Pros and Cons of Drug Testing Methods

All the methods of drug testing have their own				spread mostly by laboratories as they have feel
benefits as well as limitations. Hence, the choice of				threatened that they might lose money on
drug test depends entirely upon the requirement				account of on-site saliva drug testing.
of the person, let us see commonly used testing				Hair
types				Benefits: Hair drug testing can detect drugs
Urine				consumed by the user more than 90 days ago.
Benefits: A urine drug test can be undertaken at				As the sample can be collected under direct
the laboratory or at any other place, with the help				supervision, there are very few chances of the
of a kit. It is the test of choice for most people,				sample being changed Fairly accurate and reliable
and is even accepted by the government. Hence,				results can be obtained through hair drug testing.
it is sometimes referred to as "the gold standard".				Limitations: The major limitation is the requirement
Limitations: If the urine sample collection is not				of laboratory facilities to test the sample.
closely observed, there is the possibility that the				Moreover, drugs consumed recently before the
specimen might be substituted, leading to				test cannot be detected in such way. A time
erroneous results. Drugs can be detected in the				period of around a week is required for the toxins
urine only a short time after they have been				consumed to be reflected in the results. Another
consumed. Hence, if a person has consumed				drawback is the cost of getting results if it is
drugs just prior to the test, it would not be				compared to the other methods. Any person can
reflected in the urine test. Moreover, for				resort to shaving off his hair in order to avoid the
conducting a urine drug test, proper bathroom				detection of chemicals.
facilities are required. According to the SAMHSA				Spray/Sweat
or NIDA-5 guidelines, the drugs that are currently				Benefits: Sweat drug testing is also very easy to
most abused in the society are not tested.				undertake. It is a non-invasive method. Moreover,
Saliva				there is no need for bathroom facilities for the
Benefits: Saliva drug testing kits are easy to use				collection of the sample, unlike urine drug testing.
and non-invasive. As in the case of urine drug				Drugs consumed by the user a few weeks ago
testing, saliva drug testing does not require				can also be detected through sweat analysis. The
separate bathroom facilities. Even fairly recent				sample can be obtained under direct supervision
drug use can be detected using saliva testing.				and hence, there are lesser chances of
Moreover, as the saliva sample can be monitored				manipulation of the sample. This method can
closely, there are lesser chances of the sample				provide the results within a few minutes.
being substituted as in case of a urine test. Only a				Limitations: There are high chances of a sweat
few minutes are needed for obtaining the results.				sample getting contaminated. Moreover, the rate
Different kinds of saliva tests can be utilized to				of sweat production of different donors is
detect the use of different drugs. It is an ideal				different, due to which it is sometimes difficult to
method to detect recent drug use.				draw accurate results. These tests are less
Limitations: It is unfortunate that most people are				popular as compared to saliva or urine drug tests
not aware of the benefits of saliva drug testing.				and hence, there is lack of new innovations in
Moreover, there are a lot of false beliefs				sweat analysis kits. These kits are also more
regarding saliva drug testing, which have been				expensive. Only a few toxins can be detected.