or based on) the resin excreted by the Opium poppy; which includes Morphine, Opium, and Heroin, Vicodin, Oxycontin, Oxycodone, Percocet (NOTE: the last 3 substances will only appear in opi drug tests when high doses have been consumed. If you are concerned about Oxycontin abuse, please use an OXY drug test which will detect much lower metabolite concentrations in the urine stream.)

However what does OPI drug tests screen for? Opiate drug testing analyzes a person’s urine for a variety of Opiates and sometimes drugs that have “opiate-like” effects. Usually when a person is subjected to this form of testing they are looking for the big three listed above; Morphine, Opium, and Heroin. Unfortunately over the years the testing palette has expanded to include Oxycodin, Oxycodone, Paracetamol , Tylenol 3, Morcap, Codafen, and Roxanol. It’s important to remember that previously testing of “legal” drugs was unheard of, but with the rising number of people abusing prescription drugs employers aren’t taking any chances.

So you may be asking how is this test conducted and how does it works. To test a person for Benzodiazepines they are usually ordered to submit a sample of their urine. Why urine? Well inside urine there is an untold amount of specific metabolites, which are the essentially the leftovers after the body breaks down a drug. By analyzing the urine for certain metabolites, a testing strip can identify whether or not a person has consumed the substance based on chemical residue. In a BZO drug test they are looking for a certain major one called oxazepam. If found in urine oxazepam provides irrefutable evidence of use. Benzodiazepines stay in the body longer than most prescription pills since the drug directly effects the muscles, and this result in BZO drug testing which can detect use up to ten days after the last time the pills have been taken.

Benzodiazepines are located in many prescription drugs including Xanax, Valium, and Lunesta; most of which have a high rate of addition. If you should screen positive on a complete drug test and cannot provide evidence of a legal prescription, consequences could be severe depending upon you place of business. Ensure that you have documentation of a legal prescription and be aware when a pill is habit forming.

So does pregnancy impact drug testing? No, not really. Drug tests simply don’t work that way, hormones don’t influence the results and the test is usually noninvasive. Drug tests analyze the content of metabolites in a person’s urine. Metabolites are the byproducts left within the body after a drug in consumed and broken down with the body. Although hormones have altered many of the chemical levels within the body, this level(s) will remain largely unaffected. It has been feared that pregnancy and the drugs prescribed for the pain associated can deliver a “false positive” result however this is not true. The only way to have the key metabolites being tested within your body is to have ingested them at some point previous to the testing.

In addition the testing of oneself can be done so without any harm to the mother or the child. Most screening devices are done by analyzing the waste products of a person, like the urine or hair. The testing of these do not put the baby in harms way and do nothing to affect the ongoing pregnancy. Taking a few strands of hair follicles for a hair drug test has no effect on the child. However if one is using, or has issues with substance abuse, you are encouraged to detox and test yourself previous by visiting any hospital. By law the hospital staff can and will test any mother suspected of consuming drugs during pregnancy; if a positive result is attained for any reason problems will occur. Even minimal use and second hand smoke can be detected through this test which can lead to the involvement of child protective services and other law enforcement agencies if the unborn child is at risk.

Cocaine, also known as benzoylmethylecgonine, is a nervous system stimulant derived from the Coca plant typically grown in the mountains of South America. Cocaine is one of the most iconic and prevalent drugs in America second only to marijuana. Many assume that the drug peaked in the 1980s but cocaine is still an issue in today’s society. Usually the substance takes on the appearance of a white, crystalline powder but it can also be “cooked” into less pure forms of “crack cocaine” where it takes the appearance of a small rock or pebble. Cocaine is a water soluble drug that stays in the body for a relatively short time usually between 1-3 days, as opposed to the 2-3 weeks it takes for more fat soluble chemicals like THC.

A Cocaine drug test is most common among those serving probation or on parole, but is often conducted in major corporations and other high-paying jobs as well as being widely available in home drug testing kits. Like other drugs, Cocaine can be detected by examining the waste processes of the body; namely the saliva, hair, and most commonly the urine. Any substance of abuse exam will also screen for all cocaine derivatives such as crack or primo bowls (cocaine sprinkled on marijuana). If a person has ingested any form of benzoylmethylecgonine then it will appear in urine, hair or oral saliva drug tests.

At home drug tests for opiates analyze the metabolites, or the leftovers, created after a body has consumed and broken down a particular drug. When a person ingests Fentanyl the metabolites created are not the same as those created by more natural opiates like Heroin and Opium. Contrary to popular belief a person will not “test positive” on an opiate drug test, like Heroin, just because he/she consumed Fentanyl or other synthetic opiates. It simply doesn’t work that way, in order to show a “positive” one needs a much more advanced laboratory Fentanyl drug test.

Tests for Fentanyl are not commonly available for home drug testing and thus are rarely used. To be tested for Fentanyl a person is usually ordered to urinate into a small cup as if it was a traditional test. However no normal “dipstick” test can be used at this time, instead the sample must make its way from the test site to lab. Here scientists will have to separate and examine the metabolites left within the urine, many times resorting to gas chromatography. These Fentanyl drug tests are extremely costly and in result not usually done or available by the general public. While it is unlikely that a person would be tested at home for Fentanyl it is possible; recently over the counter products advertising “lab testing” has become available.

Barbiturates and other similar depressants have a relatively high rate of addiction and dependence, second only to narcotic and opiate pain killers. Testing for these drugs is not as common as marijuana drug tests and is normally given when a business or parent suspects a specific addiction may be taking place. In the past, Barbiturate drug testing for these legally prescribed pills would have gone unnoticed, but with increased abuse and addiction comes more innovating screenings. To be tested a person must submit a urine sample, this sample is then analyzed by either a lab technician or a simple test strip if using a home drug testing kit.  The test targets specific Barbiturate (BAR) leftovers, called metabolites. These metabolites are what remain after a consumed drug is broken down and excreted by the body. Each drug has a different process for being broken down and thus has a different metabolite.

Names of medications that contain Barbiturates are pentobarbital and Phenobarbital. If you are subject to a Barbiturate drug test and then screen positive be prepared for the consequences. Without a legal prescription you can be subject to a variety of punishments and or rejections. On average Barbiturates stay in the body and urine stream between 4-10 days. Blood work and hair drug testing can detect the presence of barbiturate abuse for a longer period of time; 14 and 30 days respectively.

Like previous tests these levels are different for every person and every lifestyle. Water intake, exercise, metabolism, and consistency of use all effect the level of nanograms reported for a person. Of these, metabolism plays perhaps the most crucial role; since THC is a fat soluble chemical (meaning it stores in fat) it can actually be “burned” off quicker or slower depending on the body’s metabolism level. For example an athlete would on average have a lower level than someone of less physical activity with the same amount of use.

Does this really change anything? Amazingly yes, now instead of person simply being labeled an “addict” the drug test will reflect a more accurate portrayal of that person and their substance abuse. Now a potential employer can tell whether a person uses everyday, not at all, or just every once in a while. Many have suggested that the use of this drug testing might actually be positive for most people who use looking for employment. Statistics have shown that employers’ at most low skill jobs (like cleaning, delivery, and other tedious work) don’t really care if a person uses recreational drugs like Marijuana as long it happens infrequently. This test may prove to be revolutionary, for in the past it was not possible to really differentiate between a casual user that will be productive and a true substance abuser.