Drug testing is most often a scientific examination of urine samples to determine whether or not drugs are present in the body. Drug testing can be administered at scheduled times, most often during the process of being hired at a new job. However, drug testing can also be administered randomly, so the person undergoing drug testing will not know when to expect it. This is effective when there is suspicion of or history of drug use in a particular employee or group of employees. If a drug test indicates drug use, a drug rehab program may be appropriate.

Some companies make it standard practice to require employees to undergo random drug testing throughout their time of employment with the company. This is particularly true of companies that require frequent driving or operation of heavy machinery. Random drug testing can also be ordered by the courts or by drug rehabilitation facilities when there is suspicion that someone may still be using drugs.

Drug testing may also be given following incidents like car accidents, DUI arrests or on-the-job accidents. This clarifies whether drugs played a factor in the incident and can be useful in the event of future litigation. The drug testing results can point to more serious legal ramifications, like possible fines or jail time. The results of a drug test can also mean the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony criminal charge.

In addition to drug testing by urine samples, also known as urinalysis, other types of drug testing include: hair, saliva and sweat drug testing. While urinalysis is the most common type of drug testing, hair is the most accurate type. This form of drug testing can go back three months on average. There is, however, a dispute over the hair structure of some ethnic groups falsely creating positive drug testing results. There is also some dispute as to the reliability of drug tests. For instance, urine tests can be “cheated” in a variety of ways, and there are even products on the market to “cleanse” a person’s system or otherwise mask any evidence of drug use in order to beat the test. It is a profitable industry that is highly popular among drug addicts.

The different kinds of tests have different levels of reliability and different lengths of time until results are available. Saliva tests can detect drug use during the previous few days. This highly quick and convenient drug testing method is gaining popularity because there is no way the results can be compromised. Sweat drug testing is a very rarely used method that involves the secure application of a skin patch that registers any drug use over the period of a week or two.

Organizations that enforce mandatory drug testing are required to do so by federal regulations set up during the Ronald Reagan administration in the 1980’s. These include employees of the federal government and occupations regulated by the Department of Transportation. There are five groups of drugs that can be detected by tests. These include marijuana, hashish, cocaine, amphetamines (meth), opiates (heroin, opium, codeine, morphine, etc.), and Phencyclidine (PCP).