With increased usage of illegal drugs in the United States, it has become necessary to detect and prevent the drug users from addiction. Drug testing is the process of detecting the presence of drug from the individual's biological system. Drug tests are classified into different types based on the type of sample taken from the suspect. They include urine, saliva, hair, and blood tests. Saliva drug testing detects traces of the drug present in saliva of an individual. Here are some facts to be known about saliva drug testing.

Where is it used?

Saliva drug testing is used most commonly at workplaces and homes. Substance abuse at workplaces leads to many negative effects both for the employee and the employer. Generally, employers use saliva drug tests to detect drug abusing employees as they are non-invasive and can be done on-site also. Employers conduct saliva drug tests at different situations such as before employing a candidate and after an accident at workplace. They also conduct these tests on a regular basis and sometimes randomly.

Saliva drug test is also used by parents at home to check if their teens are addicted to illegal drugs. Most parents prefer this test because the children will have no chance to adulterate the sample.

Most recent drug abuse can be detected by a saliva test. So it is performed at the time of accidents to know whether the accident had occurred due to the effect of drug abuse. It is an effective way to find drug-abusing drivers. These tests are also be conducted by courts on detainees to find if they are under the influence of drugs during crime.

How is it used?

Saliva drug test is very easy to use. A swab is placed between the gums and the lower cheek of the person for two minutes. Most of the saliva drug test kits use immunoassays for detecting the drug. When the level of drug present in the sample is below the cut-off concentration, the binding sites of the specific antibody are not saturated. Therefore a reaction occurs between the drug-protein conjugate and the kit shows a visible colored line. When the drug levels in the sample are above cut-off levels, then the antibodies get saturated and no colored line is seen. Thus the occurrence of a colored line indicates no drug abuse and absence of colored line in the kit indicates drug abuse. One can easily notice and understand the result from saliva drug test kits.

Drugs it detects

A saliva test detects all the commonly abused drugs including

• Marijuana

• Cocaine

• Opiates

• Phencyclidine (PCP)

• Amphetamine

• Methamphetamine

• Alcohol

• Benzodiazepines

Multiple drugs can also be detected at a time by saliva drug tests. Multi-panel drug test kits serve this purpose that saves money and time.

Advantages

Employers, parents, school managements and other organizations use saliva drug testing because of the below-mentioned benefits.

Easy to use

A saliva drug test can be used easily. The sample can be collected without much effort. It does not require large number of tools and hence can be taken to any place.

Non-invasive method

Unlike other tests, the suspects need not go to laboratories or bathrooms to give the sample. The sample is taken from the mouth and so is non-invasive. No pain is associated with administration of the test.

Cost-effective

Saliva drug tests are cost-effective when compared to blood and hair drug tests. Because of their affordable price, most of the parents prefer to use them. Also, employers use it to reduce the costs of employee drug testing.

Quick results

You can get quick and accurate results using a saliva drug test. A saliva drug test kit can give you the result within 5-10 minutes.

In addition to these benefits, it has some other advantages. The sample for the test can be collected under direct supervision. You need not consider privacy issues and so can be used at workplaces. As a result, there are less chances of adulterating the sample.

Detection periods of commonly abused drugs

A saliva drug test detects the most recent drug abuse. It can even detect the drug taken one or two hours prior the test. The test can detect the drug for about 12-24 hours. It was found that methamphetamine and PCP can be detected by a saliva test for 3 days.

Regular drug testing at workplaces, home, and schools minimizes the problems of drug abuse in the society. One can use a cost-effective and easy saliva drug testing method to detect drug abusing people.