Instant drug tests quickly screen for illegal drugs in urine, blood, saliva, hair or sweat. They are used in workplaces, homes and drug treatment programs, and can test for multiple drugs at once. Detection periods vary for each substance.
An instant drug test is a type of drug screening in which results can appear relatively quickly, without sending them to a lab for analysis by a professional. Instant drug tests can be a boon in the workplace, where an employer might administer testing to see if any of their employees are using illegal drugs. However, these tests aren’t just used in the workplace. They are also used in people’s homes for testing when a family member is suspected of using illegal drugs and in drug treatment programs as a way to protect themselves against program members lying about their drug use.
An instant drug test can screen for an illegal drug, such as THC in marijuana or opiates, although many test for multiple drugs at once. Instant drug tests may have panels, or parameters, that describe how many substances the drug test is selected for. Three panel, five panel, and ten panel drug tests are common. A ten-panel drug test is a very comprehensive drug test because it screens for approximately 95% of illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, opiates, and methamphetamines.
An instant drug test can work in several ways. The most commonly used is a test that checks the person’s urine. The test doesn’t actually check for the presence of the drug or the drugs themselves, but rather for metabolites in the urine that exist only due to a person’s use of a drug. Other instant drug testing methods include testing hair, blood, saliva, and even sweat.
There are also instant drug tests that test for recent alcohol use. The Breathalyzer® is an example of such an instant drug test; uses a breath sample to determine a person’s blood alcohol content. There are also urine and blood tests to screen for the presence of alcohol in someone’s system, as well as alcohol strips, which are to be placed in the person’s mouth to detect whether they have consumed alcohol.
The detection periods of an instant drug test refer to the time a drug will be accurately detected by a drug test. These periods differ with each substance, because each drug is metabolized by the human body at a different rate. For example, marijuana can be detected in urine for up to a month after consumption because marijuana is stored in the body’s fat cells, which take longer to break down. Cocaine, on the other hand, is a water-soluble substance, and thus is typically out of the system no more than 72 hours after drug use.
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