Origin Diagnostics Drug Testing

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Cocaine, the most potent stimulant of natural origin, is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylon coca), which is indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America. It is a potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs. Cocaine is produced as a white chunky powder. It is sold most often in aluminum foil, plastic or paper packets, or small vials. Cocaine is usually chopped into a fine powder with a razor blade on a small mirror or some other hard surface, arranged into small rows called “lines,” then quickly inhaled (or “snorted”) through the nose with a short straw or rolled up paper money. It can also be injected into the blood stream.

Cocaine is a potent, naturally occurring central nervous system (CNS) stimulant. It is derived from the leaves of the coca plant, found primarily in various regions of South America.

There are four primary methods of ingesting cocaine. These are:

1. “Snorting” – absorbing cocaine through the mucous membranes of the nose.
2. Injecting – users mix cocaine powder with water and use a syringe to inject the solution intravenously.
3. Freebasing – Cocaine hydrochloride is converted to a “freebase” which can then be smoked.
4. Crack Cocaine – Cocaine hydrochloride is mixed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and other ingredients, causing it to solidify into pellets or “rocks”. The crack is then smoked in glass pipes.

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MDMA or ecstasy is a Schedule I, synthetic, psychoactive drug possessing stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. Ecstasy possesses chemical variations of the stimulant amphetamine or methamphetamine and a hallucinogen, most often mescaline. Ecstasy is a semi-synthetic chemical compound.

MDMA use is closely tied to the underground rave (and dance club) scene throughout the world, but has also been widely used by therapists as an adjunct to psychotherapy. Because MDMA is so popular and because it goes well with dance parties, the demand for it usually exceeds supply–especially at any given location on any given night.

MDMA, or ‘ecstasy’ is a ‘psychedelic amphetamine’ that has gained popularity over the past 20 years because of its ability to produce strong feelings of comfort, empathy, and connection to others. It most frequently comes in tablet form, although it is occasionally sold in capsules or as powder. It is most frequently used orally and rarely snorted.

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The cost to employers from illegal drug abuse is over $100 billion every year:

8.2% of full-time workers are current illicit drug uses
80% of drug abusers steal from their workplace
65% of all work related accidents are the direct result of substance abuse
As many as 50% of all workers’ compensation claims involve substance abuse

Employers have an obligation to provide a safe and healthy working environment. Employees who abuse drugs jeopardize the safety and well being of all employees and impact the bottom line. In these economically challenging times, it is more important than ever to prevent and reduce expenses related to substance abuse.

Each substance abuser costs an employer about $9,600 a year in:

Absenteeism
Low productivity
Loss Time From Accidents
Increased Health Care Costs
Increased Workers Compensation Costs
Loss Time Handling Confrontation/Conflicts

Regardless of which tests are done, drug testing always produces a positive return on investment:

Pre-employment drug testing can significantly improve applicant selectivity for your company. Why not avoid hiring an employee that might decrease safety, productivity and moral in your workplace, and cost you money?
Random drug testing has been shown to be a powerful deterrent to substance abuse in the workplace for existing employees. Such programs reduce accidents, improve productivity and may provide savings on workers compensation insurance premiums.
Reasonable Suspicion and Post-incident drug testing may be valuable in reducing liability in your operations. Reasonable Suspicion/ For Cause drug tests consistently produce the highest positive rates (18%).

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Synonyms for Barbiturates in General: Sleeping Pills

Street Names for Barbiturates: Barbs, Downers

Barbiturates are commonly divided into groups based on the onset and duration of their action. The intermediate and short-acting barbiturates are the categories most commonly abused, most notably Seconal (secobarbital) and Tuinal (secobarbital with amobarbital). Long-acting barbiturates have an onset of action of 30 to 60 minutes and a duration of action of 6 to 8 hours.

Examples of long-acting barbiturates are phenobarbital and barbital. Their slow onset of action discourages their abuse.
The intermediate-acting barbiturates have an onset of action of 15 to 30 minutes and a duration of action of 4 to 6 hours.

Examples of intermediate-acting barbiturates are amobarbital, butabarbital, and Tuinal.
The short-acting barbiturates have an onset of action of 10 to 15 minutes and have a duration of action of 2 to 4 hours.

