Many companies throughout Australia have begun drug testing employees to ensure a safe workplace. While many people believe this to be an invasion of privacy, it is still within the legal limits of the law so it is fully allowed. According to www.confirmbiosciences.com the most common drug screening that is used consists of a five-panel drug test. The drugs that are tested for include amphetamines, cocaine, cannabinoids, phencyclidine, and opiates. Here, we will explore more about this form of drug screening in Australia.
Drugs tested for with the five-panel drug screening test
The five-panel drug test covers the most commonly used illegal drugs throughout Australia. The first is cocaine, which comes from the coca plant and is a stimulant. Cocaine use can typically be detected by a five-panel drug test within up to 80 hours of being exposed.
Amphetamines are a class of drugs that have a therapeutic application. Effects of using amphetamines can last anywhere from two to four hours. Almost 30 percent of these drugs are excreted through the urine and can be detected for only about 24 hours after use.
Methamphetamines can be taken by mouth, inhaled, or injected. The drug induces euphoria and alertness. The drug stays in the body for about 24 hours and can be detected in the urine for about three to five days after being used.
Opiates compromise a rather large group of substances, including morphine, codeine, and heroin. These can be detected in a drug test for several days after use.
The final drug that is tested for is THC, which is the active ingredient of marijuana. THC takes effect within half an hour after smoking and the high can last from an hour to two hours. THC can be detected for up to ten days after smoking.
Urine tests
The most common five-panel drug screen consists of sampling the urine. The person will be asked to urinate in a cup. The urine is then either sent to a lab for testing or a strip test will be administered immediately by the person that is receiving the specimen. The test card that is used will give an immediate result. If the test card calls for results that are more sophisticated the specimen will be sent to the lab for further testing.
While the urine test gives fairly reliable results, the test is not perfect and there are ways to pass a five-panel urine test by using products that are sold over the counter and found online, like from Spectrum Labs.
The two other tests that are used include; hair and blood. The blood test is the most accurate of all the tests. The hair test is controversial because it will detect drug use from several months, even years ago. A new saliva test is also being developed. The saliva test would offer the benefit of being less intrusive than both the blood and urine tests. However, the saliva test has not been fully developed yet. The urine test remains the most popular and seems to be the drug test of choice because it is simple and offers reliable results.
