Drug testing may be a typical obstacle you must overcome if you have a history of substance abuse and are attempting to rebuild your life after receiving a felony sentence. For convicts, drug testing is often required; therefore, it’s crucial to understand which tests are the most challenging to pass. Among urine, blood, saliva, and hair tests, which drug test is the hardest to pass? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hair drug test is the most difficult to pass among all the available drug testing types. Depending on the length and part of the hair sample, it may identify drug use for up to 90 days. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read on to learn about the most challenging drug test to pass and a summary of other typical drug tests, how they work, and their detection windows. <\/p>\n\n\n
One of the most reliable drug tests now available is the hair test. It is also the hardest to pass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hair tests look for drug metabolites in a person’s hair follicle. Drug metabolites enter the circulation after substance use and are then deposited in the hair follicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hair testing makes it difficult to deceive since it may identify drug usage up to 90 days before the test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, hair grows on average 5 inches per month. There is a substantial probability that drugs you used even three years ago will still be present when personnel check the tips of your hair strands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, standard hair testing won’t be at the ends of the strands. Nowadays, authorities do not truly check the hair’s ends anymore. <\/p>\n\n\n
The required length for hair testing is 1.5 inches of hair clipped off at the root. Testing authorities throw away the remaining non-rooted hair to ensure that the examined hair samples will only span around three months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are situations when individuals do not have at least 1.5 inches of hair on their heads to test. This situation may warrant a test of hair beneath the arm and leg or using hair from other body regions. Beard hair is sometimes utilized for testing purposes as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They contend that there’s a strong possibility that body hair will hold on to more drug residue for longer because it grows significantly more slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, some body follicles indeed develop at the same rate as normal hair. The main distinction is that once it reaches its maximum length, it stops growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drug deposits cannot penetrate latent hair since there is no method for them to do so. Therefore, dormant strands typically can only deposit many substances’ residue for longer than four months. <\/p>\n\n\n
Numerous drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, and phencyclidine<\/a> (PCP), can be found using hair testing. Many employers want these specific drug categories tested for potential hires. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although hair drug testing is very accurate, some things could influence the drug test result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For instance, bleaching hair or using specific hair treatments might impact the test’s accuracy. A false positive result may also happen from secondhand smoking or drug exposure in the surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These elements are few, however, and have little impact on the test’s overall accuracy. <\/p>\n\n\n
Currently, there are four main ways for specimen collection: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Urine testing is the only drug testing technique for jobs covered by federal regulations. It is simple to get a urine sample in urine testing and tested for prescription medications and other drugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other side, urine is a very manipulable specimen. Hundreds of websites allow consumers to purchase synthetic urine, which may thwart a urine drug testing procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Urine tests can also identify drug usage for only up to 30 days. It is less reliable than a blood test in drug detection, which may last up to a week. <\/p>\n\n\n
A blood drug test has a precise but short drug detection window, making it ideal for continuous drug usage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A blood drug test is the best option for getting immediate, current findings since it may identify drug usage within minutes to hours (as opposed to the days needed for a urine test).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A technician must collect a small amount of blood for a blood drug test, which is then processed and tested. Blood drug tests are conducted by a licensed expert, much like hair drug tests, significantly decreasing any chance of mistake or manipulation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The detection window for this kind of test is relatively small and depends on the kind of substance, since the body rapidly metabolizes illicit drugs in circulation. <\/p>\n\n\n
Saliva tests may identify drug usage for up to 48 hours and is less intrusive than blood testing. Things like nutrition and dental cleanliness may impact it, albeit not as precise as drug screening on hair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saliva tests are also effective, low cost, and take less time to collect since you can do it onsite. The test can detect extremely recent use, whereas urine tests need the drugs to have passed through your system to identify them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saliva test has much to offer, particularly for organizations that want to perform it themselves. Testers can get FDA-approved onsite swab testing, watch as the specimen is collected (making it difficult to rig), and submit the results to the lab for verification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saliva tests detect chronic daily users because of the narrow detection window, which ranges from a few minutes to around 48 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the four testing options, hair testing can offer a longer detection window and is challenging to falsify; it is generally considered the most accurate drug test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is a comparison chart of the different drug testing methods available, including their detection window and sensitivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drug Testing Method<\/strong><\/td> | Detection Window<\/strong><\/td> | Sensitivity<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> |
Urine<\/td> | 1-30 days<\/td> | Moderate<\/td><\/tr> |
Saliva<\/td> | 1-3 days<\/td> | Low<\/td><\/tr> |
Blood<\/td> | 1-2 days<\/td> | High<\/td><\/tr> |
Hair<\/td> | Up to 90 days<\/td> | High<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Note: <\/strong>The frequency and intensity of drug usage, the person’s metabolism, and several factors may affect the detection window and common substances found.<\/p>\n\n\n How Do You Clear Your Hair For The Test?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n |