Examples of short-acting barbiturates are secobarbital and pentobarbital.
The ultra-short-acting barbiturates have an onset of action of 0 to 45 seconds and a duration of action 15 minutes to 3 hours. These are barbiturates used as anesthetics. Their effects are generally felt within one minute of intravenous administration.

Examples of ultra short-acting barbiturates are thiopenthal sodium, hexobarbital, and methohexital. The rapid onset and brief duration of action practically precludes the use of ultra-short-acting barbiturates in the street environment.
Concern about the addiction potential of barbiturates and the ever-increasing numbers of fatalities associated with them led to the development of alternative medications.

Barbiturates can be detected in urine drug testing from 2 to 10 days. Depending on usage.

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The term opiate refers to the alkaloids found in opium, an extract from the seed pods of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.). It has also traditionally referred to natural and semi-synthetic derivatives of morphine. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to all drugs with opium-/morphine-like pharmacological action, which are more properly classified under the broader term opioid.

Opiates are primarily central nervous system (CNS) depressants and narcotic analgesics. The use of opiates typically creates physical as well as psychological dependence and tolerance. Opium is the milky latex fluid contained in the unripened seed pod of the opium poppy (papaver somniferum).

Opium contains a number of different alkaloids. But only one family of alkaloids, the phemanthrene alkaloids, can be converted to narcotic substances. It is this highly addictive family of alkaloids and their derivatives that are controlled by national and international law. From this family comes morphine, codeine, and thebaine – the natural opiates The semi-synthetic opiates are then derived from these substances.

Make sure you drug test your employees and teens for Opiates.

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The drug abuse among people, employees, and especially among teenagers is a cause of concern and several drug testing methods are used to check drug abuse. Multi panel drug testing kits can be easily used for employee drug testing, home drug testing, performance drug testing, pre-employment and random employee drug testing etc. The multi panel drug testing proves to be beneficial as they test for number of drugs, are easy to perform, and provides reliable and accurate results. The multi panel drug testing kits use urine or saliva to detect drugs.

Checks for Multiple Drug Tests
The primary objective of multi panel drug testing kits is to test for several drugs in a single sample at one time. Since number of drugs can be tested through one kit, there is no need to conduct separate test for each drug and thus it saves time. The multi panel drug testing kits can detect number of drugs present in any combination in urine or saliva samples. Multi-panel urine drug screen test also increases the efficiency of the drug test as it can find multiple drugs presence in single specimen at first attempt. They are available in different formats like multi panel drug test cups and multi panel drug test cards. The multi panel drug tests can detect commonly abused drugs like Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Marijuana (THC), Phencyclidine, Opiates, Methadone, Barbiturate, Benzodiazepine, and Ecstasy in urine and saliva samples.

Cost-Effective
The multi panel drug tests saves considerable amount of money as it tests for several drugs in single sample in first attempt. They are also suitable for random drug testing which requires quick results. The multi panel drug tests are also easy to conduct, provide accurate, quick, and reliable results. Multi panel drug tests are also available in different drug combinations according to the needs. Thus, it provides for a cost-effective way that gives good returns and value for the money.

Simple and Easy To Use
Multi panel drug tests are available in test cards and test cups which are designed for easy handling and easy to use. They can be easily performed at onsite locations and provides results in just 5 mins. It provides an easy step by step procedure to conduct the test without the need of any additional instruments. It also gives same accuracy levels for preliminary tests when conducted in laboratories.

Helpful At Workplace
Multi panel drug tests are suitable for random drug testing performed at workplaces, colleges, schools, sports events etc. When used in random test for employee drug testing at workplaces, it tests for 10-12 drugs which makes it difficult for employees to clear the test. Many multi panel drug test cups are available with attached temperature strip which makes it difficult to tamper and maintains integrity of sample.

Multi panel drug tests are set to SAMHSA cut-off levels for drug concentration. Various multi panel drug tests for oral fluids are non-invasive, provide quick results, and useful for onsite testing. However, the multi panel drug tests provide only preliminary analytical results and for confirmatory purposes the samples should be send for Gas Chromatography\Mass Spectrometry (GC\MS) test.

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The method of collecting a urine sample for drug screening can be important. Some illicit drug users may attempt to substitute another person’s urine, or chemically alter their own specimen. If the urine drug screen is being used for an important decision, such as employment or legal action, procedures to minimize chances of an adulterated or substituted sample may be necessary. These include measuring the temperature or pH of the sample immediately after it is procured, and using tamper-proof containers. Supervised specimen collection may be conducted to ensure that the urine indeed comes from the person being screened.

