Do you need to confirm if someone is a drug user? Hair drug testing is a process in which hair specimens are analysed for the use of illicit drugs. The laboratory uses detection levels and confirmation methods that follow government recommendations and results are issued by email within 5 working days of receipt of samples at the laboratory.
When compared to other forms of testing, hair samples can detect a much longer period of drug use. For example, urinalysis can only detect most drugs within 2-3 days of use. After this period, a donor will be free of the drug and test negative. By comparison, the industry standard is to test 1.5 inches of head hair for approximately 90 days of drug use history.
Hair samples are first screened at the ISO/IEC 17025 and CAP accredited laboratory using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) methodology, which has been proven reliable for routine drug testing. Any samples that test presumptively positive in the screening process are then subjected to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS), or liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) confirmation testing.
All hair specimens are washed prior to confirmation testing to remove possible external contamination. Along with a wash procedure, the laboratory looks for both the parent drug and metabolite (bi-product) of drug usage (where appropriate). For marijuana analysis, the lab detects only the metabolite (THC-COOH). This metabolite is only produced by the body and cannot be an environmental contaminant.
Results are for informational use only and cannot be used for legal purposes or court proceedings. The test will be reported as having an “anonymous” donor because there is no third party verification to attribute the sample to any specific person or persons, so the test result is not legally defensible. Please contact us if you require results for legal purposes.
Legal Disclaimer
Results are for informational use only and cannot be used for legal purposes or court proceedings. The test will be reported as having an “anonymous” donor because there is no third party verification to attribute the sample to any specific person or persons, so the test result is not legally defensible. The test will only report the levels of drugs that were found in the sample submitted. Please contact us if you require results for legal purposes.
