Drug Screen Plus

Drug Screen Plus service

When choosing our Drug Screen Plus service, you can be assured that we will identify any additional drugs present in the sample that were not otherwise suspected or tested for.

Drug Screen Plus is a free of charge, additional sample screening service brought to you by AlphaBiolabs that you can opt in to when you complete the paperwork to instruct the test. Fees are applicable when other drugs are detected that require confirmatory testing at our laboratory. When this occurs, you will be automatically notified within your toxicology report, along with all the additional findings.

AlphaBiolabs is able to analyse hair samples for:

• Amphetamine
• Methamphetamine
• MDMA
• Benzodiazepines
• Cannabis
• Cocaine
• Methadone
• Opiates
• Zolpidem
• Ketamine
• Mephedrone
• PCP
• Buprenorphine

Our Drug Screen Plus service can be used when testing hair samples for any combination of the drugs listed above. Results take up to 3 days.

Types of hair drug tests

There are two types of hair drug tests available: overview or segmented analysis. As head hair grows, at an average rate of 1 cm every four weeks, drug use can be established over a defined period depending on the length of hair selected. An overview analysis is beneficial to ascertain a general indication of drug use. This could range from 3 cm to identify drug use within that 3-month time period, up to 6 (2 x 3) or even 12 (4 x 3) months, depending on the length of hair available. Differing results from the 3-month overviews can help highlight patterns in drug use.

If a more detailed analysis is needed, a segmented sample would be the preferred option. By segmenting head hair samples into monthly 1 cm sections, a month-by-month profile of drug use can be attained to provide a detailed historical profile of an individual’s drug exposure.

How is a sample taken?

Around 200 individual strands of hair need to be collected from a discreet area. Hair samples are usually taken from a person’s head; however, if head hair is not available alternative collection sites could be considered including underarm, chest, leg and beard hair.

For more information about hair drug testing

For expert advice on hair testing and other drug testing solutions, please call our Customer Services team on 0333 600 1300 or email us at info@alphabiolabs.com.

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