About: Urine Drug Screen

A urine drug screen is designed to detect illegal (and some prescription) drugs in the urine.

How the Test is Performed

It is necessary to collect a "clean-catch" (midstream) urine sample.

As you start to urinate, allow a small amount to fall into the toilet bowl (this clears the urethra of contaminants). Then, in a clean container, catch about 1 - 2 ounces of urine and remove the container from the urine stream. Give the container to the health care provider or assistant.

You may be asked to remove all your personal belongings. You will then be placed in a room where you have no access to your personal items or water. In this environment, you cannot dilute the sample, nor can you use someone else's urine for the test.

If the sample tests positive the sample is then taken to the laboratory for evaluation.

How the Test Will Feel

The test involves only normal urination.

Why the Test is Performed

The test is performed to detect the presence of illegal (and some prescription) drugs in your urine, which indicates recent use of the drugs.

Normal Results

No drugs in the urine.

What Abnormal Results Mean

If the test result is positive, it is helpful to confirm it with gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In some cases, a test will register a false positive. This can result from interfering factors such as some foods, prescription medications, and other drugs.

The GC-MS will help tell the difference between a false positive or a true positive, resulting from the presence of an illegal drug.

View Our AS 4308 Compliant Urine Test Kits

View Our Urine Drug Testing Dipcards

Posted by Drug Test Australia

For more information go to www.drugtestaustralia.com.au

Email Enquiries: sales@drugtestaustralia.com.au

Phone: 1300 660 636

Original http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003364.htm

Kronic Test: Available from Drug Test Australia

Drug Test Australia now stocks testing kits for Synthetic Marijuana (Kronic).

This drug is widely used now in Australia by employees from all industries and sectors, with reports of growing popularity in the mining and fabrication sectors.

Employees use this drug in place of marijuana because it is widely believed to be 'non-detectable' in drug tests. Urine or Saliva.

This was true, until now.

Introducing the K2 Spice Test, a single dip cassette test, for use in urine testing that will detect synthetic Cannabinoids in human urine. These tests can be used on their own, or in conjunction with conventional urine test to effectively screen your workforce!

For more information, please contact us;
Website: www.drugtestaustralia.com.au
Phone: 1300 660 636
Email: sales@drugtestaustralia.com.au

'Faking It' Products being used to 'pass' drug tests

With drug testing and pre-employment medical screening becoming more commonplace in workplaces in Australia, especially within heavy industry as well as by police on roadside stops, a cottage industry has sprung up around products which assist users to 'pass' drug tests.

With names like 'Pass It', 'Ultimate Detox' and the like, products that are now being manufactured and sold online and in shops locally, with the express purpose to help consumers 'pass' drug tests.

How did this become a phenomenon? What is in these products? Do they actually work? We at Drug Test Australia took a closer look at the situation....

Products

The most common of these types of products found were 'Detox Drinks', not to be confused with health food stores' fruit-based products, these drinks are purported to 'cleanse' and 'remove unwanted substances from the urine', with some claiming to work in just one hour.

                                                              

The other main type of masking agents are 'Synthetic Urine', which is touted as 'premixed laboratory urine' which is purported to 'contain all the ingredients normally found in urine and is balanced for pH, specific gravity, creatinine, and several other urine characteristics.' These products are meant to be used in place of urine in urine tests.

Detox drinks main aim is to 'clean out' the system, with a goal of 'flushing out' drug metabolites from the system before they can be detected in a urine drug test.

The other type of these drinks aims to 'hold drug metabolites' in the body, allowing urine to pass through to testing without these metabolites present in the sample.



Synthetic urine products are meant to be carried by the user on their person before a drug test, so that they can pretend to urinate, while filling the test with synthetic urine. These are used with 'heat pads' to bring the sample up to body temperature, a key indicator in all effective urine drug test kits. The pads are meant to be worn under the clothes, to heat the bottle of synthetic urine.


While the above products aim to mask drug use in urine tests, interestingly, there are also now products available which claim to help the user pass a saliva drug test. These products come in the form of a mouth wash, which claims to leave 'no traces of unwanted residues' in the saliva. It claims to be effective for removing residue of Marijuana, Cocaine, Opiates, Methamphetamine, Amphetamines and prescription drugs.



Two other items worthy of note are shampoo's available, that tout being effective in 'passing' hair follicle drug tests, and urine additives.

                                                           
Hair follicle testing being a new and not very widely used technology in drug testing in Australia, takes a sample hair follicle for the test. This testing has been shown to detect drugs in the system up to 90 days.

