Testing for drugs--advantages and disadvantages

An overview of the use of urine, hair, sweat and saliva to detect drug use

This paper provides a brief overview of qualitative drug testing procedures using urine, hair, saliva and sweat specimens. Issues related to collection, analysis and interpretation of each specimen as well as their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The biological detection of drug use involves a screening test which, if positive, is followed by a confirmatory test. Urine is the most widely used specimen in the detection of drugs. Urinalysis offers an intermediate window of detection (1-3 days). Hair analysis offers the largest window of detection (7-100+ days). Saliva analysis may be useful in determining very recent drug use (1-36 hours). The analysis of sweat may be useful for continuous monitoring of drug use (1-14 days). Drug testing has become a fast, convenient process with the development of point-of-collection drug testing devices.

Psychological testing and the detection of drug abusers

Empirical studies using psychological tests for the detection and early identification of drug abusers are summarized. Although the emphasis is on personality testing, intelligence and special aptitude tests are included. The author concludes that psychological testing has not been successful in differentiating drug abusers from other sampled groups. The ARCI and MMPI personality tests show potential, but their validity remains to be fully demonstrated. Factors for their lack of success include subjects with different "response sets" and in specific institutionalized settings. Recommendations for additional research in noninstitutional environments are discussed.