Drugs are everywhere around us and most parents worry about their child becoming involved with drugs. Parents often feel they don’t know enough about drugs to help prevent their child from coming to harm.

In this section of our site, there are basic details on the most commonly used drugs to help you to become better informed.

We also offer a variety of drug tests for the most common drugs. The tests are available with different testing strips so you can choose which drugs you want to test for.

Why do young people take drugs?

Most parents do not understand why children might want to take drugs and question themselves. They usually believe that because their child is using drugs or tried drugs that they must be having problems at school or home.

There are many reasons why a child may take drugs, perhaps they enjoy the short-term effects, their friends use them, curiosity or just as a part of growing up. They want to break the rules and think it will be fun, without realising the consequences.

What are the different types of drugs available?

A drug is basically something that changes the way you think or feel. Drugs include alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and medical drugs. Drugs can be divided into the following groups:-

• Analgesics - drugs which kill pain e.g. heroin.
• Depressants - drugs which slow everything down e.g. alcohol, gases, glues and aerosols.
• Hallucinogens - drugs which act on the mind, altering the way the user sees and hears things e.g. cannabis, L.S.D. and magic mushrooms.
• Stimulants - drugs which make everything seem as if they're going faster e.g. cocaine, crack, ecstasy, poppers, speed and tobacco.

What are some of the risks of taking drugs?

All drugs carry risks and drugs affect different people in different ways but the major risks involved with taking illegal drugs are as follows : -

• The user may never know exactly what it is they are taking. What is bought is unlikely to be pure and you can never be sure what it has been mixed with.
• You can never be sure what effect a drug might have, even if it has been taken before.
• If drugs are injected and shared around you are then at risk of catching a dangerous infection such as H.I.V. or hepatitis B and C.
• If you mix different drugs this can be very dangerous and that includes mixing alcohol with a drug.
• Women who take drugs may experience heavier periods and some women’s periods have been known to stop.

Home Urine Drug Test with Cup - 7 Drugs Zoom The kit is easy to use and can be conducted at home, work or school. The kit contains everything required for responsible drug screening, including a test panel, specimen collection cup and full instructions. The Home Test will test your urine for the following drugs: amphetamines (speed), benzodiazepines(valiums), cocaine(crack), marijuana (cannabis), methadone, methamphetamines (ecstasy) and opiates (heroin). All tests are CE Marked and FDA Approved, with an accuracy level of 99%. Click here for more information. Featured in Chat Magazine. To read the artical click here. Code: 7PANCUP Price: From UK£ 8.49 Qty

To see our full selection of drug tests click here.

Drugs in the workplace

Drugs can affect the brain and the body in a number of ways and this can affect the employee's performance at work even if the misuse takes place outside the place of work.

As an employer you have a duty to ensure as far as is reasonably possible that your employees are not a danger to other employees or the general public by consuming drugs of abuse.

Legalities

If you are an employer wanting to test staff for drugs of abuse it is important that you have a policy in place, warning staff that they may be subject to random drug tests and that the use of drugs in the workplace or being under the influence of drugs in the workplace is a dismissible offence. It is also important that you keep up to date on the latest government legislation. If one of your employees has a drug problem you should make every effort to help them, and encourage them to seek professional help. If drug abuse is a common problem in your work place it may be in your interest to begin a drug awareness program for staff and managers.

Benefits of Oral Fluids Testing vs. Other Drug Testing methods

• No more urine collections
• Observed collections without privacy issues
• Can be performed on-site anytime and anywhere with immediate results
• Non-invasive
• Eliminates need for same-gender sample collections
• Testing integrity (difficult to adulterate)
• Results available in 10 minutes
• No additional equipment
• No operator training required
• Complete testing kit includes all components for testing

Principle of the Test

The Multi Saliva Drug Test (Oral Fluid) is an immunoassay based on the principle of competitive binding. Drugs that may be present in the oral fluid specimen compete against their respective drug conjugate for binding sites on their specific antibody.

During testing, a portion of the oral fluid specimen migrates upward by capillary action. A drug, if present in the oral fluid specimen below its cut-off concentration, will not saturate the binding sites of its specific antibody. The antibody will then react with the drug-protein conjugate and a visible coloured line will show up in the test line region of the specific drug strip. The presence of drug above the cut-off concentration in the oral fluid specimen will saturate all the binding sites of the antibody. Therefore, the coloured line will not form in the test line region.

A drug-positive oral fluid specimen will not generate a coloured line in the specific test line region of the strip because of drug competition, while a drug-negative oral fluid specimen will generate a line in the test line region because of the absence of drug competition.

To serve as a procedural control, a coloured line will always appear at the control line region, indicating that proper volume of specimen has been added and membrane wicking has occurred.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

SPECIMEN

1. Q: How is the sample collected?

A. The donor actively swabs the inside of the mouth and the top of the tongue. As soon as the sponge softens slightly, gently press the sponge between the tongue and teeth to ensure complete saturation (about 3 minutes).

TEST DETECTION

1. Q: What drugs does the device detect and at what cut-offs?

A: A combination of Amphetamine, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Methadone, Opiates, Marijuana, and Phencyclidine.

2. Q: What is the detection window compared to other drug testing methods?

A: Saliva and blood have similar detection windows. Testing saliva/blood will detect drug use faster than testing urine. Saliva/blood may detect drug ingestion immediately while drug detection in urine may take 6-8 hours post ingestion.

