Drug test based on urine
In many cases of drug testing, urine analysis is the method of choice or it is performed as a supplement to further testing (e.g. in addition to blood sampling). The reason for this is that urine as a sample material can be obtained simply, quickly and non-invasively and the substances to be tested are present in urine in higher concentrations than, for example, in blood. In addition, the drug substances can be detected in urine for much longer than in the blood (days to a week).
In some cases, for example when benzodiazepines or cannabis are used continuously, the substances in question can still be detected in urine several weeks after the last use. Another disadvantage of the urine samples is that no immediate temporal relationship can be established between drug detection and drug use, as it usually takes some time before the metabolite is present in urine in detectable concentrations. A further disadvantage is the possibility of manipulating the urine sample, so that often a sample collection under sight is/is necessary. In order to keep the possibilities of manipulation as low as possible, the affected persons are usually surprisingly spontaneously asked to collect a urine sample under visual control.
Drug test on the basis of saliva
The saliva, as another test material, is, similar to the blood, more suitable for the assessment of the current drug influence. The collection of the saliva sample has a great advantage over the previously mentioned material extraction because it can be obtained non-invasively as well as without intruding into the intimate sphere of the affected person under visual inspection. Therefore, as a rule, a greater amount of material is obtained for sampling by means of a saliva test than by blood or urine tests. Also the manipulability of the saliva is hardly or not at all possible, so that the test is meaningful in this respect. A disadvantage, however, is, as with blood, the low concentration of the substances to be tested in saliva, so that they can only be detected briefly.
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