The wise consumer will develop a relationship with their vendor; a good relationship with a good vendor will be worth more than the few cents saved by going with the lowest price available.
How to Select the Right Method When we look at the reasons for using dif- ferent types of testing methodologies, the primary factor in your decision should be the time frame for which you are trying to detect usage. Tis is commonly referred to as the “window of detection.” In other words, from how soon aſter ingestion to how long aſter ingestion will the test detect usage? Hair is universally accepted as having the largest window of detection. Hair testing will reveal drug usage between 4 days and 90 days post ingestion. Tis type of test is very valuable when trying to determine past usage—such as in the hiring process at a casino or a high security job. Tis large window of detection has made hair testing a great choice for the pre-employment drug testing market. Be- cause of this wide window of detection, hair testing is also gaining ground in the parole and probation markets due to decreased collection costs. Te window of detection for urine is generally between 6 hours and 5 days post ingestion but varies widely depending on the particular which drug is being detected. For example, MDMA or ecstasy is metabo- lized and passed through one’s system very quickly with a window of detection between 6 hours and 3 days. Urine testing is invalu- able in situations where recent usage is being identified such as probation and parole or random employee testing. Finally, saliva has a window of detection generally recognized as being between 1 hour and 36 hours post con- sumption. Due to the close correlation with blood toxicity levels, these tests are gaining interest in post-accident and roadside testing applications where it is needed to ascertain if the donor is under the influence at the time of the incident. Another concern when determining
which testing method best fits the situation is gender. Observed collections are those collections where the specimen is collected in an environment that allows the collec- tor to witness the sample being given. Tis is especially the case in the probation and
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drug court arenas. In many areas around the country, female officers are becoming more prevalent; the client population is domi- nated by males. In the case of urine testing, this leads to tremendous strains on the male officers in the departments as they are stuck in the collection area all day observing collections. Hair and saliva testing alleviates this concern due to the gender neutrality (ability of one sex to observe a collection from a person of the opposite sex) associ- ated with both collection methods.
Keep An Eye Out For Cheaters Adulteration has long been an area of concern in the drug testing industry. Tere is an entire marketplace for products that are purported to help turn a positive drug test clean (a Google search for “drug test adulteration” returned 1,790,000 results). Some even come with a “money-back guarantee.” From pros- thetic devices to synthetic urine with heaters, mouthwash to shampoos, and pills to drinks, there is no shortage of gimmicks to atempt to change the results of an otherwise positive test. While all collection methods have prod- ucts that are sold to help beat them, urine is the overwhelming leader in this category (due to this being the most popular). Because of this concern, drug testing manufacturers offer adulteration panels that test for pH, Specific Gravity, Oxidants/Bleach, Nitrites and Cre- atinine. Tese panels are color pads that react with the urine and change color to identify potential adulteration in the urine. Tere is another “adulteration panel” that should be on every urine cup that you use. Tis “hidden” panel will identify a vast majority of lower level adulteration atempts: the temperature strip!!! Tis simple strip may detect substi- tution. Substitute urine is very difficult to keep within the 90–100 degree range of the temperature strip available on collection cups today. Any deviation from this normal range should raise a red flag and prompt further investigation. Oſtentimes, administrators will ignore the adulteration pads due to the need
summer 2014
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