Urine additives are purported to 'destroy drug metabolites in urine', the product claims to 'change the molecular structure' of the compound, and is poured straight into a urine sample, to 'fool' GC/MS (Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the instrument used to test samples in a laboratory, as with confirmation samples following a positive test result).

Availability

These products are available from online stores in Australia, as well as retail locations around the country. Their disclaimer is usually "not intended for use on lawfully administered drug tests and is to be used in accordance with all federal and state laws."

Detox drinks retails for around AUD $50-$60, synthetic urine at $70-$80, with the mouthwash at around $50.


Effectiveness

By looking at a wide variety of the types of products on the market, we can examine which would most effective.

Saliva testing

Saliva testing aims to pick up residue of drugs in the oral fluid. Commonly a mouth swab is inserted, and oral fluid collected from the inside of the mouth, cheeks and tongue. The approximate detection time for oral fluid varies with drug classes, but is typically a 6-12 hour window (if drugs were consumed in this period the test will show). Tests with positive results are to be sent fro confirmation testing using GC-MS.

The product intended to remove and 'mask' drug residue in the mouth, a mouth wash, if used correctly and if containing a high alcohol solution, could in theory 'pass' a drug test.

The problem is; that when an individual is selected for a random test, usually there is no time to swill and rinse with mouth wash, which would be quite obvious to all involved, rendering this product ineffective.

Urine Testing

Urine testing is based on based on immunoassay rapid test methods, and also relies on GC-MS fro confirmation of positive samples. The detection period varies between drug classes, and can be up to 30 days for THC in heavy users.

Synthetic Urine is effective in passing a drug test, provided that adulterants are not detected by the device (many have built in) and the temperature is correct. So if a subject is willing to place a large bottle of fake urine and a heating element down their pants, heat the urine to body temp, and pour it into the test without being detected by the drug tester, then they may pass this time.

Current Situation

Currently in Australia there are employees using these products to attempt to 'pass' drug tests. These products are easily available for purchase from retailers locally or for home delivery from online stores.

Drug testing training courses now include sections on identifying and preventing adulteration of tests by  test subjects. Also, any tester that is drug testing regularly, and keenly observes their surrounds should be able to catch these cheaters.

Even if an individual passes the test once, they will be caught the second or third time they attempt to use these methods. These are not by any means fool-proof methods, and the consequences for employees faking a test can be severe.

Random selection testing (drug testing a random sample of the employee body) as well as reasonable suspicion testing (drug testing after reasonable suspicion that an employee is impaired by drugs) will eventually 'catch' these employees, who will then have to face discipline within the organisation, or in the case of pre-employment tests, will never be offered a position in the company again.

We should be aware of these products on the market, and take appropriate measures to ensure they do not affect test results.

For more information on this or related issues, or to find out about our Australian Standard testing equipment contact us at Drug Test Australia;

Email; sales@drugtestaustralia.com.au
Website; drugtestaustralia.com.au
Phone; 1300 660 636

University students turn to ADHD drugs

Posted by; Drug Test Australia

Original By Daniel Piotrows,http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health-fitness/high-marks-uni-students-turn-to-add-drugs/story-fneuz9ev-1226519836513#ixzz2Cie9EJO7

University Students turning to ADHD medication to help them cope with their studies

UNIVERSITY students are taking ADHD medication to help them cope with their studies, a first-of-its-kind research paper has found.

The students are using prescription amphetamines like Ritalin to help stay awake and alert, particularly when "cramming" for exams and assessments, the report from Victoria's Deakin University says.

The paper's author and senior lecturer in public health, Dr Matthew Dunn, said students were using the medication as well as caffeinated drinks and even illicit drugs to cope with increasing time pressures.

"People are taking things which keep them awake so they can balance either a full-time uni or job workload with a social life," Dr Dunn said. 

"If you're paying thousands of dollars to study, you want to do well. For some people there may be the allure of using something a little bit stronger to get the best result."

Professor Barbara Pocock, director of the Centre of Work and Life at the University of South Australia, said over the past 20 years there had been a significant shift in the number of students supporting themselves financially while studying.

Undergraduate students often had to balance their studies with up to 25 hours a week of paid work with studies showing this could place them under more pressure than many full-time workers, Prof Pocock said. 

"Their pressures are quite often significant and worse than a lot of workers," she said, noting that many students ran their own households. 

Despite this, clinical professor and adolescent psychiatrist Jon Jureindi said there was not a lot of evidence Ritalin-type drugs help students absorb information. 

