info about drugs

By Sandy Long
- / N2N / – There has been a debate going on among trucking companies for several years over whether hair follicle drug testing should be adapted industry wide instead of the usual urine testing.

Some companies such as Schneider and CR England have adapted hair follicle testing as pre-employment and random testing policy.

Hair follicle testing allows testing for drug use for up to a year previously though the trucking industry says it will only test back 90 days. To do the test, anyone trained to do so may take 50 to 120 strands of hair, preferably from the head but other body hair will work also, and then seal those hairs into an envelope and send it to the laboratory for testing.

The follicle test is thought of as more accurate than urine testing being able to detect substances dating back 1 month for every 1/2 inch of hair tested. Drugs tested for by federal mandate are Cocaine (Cocaine and Benzoylecgonine), Marijuana, Opiates (Codeine, Morphine and 6-Monacteyl Morphine), Methamphetamine (Methamphetamine/Amphetamine & Ecstasy), and Phencyclidine (PCP).

A few of the reasons stated for adapting hair follicle testing over the common urine testing are that the company can see drug use further back in a person’s history, the hair can be collected at the business instead of an employee going to the clinic thereby saving time and productivity, and increased highway safety.