Cannabis drug testing in Cardiff

Cannabis drug testing in Cardiff could help authorities clamp down on the problem of cannabis use across the city, believes AlphaBiolabs. The company opened its latest Walk-in Centre for drug testing in Cardiff, last year.

Our Cardiff Walk-in Centre located in Grangetown, offers a range of cannabis drug testing solutions that can detect recent and chronic use of the drug, as well as determining whether direct ingestion or environmental exposure has taken place.

Cannabis is a class B drug which means it is illegal to have in your possession, to sell or to give away to someone else. The effects of taking cannabis on an individual can vary hugely, but one thing’s for sure, cannabis is a highly detectable drug and can be found in urine, saliva, hair and nail clippings, via cannabis drug testing.

Testing a urine sample is the quickest way to determine whether someone has used cannabis. Urine drug testing is known as a ‘narrow-window’ type drug test, because it can only detect the previous few days’ worth of consumption, although this can depend on the particular substance taken. Drugs including cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine can be present in urine for roughly 3–5 days, but cannabis can stay in urine for as long as 28 days after chronic use.

AlphaBiolabs’ urine drug test kit can analyse 10 drugs and their metabolites.

Cannabis can also be detected in oral fluid. A mouth swab sample will show a positive result for cannabis ingestion after 30-60 minutes and up to 48 hours – although this is dependent on the particular type of cannabis substance taken. The test takes just 20-30 minutes.

Testing for longer-term cannabis use

A hair follicle drug test can give a more comprehensive view of an individual’s cannabis use. This is known as ‘wide window’ testing because it can show a history of cannabis drug taking within and up to the last 12 months. How? Once cannabis is absorbed into the blood stream, metabolites or byproducts of the substance are absorbed into the root of the hair and become embedded in the hair shaft. As the hair grows the metabolites remain in the hair, so once tested they will reveal a person’s historic cannabis drug use, which can be pinpointed down to an exact month.

By segmenting head hair samples into monthly 1 cm sections, a month-by-month profile of drug use can be attained. Analysis of small segments can help establish a positive hair test in a narrow timeframe, but unlike saliva and urine tests, hair strand analysis cannot show recent drug history, because it can take between 7–10 days for the hair containing the drug to grow above the scalp.

Similar to hair sample testing, nail testing can give an overview of usage of up to 12 months. Cannabis consumed within the previous 12 months will show up in the keratin fibres of the nail. Fingernails or toenails can be used for this test, but not a mixture. Approximately 20 mg of nail is required for the test, and the sample needs to be taken from as close to the nail bed as possible.

Enquire about cannabis drug testing in Cardiff

For information on cannabis drug testing in Cardiff or any of AlphaBiolabs’ drug testing solutions, including our home drug testing kit, please call 0333 600 1300 or email us at info@alphabiolabs.com