"Students probably feel these drugs increase attention – and they decrease purposeless activity – but there's no evidence they increase learning," he said.

The drugs can also have physiological and psychological side effects, even triggering anxiety and psychosis in some people.

Heather*, 22, has taken an ADHD drug, dexamphetamine, to help her study since Year 10. She works fulltime and is studying a postgraduate degree in business.

"What it does is let you concentrate harder and longer," she said. "I tend to get three times the work done after I take a dex."

She said that it would be difficult to manage studying, working and being social without help.

"I don't see it as too different from cracking open a couple of Red Bulls or drinking several coffees to pull of an all-nighter," she said.

She does admit she sometimes feels quite tired after consuming the pills. 

The Deakin University study of 655 students at Victoria's Deakin University reported 7.3 per cent used prescription amphetamines - a lower rate of prescription amphetamine consumption by Australian students than American students but more research was needed.

Dr Dunn will present his report's findings at the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs (APSAD) conference in Melbourne on Wednesday. 

* Not her real name

Contact us at Drug Test Australia
Website; www.drugtestaustralia.com.au
Email; Sales@drugtestaustralia.com.au
Phone; 1300 660 636

Drugs and Alcohol; Over 100 airline employees tested positive over 17 months

More than 100 airline employees have tested positive to drugs or alcohol over 17 months

Posted by Drug Test Australia, Oct 30th, 2012

Original; Mark Dunn 

From:Herald Sun 

October 29, 2012 11:00PM

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/more-than-100-airline-employees-have-tested-positive-to-drugs-or-alcohol-over-17-months/story-e6freon6-1226505683021

MORE than 100 airline industry employees have tested positive to drugs or alcohol in internal tests over a 17-month period, data from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has revealed. 

The tests, which included 80 positive drug detections and 24 alcohol breaches, are those taken by air and cabin crew, maintenance personnel, air traffic control staff, ground and baggage workers, refuellers and security screening employees who have a direct effect on air safety.

The results of internal tests, administered by commercial airlines and private aviation firms, have previously not been made public but were released by CASA for transparency reasons on the basis they did not identify individual operators or personnel.

CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said despite the positive results, they reflected breaches by 0.41 per cent of the 19,402 drug tests and 0.087 per cent of the 27,459 alcohol tests.

While CASA said any positive results for people operating in "safety sensitive" aviation positions was concerning, it is believed only two breaches were recorded by pilots or flight crew with most instances relating to ground staff, baggage handlers or cabin crew.

In a two-tier testing system introduced in 2008, random testing by CASA turned up a further 45 positive drug or alcohol results from 51,000 tests, of which 18 were subsequently overturned following medical reviews that identify prescription medication breaches.

The second tier of testing sees industry operators undertaking internal testing of SSAA (safety sensitive aviation activity) personnel for alcohol and drugs including amphetamines, cannabis, heroin, LSD, Ecstasy, cocaine, sleeping pills and PCP (Phencyclidine).

The legal alcohol limit for airline staff is 0.02 per cent.

A Qantas captain suspected of having consumed alcohol was stood down from the controls of a Boeing 767-300 shortly before it was due to take-off from Sydney on July 30.

It is believed cabin crew raised concerns about the pilot amid suspicions the captain had been drinking prior to the flight.

Eight cabin crew tested positive, five aircraft engineers, one refueller, a security guard, four baggage handlers and two foreign staff.

RailCorp Cuts Drug Tests by Thosands

Posted by Drug Test Australia, October 30th, 2012

THOUSANDS FEWER RAILCORP DRUG TEST

Original:Lee Jeloscek, 7News Sydney

Updated October 29, 2012, 6:02 pm
http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/15244831/thousands-fewer-railcorp-drug-test/

RailCorp has been accused of putting cost cutting ahead of public safety by slashing the number of drug and alcohol tests on staff.

Its latest report shows there have been thousands fewer tests catching fewer intoxicated train drivers and station staff.

RailCorp says it's a drug and alcohol free workplace, but its commitment to ensuring that is under question.

"Public transport drivers and others are on safety critical jobs and it's absolutely critical that they be drug and alcohol free." Action for Public Transport spokesman Jim Donovan said.

The latest RailCorp stats reveal it's slashed testing of employees which includes drivers.

In the last financial year the number of random breath tests has dropped from nearly 20,000 to fewer than 14,000; down more than 30 per cent.

While the number of staff detected with a blood alcohol level above 0.02 has dropped from 13 to three.

