Drug Tests - Urine

For many years, urine has been the preferred specimen for drug of abuse testing. Depending on the substance or metabolite tested, the type of consumption (smoking, sniffing, injection), the dose and the frequency of consumption, drugs can be measured for several days or weeks. In some cases (chronic abuse of cannabis or benzodiazepines) the substances are detectable in urine for several weeks after the last intake. For a control of abstinence, urine collection should take place within 24 hours of summons. Samples then are collected under direct supervision to minimize manipulation attempts.

Depending on the proposed question the following substances and substance classes can be analyzed in urine:

Amphetamines/Methamphetamines
Benzodiazepines
Cannabinoids
Cocaine
Ketamine
Methadone
Prescription drugs (see also Therapeutic Drug Monitoring)
Opiates
Opioids

Further information on relevant topics

MPA Fitness to Drive

In most industrial countries if a driver loses his driving license as a result of drug or alcohol offense he has to prove abstinence for several months up to one year. The exact conditions of drug testing in urine or hair are different from country to country and depend on the individual situation.

Hair

In the last few years hair testing for drugs has been rapidly gaining recognition. During hair growth (about 1 cm per month for head hair) drugs of abuse and their metabolites are continuously incorporated and deposited into the hair matrix following consumption of alcohol or drugs.

Saliva

The testing of drugs in saliva is a rather new alternative to the analysis of drugs in blood or urine. Particularly in workplace drug testing, a sample can be collected without medical intervention to prove or exclude exposure to drugs of abuse.

Blood

Blood, serum or plasma are the matrices of choice for toxicological analyses if the objective is to assess the acute impact of a drug of abuse on a person.

Dried Blood Samples

Chromatographic drug analyses (LC-MS/MS) in capillary blood and DBS (dried blood samples) respectively are of increasing importance.

Meconium

Drug abuse during pregnancy poses a serious threat to the normal development of the foetus.