Pros and Cons of Urine and Hair Drug Testing Methods to Detect Illicit Drug Use and Date Rape Drugs
There are a variety of drug testing methods being used to detect use of illicit drugs. The list includes saliva or oral fluids testing as well as spray or sweat patch testing. But the more popular methods are hair drug testing and urine drug testing.
Pros and cons of hair drug testing
Hair drug testing is commonly done by taking hair samples from a person who wants to undergo the test. Some of the pros of hair drug testing are:
1. It provides a longer window to detect the drug abuse;
2. It does not deteriorate thus making it a highly stable drug detection method;
3. It is also ideal to detect chronic drug abuse;
4. Does not require refrigeration thus making it more convenient for shipping or storage;
5. Hair is more difficult to adulterate when compared to urine; and
6. It can also help detect if cocaine or any drug is combined with alcohol.
With these sets of pros of hair drug testing, date rape drug detection will be made easier. Remember that date rape drugs are often combined with alcohol to obtain that "high". With the use of this drug testing method, it will be easier to detect if date rape drugs are present in an individual's body.
However, there are also some cons to the use of the hair drug testing method. It is often more expensive when compared to other testing methodologies. The test is limited to a limited number of drugs compared urine drug testing. Hair drug testing cannot detect drug intake when the patient is tested within one to seven days (or upto 14 days depending on the speed of hair growth) after drug use.
Pros and cons of urine drug testing
As the name implies, this drug testing method makes use of urine samples from the victim or the patient. The window of detection is typically set in between one to five days. Here are some of the pros to urine drug testing:
1. It is the most flexible way in detecting different types of drugs, nicotine and alcohol;
2. It is the least expensive among other types of drug testing methods; and
3. Window of detection starts within hours to a couple days (depending on the drug)
It is true that hair drug testing can be used to detect date rape drugs in an individual. However, the urine drug testing also produces the same capabilities with that of the first method. Add to that the fact that it is flexible in detecting different drug types.
But just like hair drug testing, urine drug testing has its own sets of drawbacks as well. The most common problem is adulteration, dilution and substitution of urine samples. Plus the window of detection is limited. There can also be a biological hazard while the sample is handled and shipped to the laboratory.
So which is better? Hair or urine drug testing?
It depends. Window of detection is the major difference. Urine as a testing method starts to detect sooner than hair as a testing method. Keep in mind that it might take up to 10 days for hair to grow enough to be cut. So the suspected time recent urine testing could be a better fit. For longer window of detection and less chance of adulteration hair drug testing could be better.
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