Oral drug tests use a swab of saliva taken from the test subject's mouth as a sample to test for the presence of drugs.  Because they are simple to adminster and much more diffcult to falsify than some other methods of drug testing such as urine analysis, oral drug tests are becoming very popular.

 

This is especially true for employers. schools, the military and law enforcement.  Reasons for testing can include pre-employment testing, on the job randomized testing, post-incident testing where drugs could be a factor, reasonable suspicion cases where behavior indicates a potential problem, and return-to-duty testing.  

Random testing is the most effective type of drug testing because a random test gives the test subject little time or opportunity to evade the test procedure.  Saliva based tests are perfect for random drug testing.  They are quick, easy to administer, and not as invasive as other methods of testing that require urine, blood or hair sampling.  

The results of oral drug tests are very close to those of drug tests performed with blood samples without the need for painful procedures.  It is especially useful in the discovery of very recent drug use (on the job for example) and in situations where you want to know what the degree of intoxication is (at the scene of a car accident for example).

Detection Times for Saliva Based Oral Drug Tests

Marijuana & Hashish: One to 24 hours

Cocaine & Crack: From the moment of ingestion to 72 hours

Opiates such as heroin: From ingestion to 72 hours

Methamphetamine and ecstasy: From ingestion to 96 hours

Benzodiazepines:  From ingestion to 72 hours

Amphetamines: Immediately

Phencyclidine (PCP): Immediately

Disadvantages of Oral Drug Tests

Not all drugs are screened with saliva based testing.  

Saliva type oral drug tests are not approved for use with the DOT Federal Mandated Drug Testing.

Bio-Hazard warning: as with all bodily fluids, care should be taken to handle the saliva sample with care although saliva is not considered a bio-hazard unless it is contaminated with blood.

For more information on oral drug tests, or other types of home drug test kits, click on the "Catagories" or "Tags" links to the right of this post.  You can also visit out recommended suppliers by clicking on the link "TestCountry" in the Blogroll links to the right.