Oral Drug Testing Facts

Just as the demand for drug testing grows, so do the ways these required tests are given. One rather new method that is being implemented in drug-free environments is the Oral Fluids Drug Test, or simply put the Saliva Drug Test. To address any questions or simply find out more about this type of test this article will go over a couple of oral drug testing facts.

• First of all, oral drug testing has a fair amount of detractors. This is due to the fact that THC (marijuana) has a very low detection period when this method is used. While this is a challenge that test developers will have to deal with soon, it is likely that they will find a way to improve on the current oral drug tests available. With the exception of marijuana, we can also include under oral drug testing facts that most other drugs are able to be detected 24-36 hours after intake.
• Drugs that can be detected with an oral drug test include, but are not limited to: barbiturates such as Nembutal, opiates, cocaine, amphetamines (speed, ecstasy), and PCP which is more commonly known as angel dust. In total, oral fluids testing can be used to detect 8 types of drugs in the system.
• While the market is always developing new products to beat the next drug tests, there is still very little room to adulterate or substitute an oral fluids drug test. If done in a laboratory an employee stays with you throughout the entire process. If administered on-site at work or school, the person requesting it does not have to worry about giving you privacy when collecting the sample.
• Another thing to note under oral drug testing facts is that to date the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has yet to establish cut-off levels for oral drug tests. This task is at the hands of the manufacturer; therefore different oral drug testing kits will have varying cut-off levels.

With the information that constitutes oral drug testing facts so far, we can establish that the oral fluids drug test is unlikely to be replacing any of the other modes for standard drug testing such as a urine 5-panel test or a hair drug test any time soon. While it manages to be practically tamper proof, the oral fluids drug test still has a lot of issues to resolve before it can become a standard mode of testing. Granted the easy to use kits available for on-site testing and the affordable pricing make it convenient, the fact that cut-off levels are yet to be set indicates this test is still in its early stages.