The Shadow Transport Minister Penny Sharpe says that’s 6000 fewer tests.

“It's got to be cost cutting and it's not acceptable," Sharpe said.

"This is a massive cut to the drug and alcohol testing regime in New South Wales safety is of the utmost importance for passengers and public transport workers."

Drug testing has also been cut by 10 per cent from nearly 7000 to just over 6000.

Disturbingly, 21 staff had drugs in their system.

RailCorp says it's comfortably meeting the government's requirements.

"RailCorp is committed to ensuring that the safety to our passengers and our staff is our number one priority," spokesman Tony Eid said.

Following the Waterfall and Glenbrook train disasters staff testing was overhauled, and the union is calling for more change. It wants to replace the urine tests with oral swabs.

"RailCorp can investigate what a rail worker has done two weeks ago but they can't investigate what a rail worker has done two hours ago that doesn't improve safety," Rail Tram and Bus Union spokesman Bob Nanva said.

UCI knew Drug Testing System Flawed

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Cycling's governing body set up a drug testing system that was designed to fail and allow Lance Armstrong and other riders to avoid detection, said the ex-boss of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Doping officials knowingly ran a testing regimen that the sport's top teams circumvented and where competitors would be tipped-off in advance, Richard Pound, who headed up the WADA between 1999 and 2007, told AFP in an interview.

Despite alleging eight years ago that cheating was rife, his complaints to the UCI (International Cycling Union) about the sport's anti-doping measures were repeatedly ignored, Pound said.

"It is not credible that they didn't know this was going on," Pound said.

"I had been complaining to UCI for years. They come in in the morning at 5.00 am and do tests then go away, and riders are not chaperoned.

"The race starts at 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm in the afternoon and there are no tests prior to race to see if they are bumped up," adding that after a day in the saddle, riders would be unchaperoned for an hour before being tested again.

"So then you go in and get saline solutions and other means of hiding the effects (of performance-enhancing drug) EPO and whatever else it is," he said.

"You have to say 'I wonder if it was designed not to be successful?'" Pound said of the system, lambasting the UCI, which is under attack in the wake of a devastating US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) report on Armstrong.

The report, which was released Wednesday, detailed Armstrong's alleged use of testosterone, human growth hormone, blood doping and EPO and included sworn statements from 26 people, including 11 former teammates.

The sports agency, which had already stripped the cyclist of his seven Tour de France titles, said Armstrong orchestrated the most complex doping scheme in sports history.

Pound, a Canadian lawyer turned sports official whose reported comments in 2004 about alleged doping earned a rebuke from Armstrong, said the buck must stop with the UCI.

"If they persist with denial then they put their whole sport in jeopardy," he said, noting that doping investigations may spread to the Spanish and Italian professional cycling communities, among others.

UCI President Pat McQuaid argued earlier this week that the sport "has moved on" and better tests mean riders are now much cleaner than in the previous era, in which Armstrong, now aged 41, competed.

"The peloton today is completely different," McQuaid said.

Pound, in reference to the USADA report, said he was dismayed by the scope and vivid details of the alleged doping practices by Armstrong and his US Postal Service teammates.

"I thought it was a very thoroughly researched report with evidence sworn or otherwise," said Pound, who remains on WADA's 38-member Foundation Board.

Armstrong has always maintained that he did not use banned substances during his career, but in August he chose not to contest the USADA's charges.

The Texan rider's days of sparing no expense to hire big-ticket lawyers to muzzle critics may also be coming to an end, Pound suggested.

"I don't think it is credible for Armstrong to say 'all 26 of these people are liars and cheats and axe grinders,'" the former WADA president said in reference to the sworn statements in the USADA dossier.

"I am afraid his time has just run out on that."

"What is going to be a surprise is (if) after all this, Lance persists in saying he never did it. You got to hope he will ... admit 'I was the best of the worst.'"

Pound said cancer survivor Armstrong should also speak out against the use of performance-enhancing drugs, not just for himself but his five children.

"What are his kids going to think of him? They are going to carry around this burden," said Pound, while stating that many Armstrong supporters, especially in the United States, are still likely to dismiss the allegations.

"There are a lot of people who have a big emotional investment in Armstrong," he said, alluding to the rider's comeback from cancer and the tens of millions of dollars he has raised to help people affected by the disease.

"They don't want to know that he was a cheater ... but if the pedestal he is on proves to be something he got by cheating, it isn't much of a pedestal."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/15117251/uci-knew-drug-testing-system-was-flawed/