3. Q: What is a lateral flow device?

A: The oral fluids test is based on competitive binding. Drugs that may be present in the oral fluid specimen compete against their respective drug conjugate for binding sites on their specific antibody. During testing, a portion of the oral fluid sample migrates across the membrane. If no drug is present above the cut-off, the sample will not saturate the binding sites of its specific antibody. The antibody will then react with the drug-protein conjugate and a visible colored line will show up in the test line region. The presence of a drug above the cut-off concentration will saturate all the binding sites of the antibody and a line will not form in the test region. The lateral flow is the migration and competition across the membrane.

4. Q: Does the test quantify the concentration of drugs present in the oral fluids sample?

A: A positive test result does not indicate the concentration of drug in the sample. All positive results are presumptive and should be confirmed by an alternate method (e.g. GC/MS or GC/MS/MS). Negative results may not necessarily indicate a drug-free sample. Drug may be present in the sample below the cutoff level of the assay.

PCP Saliva Drug Test procedure:

1. Bring the pouch to room temperature before opening it.
Remove the test and cap from the sealed pouch and use the test as soon as possible.

2. Remove the collector from the sealed pouch and give it to the donor.

3. Insert the sponge end of the collector into the mouth and actively swab the inside of the mouth and the top of the tongue. As soon as the sponge softens slightly, the donor should gently press the sponge between the tongue and teeth to ensure complete saturation.

4. The sponge is saturated when no hard spots can be detected. Collect for a total of three (3) minutes before removing the sponge.

5. Remove the collector from the mouth. With the test device on a flat surface, insert the collector into the test device by aligning the notches on the collector with the tracks on the inside of the collection chamber. Push the collector into the chamber and turn the collector clockwise until it is engaged.

6. After 1 minute, rotate the collection chamber counter clockwise and set the timer for 9 minutes.

7. Read results at 9 minutes.

8. If positive results are observed, remove the collector by turning it
counter clockwise and pulling. Secure the cap over the collection chamber, seal the reservoir with tamper evident tape and send the device to a laboratory for confirmation.

Results

You can read negative results as soon as the lines form, but for positive results please wait the full 10 minute development time. Please note the drug type code on the test cassette and read against the table. Read the results of each individually and independent of one another. You will see a letter on the top of the cassette ‘C’ this is the control band. The control line should appear on both sides this indicates the test has worked correctly. If there is no control line (C) then the test is invalid. Insufficient specimen volume or carrying out the procedure incorrectly is the most likely reason for the control line failing to appear.

Negative: If a second pink/red coloured line, no matter how faint appears next to each specific drug (e.g. COC), this is a negative result.

Positive: If no line appears next to any of the drugs then the individual has tested positive for that drug of abuse. The labels next to each line on the test will tell you which drug each individual strip is testing for. Remember a negative saliva sample will produce a line and a positive saliva sample will not produce any line.

What should I do with the results?

If you obtain a negative result then the person tested has none of the tested drugs of abuse in their body at this time. You may want to re-test again in a month’s time. If you obtain a positive result then a drug of abuse has been detected in the saliva. You may want to do another test later, or at a further date to confirm the result.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DRUGS OF ABUSE CLICK HERE

If the drug you wish to test for is not listed, then please contact us and let us know which drug you would like to test for, as we have only listed the most common drug tests.

The amount of time drugs stay in your body depends on many factors such as, the amount of the drug taken, its strength, purity, your body weight and rate of metabolism and whether you are a casual user or a long term user.

When should I do the test?

This test can be carried out at any time.

To perform the test:

1. Carefully remove the cassette from the foil pouch (do not break the seal on the foil pouch until you are ready to begin the test).

2. Using a plastic cup, obtain a urine sample from the individual who is being tested.

3. Pull the protective cap off the bottom of the test to reveal the absorbent testing strip. Do not touch the strip and do not throw away the protective cap.

4. Carefully dip the testing panel into the urine sample, ensuring that the urine does not come into contact with the plastic case of the test. Allow the test to absorb the urine for about 10-15 seconds. You will begin to see urine moving up the strips.

5. After 15 seconds, remove the test from the urine and replace the protective cap.

6. Lay the test on a clean flat surface while the test lines develop.

7. You can read negative results as soon as they appear but positive results must be read at least 5 minutes after removing from urine. All results should be read within 10 minutes otherwise a false reading may occur.

Results

You will see 2 letters on the drugs cassette next to the test strip, 'C' this is the Control band and 'T' this is the Test band. A pink coloured line should appear on the strip of the control band (C), this confirms that the test is working properly. If no line appears in the control band the cassette hasn’t worked properly and you may need to do a further test.

A second pink coloured line, no matter how faint should now appear in the test band (T), this is a negative result. If no further line appears in the test band (T) then the individual has tested positive for that drug of abuse.

Remember a negative result will produce 2 lines (no matter how faint) and a positive result will produce only 1 line in the control band (C).

What should I do with the results?

If you obtain a negative result then the person tested has none of the tested drug of abuse in their body at this time. You may want to re-test again in a month's time. If you obtain a positive result then a drug of abuse has been detected in the urine. You may want to do another test later, or at a further date to confirm the result.

To see our full selection of drug tests click here.

Click here to buy

Back to top of page

Related topics

Drug Tests

Adulteration Tests

The Detox Handbook

Professional Drug Tests