The most commonly used method for urine drug screening is immunoassay, a rapid and accurate test that uses antibodies embedded on test strips to reveal drug use. Antibodies react only in the presence of very specific substances—in this case, drugs present in urine. When a sufficient concentration of a drug (or drugs) are present, the test strip will indicate which substances have been detected. A control band on each strip confirms that the test was done correctly.

Positive screening results should always be confirmed by a more sensitive method. The most widely accepted corroborative test for all drugs is gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), which can determine the specific substances in the body by recognizing not only the molecular structure of the original compound, but also its metabolite, a chemical created when the drug is metabolized.

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Here is a brief and interesting description of how a saliva drug test is performed, its advantages and disadvantages over other forms of drug tests. It also provides some saliva drug test facts for those who are curious to know about this test.

Drug testing has become mandatory in various workplaces and in the field of sports. It can be performed in a number of ways. Drugs can be tested with saliva, blood, urine or hair samples. Nowadays, saliva drug testing is being widely used. It owes its popularity to the simplicity, easiness, comfortableness in usage, and its ability to give fast, yet reliable results. Interested in knowing more on saliva drug testing, then keep reading the below-mentioned saliva drug test facts, its merits and demerits.

Important Saliva Drug Test Facts

• Saliva is a refined version of plasma, that has the capability to contain trace amounts of drugs and their ensuing metabolites for a period of 24-36 hours. This forms the basis of saliva drug test. It is also known as oral fluid drug test.
• The saliva drug test kits comes in many forms and shapes. The general way of using such a kit is to place it in the mouth of the individual being tested. The kit draws the saliva through a membrane. The membrane allows saliva to wet the strips containing media of antigen dyes. The antigen dyes act as an indicator. Formation of color on the strip suggests a positive result. There is a particular color for each drug in question.
• Saliva drug test can detect the following drugs. The detection time for each drug is given against them:
  • Alcohol – from time of intake to 12 hours.
  • PCP – from a few minutes after ingestion to the next three days.
  • Methamphetamine and ecstasy – half an hour from ingestion up to 3 days.
  • Amphetamines – a few minutes to 3 days of consumption.
  • Barbiturates – less than an hour after ingestion up to 3 days.
  • Opiates – from an hour after intake to 3 days.
  • Cocaine – a few minutes after ingestion up to one day.
  • Benzodiazepines – not yet known
  • Cannabis – a few minutes after ingestion up to one day.

Advantages of Saliva Drug Test

• The cost of saliva drug test is cheaper than the drug tests based on hair or blood. Generally, its cost lies anywhere between $15-$75.
• Saliva drug test gives results within a time period of 5-15 minutes. This allows fast interpretation.
• It is a donor-friendly and easy-to-collect method of drug testing. There is no need for a bathroom too, in order to collect the sample, and hence saliva drug testing is non-intrusive as well. The donor has no chance to adulterate his/her saliva as the sample is collected under direct supervision.
• Saliva drug test test can detect eight different drugs, with five-six types of drugs at a time. This makes this drug testing method as the most potential indicator of adulteration.
• Experts take saliva drug testing method as the best way to detect the recent use of any prohibited drugs.
• It can be performed at any location. It does not require a clinical technician to conduct it and read the result.
• Because of the convenience, easiness and ability to give fast results, saliva drug test is widely used by the employers as pre-employment drug testing. Read more on random drug testing in the workplace.

