Employers may choose to use hair drug testing over other types of drug testing, such as urine or oral fluid testing, for several reasons:
1. Longer detection window: Hair drug testing can detect drug use for a longer period than other methods, typically up to 90 days or more, depending on the length of the hair sample. This makes it a useful tool for employers who want to test for long-term drug use.
2. Difficult to adulterate: Hair drug testing is more difficult to adulterate than urine testing, which can be tampered with by adding substances to the sample to mask drug use.
3. Comprehensive: Hair drug testing can detect a wide range of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, opioids, and amphetamines.
4. Reason for Testing: Hair drug testing is best used for pre-employment, where it can provide a history of drug use over a longer period of time, compared to urine or oral fluid testing.
Overall, hair drug testing can be a useful tool for employers who want to ensure that their employees are not using drugs over a longer period and want a comprehensive method of drug testing that is difficult to adulterate. However, it may not be the best option for employers who need to test for recent drug use, i.e. post-accident or reasonable suspicion or want a more convenient and immediate method of drug testing. ARCpoint Labs of Cincinnati East offers multiple oral fluid panels and can advise how to best set up or restructure your substance abuse testing program. For more information, please call us at 513-653-6600.