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Hair Follicle Drug Testing

drugtest — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:37:51 +0000

One of the most popular way of drug testing is hair sample drug testing as it has the capacity to detect the presence of drug in the persons body whether or not the same person has used drugs in the past 3 months. It can detect all of the major types of drugs, including marijuana, opiates, methamphetamines, PCP, ecstasy, and cocaine. It can also trace the amounts of illicit substances trapped in the cortex of the hair. All this proves that exposure area is much larger in hair drug testing. Hair follicle drug testing gives the information of an individual’s drug use history.

Hair follicle drug testing is a great way to detect the presence of drug in the hair of an individual undergoing the test. The process is quite simple and easy and requires a sample of hair in order to accomplish the test. Once a hair sample of the suspected individual is collected it is preserved in a sachet and sent to a partaking laboratory for drug testing. Hair follicle drug testing is fast and provides more accurate result than any other drug test forms. Hair drug testing discrete and confidential and so parents can collect a strand of hair from the pillow of their child if they suspect them to take drugs without allowing them to know before making accusations and take necessary steps to stop their child from further abusing drugs if they are found to use drugs. Thus by employing hair drug testing in the home, parents can safeguard their child against drug abuse while keeping the same issue confidential.

Even employers can request a sample from their employees if they are found to behave abnormally so that they can take proper action against them to keep the working environment healthy. Such drug testing programs although is more expensive that a urine drug test kit, but they avoid the embarrassing collection of samples like that of urine or saliva drug tests and also provide a level of accuracy that is nearly ten times that of other testing methods. All that is involved in this program is a single strand of hair and that is all. And as soon as the results are traced, you are sent notification of the results.

So you can see what kind of results you can get through hair follicle drug testing. Not only such program detects the presence of drug in an individual but also it helps to determine the level of users and the type of drugs used. The biggest advantage of such programs according to me is that such test can be done at home by parents who can safeguard their child against drug abuse while keeping the same issue confidential. And another best thing of hair follicle drug testing is that it avoids the embarrassing collection of samples like that of urine or saliva.

Evolving a Drug Free Environment in your Workplace

drugtest — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 02:16:35 +0000

A drug-free workplace is a protective workplace. They are linked to drug-free and happier families, school and communities. Working Partners ensures a drug-free and secured environment for everyone and helps the employers and employees work together. They also play a vital role in reducing the drug use and end the social, economical and emotional destruction in its wake.

Drug-free workplace

It is working environment free of the health, productivity and safety hazards, which are caused for abusing drugs, alcohol, or any such substances by the employees in that workplace. To attain a drug free workplace, many companies are developing various drug-free workplace programs. Usually, these programs include five components: Drug free workplace policy, Employee Education, Superior Training, Employee Assistance and Drug Testing. However companies don’t include all the five components, it is suggested to explore them when developing the program.

Reasons for Establishing a Drug Free Workplace

The law may require your workplace to be a drug free environment. If you are in a government organization, or if you have a transportation industry or if you are billing for more than $ 25000 per annum, then the Law requires you to have a drug free workplace.

Though the law doesn’t require, there are other reasons for establishing a drug free workplace. They are:

• It reduces operational costs.

• It can preserve investor or shareholder interests.

• It can protect loyal employees

• It can improve products and services

• It results in better service to customers and clients

• It can increase your profits.

• It helps many people lead healthier lives

Tools and Resources for Drug Free Workplace

To develop a drug free workplace, there are certain tools and resources that the employers can adopt. They are:

• Drug-free Workplace Advisor: It is a tool used to develop tailored drug-free workplace policies and programs and informs companies and workers about its requirements and coverage.

• Substance Abuse Information Database (SAID): It is an online repository of various documents related to workplace alcohol/drug abuse and legal information.

• Resource Directories: It has the updated lists of local, state and national resources such as, Summaries of state laws related to workplace drug and alcohol abuse, Helplines that assists the individuals who have the alcohol/drug problem.

• Training and Educational Materials: Resources to provide drug and alcohol education in the workplace such as, brochures, presentation materials, articles and fact sheets and posters. They also include, statistics about how substance abuse impacts the workplace in general and across a range of industries.

This information gives you in understanding about the drug free workplace and its tools and resources. It helps you in maintaining a drug free environment in your workplace.

With New Methods for Testing Substance Abuse, is Urine Alcohol Testing a Method of the Past?

drugtest — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:27:10 +0000

Besides the workplace, there are several other types of organizations that rely on substance abuse testing results. The latest trend is hair alcohol testing and hair drug testing. Hair alcohol testing is also considered one of the least evasive substance tests around. Instead of urine alcohol testing, breath or saliva testing that demands personal body fluids, hair alcohol testing only asks for a small sample of hair, taken discreetly from the base of the scalp. This is done by trained nurses that can collect a person’s hair sample inconspicuously in their home or place of work.

The need for hair alcohol testing to prove a history of alcohol abuse is just as necessary to disprove any abuse. Several places are looking into hair alcohol testing verses urine alcohol testing as their preferred method. Not only because it’s less invasive but because hair alcohol testing can show a 30-day history of abuse or lack of abuse, where a urine alcohol test can only show at the most, a week’s notice.

Other Scenarios Where Hair Alcohol Testing is Used

•    Hospitals looking to hire a surgeon or an airline hiring a pilot will likely be interested in knowing the alcohol abuse history of a surgeon or pilot before they’re hired.

•    Social workers or lawyers trying to prove the lack of alcohol abuse of a parent trying to gain custody of their child.

•    A rehabilitation service can use alcohol hair testing to watch the progress of a recovering patient

Once a small hair sample is taken from the base of the head, it is taken to a laboratory where several tests will be performed to see if certain markers show up on the hair shaft. These special markers only appear if the person has been drinking alcohol or abusing drugs. One specific marker, called EtG, ethyl glucuronide is one of the most exciting parts of the hair test. The more alcohol or drugs a person consumes, the greater amount of EtG markers are present in the hair.

No Long-Term History of Alcohol Abuse Was Available Until Now

EtG alcohol testing is unique compared to other alcohol tests EtG alcohol testing this test shows a history of abuse instead of hours or at most- a couple days like urine alcohol testing would. EtG testing can prove up to 12 months of alcohol abuse- unlike urine alcohol testing, which can only show about a week’s worth of alcohol abuse- because alcohol is so quickly filtered throughout the body through urine, sweat and evaporation.

As more companies and other organizations discover hair alcohol testing as an alternative to urine alcohol testing, they will find that it is more cost effective way to test for substance abuse in that no more than twice a year will it be necessary to test employees due to the length of history that it provides.

Hair alcohol testing gives peace to employers who hire for certain high profile positions, or positions that demand mentally stable individuals like surgeons, airplane pilots and those in childcare. Next time you are in an interview for a job, you may not be handed a cup, but a seat in a barber chair.