Tips on Drug Abuse Testing

Drug abuse testing is the only way of determining if someone is under the influence a harmful drug. There are many techniques of carrying out different types of drug tests. Sports officials, law enforcement officers and school authorities often carry out these drug abuse tests.

Monitoring behavioral changes is a good way of detecting drug abuse. These changes may range from mood swings to sense of low self-esteem. Moreover, general lack of interest, decrease in grades and withdrawal from involvement with family members are few noticeable signs among drug abuse youngsters. Frequent absenteeism from school as well as changes in dressing style or taste in music is symptoms of drug abuse too. For drug abusers, a decrease in their efficiency in the workplace is most noticeable.

The drug test procedure is a two-step process. First a urine sample is collected from the individual and separated in two parts. One is tested with immunoassay, a relatively inexpensive, simple, yet highly precise test. If this test shows negative result, then the result is confirmed to be negative, and further tests are carried out if more confirmation is required. But if the readings of the first test are positive, then the second test is done using the other portion of the sample.

This confirmatory test is performed with a more sophisticated and costlier technique known as mass spectrometry/gas chromatography (MS/GC) or thin-layer chromatography (TLC). If result of this test shows positive result too, then the person is acknowledged to be under the control of drugs. If this experiment shows negative, the previous test is deemed erroneous. As this almost a 100% accurate procedure, the results can be sustained in a court of law.

Also, there are many drug abuse test apparatuses available around. The saliva drug test can be conducted using integrated cups and strips now. The result of this analysis can be attained in a matter of minutes. These tests are usually done in schools in order to check drug abuse in young adults and children, as they are extremely impressionable and more vulnerable to drug abuse.