Urine Drug Screening

Urine drug screening is one of the most popular, if not the most popular method of testing for the presence of substances in the body.  Originally designed to check for the presence of chemicals or substances before undergoing medical procedures, they are now commonplace in employment for some types of career.  Anybody working in law enforcement or transportation must undergo periodic and random drug screening to conform with federal law.

Anyone working as a police officer, bus driver, train driver, trucker or any other transportation role has to comply with these tests under federal law.  Each test must be conducted properly and by a laboratory certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  Other companies and industries may have their own drug testing policies, which must abide by the applicable state law.

Samples are collected from subjects by “peeing in the pot” and presenting it to be tested.  The test often has to be sent to a laboratory for a proper toxicology test, which can take a few days.

Toxicology can screen for general compounds which include most recreational drugs like cocaine, marijuana, heroin and PCP.  The problem is that certain legal drugs, foods and other compound can give false positives.  For example, a bagel with poppy seeds on top can give a false positive because it comes from the poppy, as does heroin.

There are disadvantages with urine samples though.  The first problem is that is can be fooled by substituting the subjects urine with a known clean sample.  It can also be contaminated between collection and testing.

The immunoassay is a newer test that can provide almost instant results, which negates many of the inherent problems with traditional toxicological testing.  This test uses a test strip, almost like litmus paper, embedded with antibodies that can test immediately.  These antibodies only react to very specific compounds, specifically drugs and will indicate the presence by changing color.

Couple this with rigorous controls on providing urine samples, such as pH and temperature testing and you have the makings of an accurate and demonstrative test.

So the test isn’t infallible, but performed correctly, and properly can be a viable method of testing for substance abuse in a workforce.  It is suggested that any positive returns on a urine test be double checked by another method to ensure its accuracy.  Especially if employment is at stake.

The most current accurate method of testing for substances is gas chromatography or mass spectrometry.  These tests can identify the molecular structure of compounds and also its metabolite, which is the chemical created once the drug has been metabolized.  These methods are widely regarded as the most accurate possible with current technology, and the findings are acceptable in court.

So while urine screening isn’t the most infallible test available, it is the quickest and most convenient.  As long as controls are in place to prevent sample substitution and any positive results are re-tested using an approved method the findings should be accepted.