Jeff Sardisco, the COO of USA Mobile Drug Testing stated the “The numbers are alarming. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), nine of 10 small and medium-sized businesses employ heavy drinkers or drug users. The SAMHSA study also found that 75 percent of illicit drug users were employed, primarily by small businesses.”

Sardisco also mentions that businesses can prevent hiring substance abusers by creating drug testing programs and making the workplace drug-free. “Although business owners may think that starting a drug testing program is not possible because they fear the costs or lack the staff to manage it, in reality any business can put together an effective program,” he says. “In addition, a cost effective turnkey program for both DOT-regulated and non-DOT drug testing programs for small and medium-sized businesses is available from USA Mobile Drug Testing.”

Studies performed by the U.S. Department of Labor concludes the workers who abuse drugs and alcohol tend to miss work more, are less productive which costs the employer and average of $7,000 a year. Also substance abusers’ cause more workplace accidents, and therefore file more workers’ compensation claims.

As mentioned by Sardisco, a drug testing program at a place of employment is cheaper than having to pay for accidents or worker’s compensation, caused by employees under the influence.

Having home drug testing kits at the workplace reduces lost time of a worker going off site for drug testing. It also provides an immediate detection of body substance, once an accident has occurred.

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.

The home drug kits will test for 10 drugs, including synthetic opiates, pain medication, cocaine, methamphetamines, amphetamines, heroin and methadone. The parents will be given test strips which are to be submerged into the child’s urine sample. Within three to eight minutes a color-coded result will appear.

Neither parent or student will know in advance when to conduct the test. Parents will receive random alerts of the time of the test. One to three random notices will be giving with a year.

The home drug testing kits are optional for the parents but the school board President Randy Stoner is encouraging parents to contemplate it. During the schools open house In September parents will be given the chance to sign up. Information will also be given at student orientation. In the past Stoner has created the Drug Awareness Committee for the schools. This committee educates students and parents about the dangers of substance abuse.

“I’m pushing (drug testing) for no other reason than the stuff’s bad,” Stoner stated. “One bad choice, and a whole family is ruined forever.”

The home drug testing kits will be provided by CANDLE Inc., which is a nonprofit substance abuse prevention group. Norma Norris, the executive director of CANDLE Inc., stated that the drug tests are popular with parents who like the idea of home testing but don’t want to choose the time to conduct it.

Norris also stated that marijuana is the most likely drug used by teens, with prescription medications coming in second. She stated that teens rarely experiment with other addictive illegal drugs if they have never tried marijuana.

The saliva drug test is able to detect drug use immediately following ingestion of the substance. The main drawback is that there is a short time frame of when this test is able to detect drugs. The main benefit is it can give you results before the drug has broken down into the body. A hair drug test offers a testing window of around three months. Out of all at-home tests available the hair drug test provides the longest history of drugs in the system. The sweat drug test is conducted by applying a patch to the subject that is worn for a week long period. Another benefit is sweat tests are very difficult to tamper with.

When performing drug tests, some people might want to remain anonymous, and are at times discouraged to send drug test to laboratories. To overcome these concerns a home drug testing kit is the perfect solution. The test can be performed in the comfort of the home or workplace. Home drug testing kits are also useful for parents suspecting or wanting to prevent their children from substance abuse.

Here is a list of some of the advantages of using home drug testing kits:

• Time efficient:  A home drug testing kit eliminates delays in time and stress, since the test and results are instant.  When sending the test to a laboratory, it can take days to receive results.
• Cost efficient: It provides quality screening without having to pay laboratory-testing fees.
• Simplicity: Home drug testing is extremely easy to administer. No training or other equipment is needed.
• Accuracy: The results are 99% accurate- creating a very small margin of error.
• Easy to read. Prevents a misreading of the test with the easy to read visual display.

Another bonus of home drug testing kits are that they can be used in a variety of different places including:

• Random drug screening for employees or pre-employment
• Halfway homes and drug rehab programs
• “Drug free” schools and workplaces
• Insurance exams
• Routine medical exams

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.

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.

Oxycodones, and other powerful pain medications similar to it, are the most abused prescription medications in the world. Why? They act on the opiate receptors in the brain giving the user a complete loss of pain and entering them into a blissful euphoria. Opiates are one of the most powerfully additive addictive drugs there is and the obtaining such powerful narcotics has never been easier thanks to pill mills and unscrupulous doctors. Undoubtedly you have heard of the more illegal versions, derivatives of the Opium poppy known as Heroin and Morphine. With so many of our nations young and old becoming addicted to this medication, Oxycodone drug testing has never been more readily available.

Testing is usually done by analyzing the urine of a suspected user and looking for certain “leftovers”, called metabolites. Expensive lab testing is available for blood analysis and hair drug tests are a great intermediary between urine screening and blood work. Once the drug is consumed these metabolites are what remain after the body breaks down and excretes the drug. Each substance has a certain metabolite and through analysis a drug test can determine whether or not a person has said metabolites in their body. Should a person test positive for this drug and not be able to provide evidence of a legal prescription consequences could be dire. Opiates and Oxycodone tend to leave detectable traces in urine for 1-3 days due to its water soluble nature. The bottom line is that OXY drug tests can detect high levels of opiates but is designed to screen specifically for certain opiates derived off Oxycodone (such as Percocet and Oxycontin).

Marijuana is usually consumed by smoking, eating, or ingesting. If any part of the resinous chemical that forms on the leaves of the female plant enters the body, it will test positive on a marijuana drug test. Worldwide it is the third most consumed drug next to Caffeine and Nicotine, and in America it is extremely popular among teens and young adults while still maintaining a significant popularity among the baby boomer population. However even with use of the drug high, negative perception and its illegal status make it a common substance for complete drug testing kits. Unlike Opiates and Amphetamines, Marijuana use can be detected long after it has been consumed; usually two weeks for the average person but a month or more for a heavy user. This is due to the fact that THC is a fat soluble, as opposed to water soluble, chemical. In order to break it down and rid itself of the chemical the body must also break down the fat cells that contain it.

THC drug testing comes in many different forms. There are expensive blood laboratory services but most home drug testing strips offer the same accurate results at a much cheaper price with a simple urine strip. Since marijuana is the most used illegal drug worldwide, there are also less invasive methods as well. Oral saliva drug tests are a cotton swab that the user places in their mouth for a few minutes which can be given on site in public. Hair follicle drug tests for marijuana are also available and can trace substance abuse back to the previous 90 days. Find the proper drug testing method that best suits your needs.

The main concept of school drug testing is to act as a deterrent—another valid reason for teens to resist peer pressure and not use drugs. It can also give teachers and parents some intel on a student who is using drugs and intervene appropriately.

Most schools who implement random drug testing use urine or saliva drug tests. These types of tests are the least intrusive and easy to use. Drug use can be identified in both tests for 3-5 days, depending on the type of drug.

Drug tests do not recognize alcohol use, which will only show up in a breath or blood test. This is a bit discouraging, since alcohol is by far the most-used drug among teens. But experts say most substance abusers use more than one drug, so it is entirely possible that a teen who tests positive for a narcotic may very well be drinking as well.

Some parents (or students) may question the constitutionality of drug testing in schools, but in many cases it is perfectly legal. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), schools can administer random drug tests to any students participating in competitive extracurricular activities. Before, only athletes could be tested. Now, even glee club members could be subjected to tests, providing they are competing. Despite recent court rulings, students and their lawyers continue to argue privacy issues, and the debate will no doubt linger on.