Reasons To Use Hair Drug Tests Instead Of Urinalysis In Your Workplace

If your employees use drugs while on the job, it can impair their judgment and cause problems for you. Operating heavy machinery or sensitive documents can be equally dangerous in the hands of an intoxicated person, so you want to make sure that you employ some sort of drug testing in your workplace to protect yourself against safety concerns. In order to get the best results, you should use a test that uses hair samples instead of urine samples for several reasons.

Tampering Concerns

One of the main problems with a urine tests is that people can tamper with the test and invalidate the evidence. For example, a person could buy a kit with drug-free urine that they can then use to pass of as their own. There are also additives that people can put into their sample, which can invalidate the test. Because of these concerns, some companies suggest that the person administering the test should watch the person providing the sample to make sure that they don't tamper with the sample. Clearly, there are some issues with watching people provide a urine sample. On the other hand, not only are hair tests more difficult to tamper with, but you can keep an eye on the whole sample collection process without worrying about privacy concerns. 

Timeline Concerns

Drugs are excreted from the body within a few days, so one way to beat a urine test is to abstain from drug use for a few days prior to the test. This means that you could, if you had to, watch someone provide a sample and still not get a clear picture of their drug use habits. Drugs will stay in hair for up to three months, so not only will it be harder to beat the test by abstaining from drug use, but the accumulation of drugs or their metabolites in the hair should give a better idea about how often a person uses drugs. 

Retesting Concerns

If someone disputes the results of a urine test, there is no way to go back and take another test to confirm the results. On the other hand, if you use a hair test, you can keep a sample on hand to test and put to rest any concerns about the validity of the first test. 

Drug testing is a reality in many jobs, and to make sure that you are getting the most accurate results, you need to use a highly reliable test. While urine tests are fairly common, you will typically get better results if you use a hair test instead. 

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