Disadvantages of Saliva Drug Test

• Saliva drug testing method is not approved by SAMHSA for use with DOT or Federal Mandated Drug Testing.
• Saliva, being an oral fluid, is not counted as a biological hazard as long as it does not show the presence of blood in it. Care needs to be taken while handling it, as it might contain pathogenic micro-organisms.
• The biggest disadvantage of saliva drug testing is its short drug detection time limitation. Most drugs do not remain present in saliva and disappear after 12-24 hours of consumption. This facts limits its usage in drug detection to situations where recent drug ingestion needs to be determined such as in the case of vehicle drivers, employees at work, etc.
• The above reason also makes it difficult to determine past or long term drug use, as anyone can pass the saliva drug test by not taking the drug for the recent 2-3 days.
• Saliva drug testing is reliable for the detection of Methamphetamine and Opiates, but comparatively less sensitive to THC and Cannabinoids.
• It is comparatively more expensive than urine test.
• Some medicines such as Ibuprofen, Motrin, Advil can give false positive drug tests.
• Saliva drug test is quite inferior in comparison with hair drug test. The latter not only gives historical information with the types of drugs being taken, but a somewhat accurate data about the quantity and frequency of the drug usage as well.
• Saliva drug test cannot beat the efficiency of hair drug testing. When the hair follicles receive the drug metabolites dissolved in blood, they tend to trap them within. This is the most reliable source of information about drug addiction.
• Saliva drug testing does not follow any nationally accepted standards or cutoff concentration for detection. Therefore, the results mainly depend on a particular product purchased. Hence, the result is less reliable and most of the times not accepted in legal proceedings.
• One can easily pass the saliva drug test by various ways. According to various websites giving information on “how to beat a drug test”, eating certain foodstuffs can alter the production of saliva. Smoking is also believed to mask the metabolites needed for drug determination. However, the best way of passing a drug test is to stay away from drugs themselves.

Hopefully, this article must have provided vital answers to some saliva drug test FAQs, that you might be having and has shed some light on the lesser known saliva drug test facts.

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Work place drug testing has become almost a must these days and you need to pass one in order to keep your job safe.

The addiction to drugs has increased to such an extent these days that several steps taken in that respect doesn’t prove to be much fruitful. For that reason in the last few years it has been seen that different companies and their employers are putting forth the condition of having cleared a drug test before giving employment to their employees. Not only in different companies but also in several other institutions like schools, sports teams, and many such are also conducting On-Site Drug Test programs to ensure that their candidates are not addicted to drugs. This process is legally acclaimed and almost most of the countries acclaimed the practice.

Therefore if you want to apply for a job in any company and the employer asks you for a drug test, you are bound to go for it and of course pass it in order to get the job. Along with that it is also true that everybody is allowed the choice whether he wants to give a drug test or not. Nobody can force on it. But along with that it is also to be taken for sure that if your employer asks for a drug test and you do not agree with that, you are not going to get the job.

In some companies it is also seen that periodical drug test campaigns are organized. The reason is that the employers want to make sure that their employees have not taken to drug addiction after joining the company. Therefore to keep your job safe you need to be conscious enough that you do not fall pray to the evil clutches of drug addiction anyway.

There are various methods for conducting a drug test. The most effective one is of course the blood test. But besides that there are several other ways to find out traces of drugs in your body. These methods include urine test, saliva test, hair or hair follicle test etc. Let us now discuss about some of these methods.

Let us first take the example of urine test. In this process the urine samples of the candidate is collected. After that this sample is tested with the help of a panel kit. The sample can also be sent to the laboratory for a through testing to be done on it. This process can find the tresses of drugs easily. And this is a very common process used in most of the cases.

Other than the urine test there are other methods also. One such method is the saliva test. The problem with saliva test is that the usage of drugs in only last few days can be tressed. But the usage more than that cannot be found out that easily. Therefore the practice of saliva tests is not that much popular. But in cases where the only the usage of drugs in the recent days is needed this process is applied. In case of hair and hair follicle testing hair samples are collected to found tresses of drugs in the body. With the help of this process the long-term usage of drugs can be found out. But the problem is that in this process recent usage cannot be noticed. The hair follicle test is conducted in case the candidate is not having any hair on his head. This is rather a painful process and is avoided as far as possible.

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Drug Testing Programs

A drug-testing program should not be implemented without first establishing policies and procedures. The most common type of testing program is pre-employment. Courts have consistently upheld the legality of requiring a pre-employment drug test as a condition of employment. It is a best practice to obtain a consent and to clearly indicate drug testing is a requirement for employment.

If a firm plans to conduct post-hiring testing for current employees, then the employer should include training and education for supervisors and employees, as well as guidelines for discipline in the event of a positive test. Post employment testing includes random testing (for safety sensitive positions), individualized suspicion testing, post accident testing, and testing that is legally required in certain industries, such as Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements concerning truck drivers. Each of these types of testing is legally sensitive, and an employer should have a program in place before starting.

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state laws provides protection for people who are in rehabilitation for a drug addition, the ADA does not protect people currently using illegal drugs, and does not effect drug testing.