Complete Drug Testing Solutions � hair follicle drug testing

Hair Drug Testing Facts

allisonn — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:56:52 +0000

Did you know that hair follicle drug testing is becoming increasingly popular within businesses and pre-employment public agencies? There have been instances where state and federal courts have used hair drug testing methods, and now some home drug testing kits are capable of offering hair drug testing. Here are some interesting facts on hair drug testing.

Hair drug testing fact #1

Hair drug tests are able to detect longer periods of time of drug use rather than blood, urine or saliva tests. This is due to urinalysis testing being able to detect substances only in the blood stream. In hair follicle testing traces of the substances can remain in your hair long after it has left your blood stream.

Hair drug testing fact #2

If you are bald or shave your head, you still are not off the hook for this test. They are able to use body hair from chest, armpits, or legs. Body hair is replaced annually, so the test results can only trace back to a year.

Hair drug testing fact #3

For every ½ inch of hair, the hair drug test can detect an average of 30 days of drug use. If longer hair is tested, the detection period can be up to two years of drug abuse.

Hair drug testing fact #4

Hair drug tests are able to detect marijuana, opiates, methamphetamines and phencyclidine.

Hair drug testing fact #5

It can take up to 10 days to receive the results of a hair follicle drug test.

Hair drug testing fact #6

A drug testing laboratory needs at least 50 strands of hair that is cut an inch from the crown of the head.

Hair Drug Testing, How Does it Work?

Brandon — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:42:32 +0000

When one consumes drugs, regardless of ingestion method (snorting, smoking, injection) the body has to filter and process the chemicals and various substances. Once it is processed, the molecules and metabolites of that drug are released and reside in your hair follicles for up to 3 months. This gives scientist an accurate account of which drugs were consumed and how much of the substance was used. One of the most reliable and accurate drug testing procedures out there is the hair drug test.

In order to receive a proper screening, the hair drug test requires at least 2 inches of body hair. Usually the hair follicles are clipped from the top of the head but in cases where a person is bald or has a shaved head, a licensed screen-er will still be able to take hair samples from other parts of the body (such as groin, underarm, leg, etc).

The great thing about hair drug testing is that it has the longest drug detection window of any drug screening service. It can usually detect drug use for the previous 90 days. The main purpose and reason for this type of home drug test is that it can detect high or low level drug use over a long period of time.

Hair drug testing can detect all of the five illicit substance classes administered by the Federal Government. These five drug types are: cocaine, marijuana, opiates (codeine, heroin) methamphetamine and phencyclidine (PCP).

Some companies chose to go with hair drug testing, instead of urine drug tests. The urine drug test can be a bit embarrassing and uncomfortable to perform in front of other people. Privacy is a real issue with urine screening. This is not the case with hair drug testing. All that is needed is a small clipping of your hair which is easier to collect and more sanitary to store than urine.

Hair Follicle Drug Testing Leads to Drastic Reduction in Dangerous Drug Use

david — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:45:08 +0000

Emerging scientific data has conclusively linked the advent of powerful hair follicle drug testing to a drastic reduction in dangerous drug abuse by employees across the country. Since hair follicle drug tests became the predominant employment drug testing method, businesses and corporations, results have shown a severe decline in the abuse of cocaine and methamphetamine by the American workforce. While employees who chose to abuse illegal drugs once felt secure in their ability to evade urinalysis drug testing, the emergence of hair follicle drug testing has eliminated the ability elude detection. Since 2005, the number of positive tests for dangerous drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine has fallen dramatically, with reductions as high as 35% in some areas of the country.

The key to the tremendous success of hair follicle drug testing is the increased detection periods provided by hair analysis. Trace amounts of illicit substances can be flushed from the bloodstream in a manner of days, depending on the drug being abused, but hair follicles retain evidence of drug use for several months. This means employees cannot simply plan their drug use around the testing schedule, and when faced with the choice of losing their jobs or abstaining from drug use, the vast majority of employees simply quit abusing drugs. For employers seeking to safeguard their business or workplace, the hair follicle drug test has emerged as the most powerful tool for preventing drug abuse.

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20091120-902706.html