Urine drug testing
Urine drug test kits are available as on-site tests, or laboratory analysis. Urinalysis is the most common test type and used by federally mandated drug testing programs, yet likely the least effective.
The main disadvantages of urine-based drug test kits is/are (1.) the ease at which they can be "cheated" via simple adulteration or substitution, unless specimen collection is directly observed, (2.) inability to detect current / on-the-job drug abuse, (3.) the need for bathroom facilities, and (4.) with respect to SAMHSA-5, or NIDA-5, the inability to test for drugs commonly abused/mis-used in current society.
Hair drug testing
Hair drug testing can provide a much longer window of detection, which is useful for highly safety-critical positions where there is zero tolerance of drug usage.[19] Even if the person being tested has a shaved head (perhaps in preparation for the test), hair can also be taken from almost any other area of the body. This includes facial hair, the underarms, arms, and legs.
It costs more than urine testing, and one must have a lab for results. Hair testing is becoming more reliable as technology advances, and there is no known way to adulterate a hair specimen in order to falsify the results of the test, despite what some retailers advertise.
Spray (sweat) drug testing
Spray (sweat) drug test kits are non-invasive. It is very easy to collect the specimen and no bathroom is needed for taking the specimen. The detection window is long and usually can detect drug use up to a couple of weeks. These drug tests are relatively tamper proof since they are hard to manipulate. A laboratory is required for analysis.
The main disadvantage of spray or sweat based drug testing is the fact that they are open to contamination. Also large variations of sweat production rates of possible donors make some results inconclusive. There is not much variety in these drug tests since they are not as popular as urine or saliva drug testing kits. Their prices tend to be higher per test conducted. One main disadvantage of this testing method is the limited number of drugs that can be detected, and the inability to produce instant results.
Saliva drug testing
Saliva (oral) drug test kits are very donor friendly, non-invasive and easy to collect the specimen. There is no need for a bathroom to administer the tests. Saliva drug testing tends to detect recent drug use. Also these drug tests are harder to adulterate than the urine drug tests since the sample can be obtained under direct supervision. Depending on the test, up to 8 different drugs could be detected. This method is the best method for determining recent use and is a potential indicator of impairment.
A disadvantage of saliva based drug testing is that it is not approved by SAMHSA for use with DOT / Federal Mandated Drug Testing. Oral fluid is not considered a bio-hazard unless there is visible blood, however, it should be treated with care.
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