Swab Drug Test—What you Should Know

Swab drug test are what are used to test some of the most commonly abused drugs. These can include:

• Heroin
• Marijuana
• Cocaine
• Methamphetamines
• Phencyclidine
• Amphetamines

You can get these saliva swab drug test from pharmacies, companies that specialize in the manufacturing of drug testing materials, and online retailers. These tests are normally accurate but sometimes they will not detect the presence of a drug if the person used the drug longer than forty-eight hours before taking the test. Although using a swab drug test is faster than other tests for drugs the detection period can cause some professionals who conduct drug testing to use hair or urine tests. Some employers will send prospective employees to the local hospital or laboratory to have the test done or they will do it during the interview at the employment agency or place where the prospective employee would be working. It is the best test if you want to do a random drug test such as on a football team. Although they claim this is one of the more accurate tests for detecting drugs there are ways to beat it such as smoking before taking the test or refraining from taking any drugs for several days before testing.

Home swab drug test

• This type is usually designed to detect one certain drug like marijuana
• You can usually get instant result
• Used by parents who want to know if their child is on a specific drug
• If you purchase a home swab drug test check to make sure that it will test for the drug that you want to see if the person is taking

Professional swab drug test

• This type can detect a variety of drugs like heroin, marijuana, and cocaine.
• With this test, it usually has to be sent to a laboratory and can take several days to get the results or it can give the results immediately.
• The people who use this type of swab drug test are employers who require a drug test on prospective employees before hiring, law enforcement officers, parole and probation officers, and ones who are on parole or probation and are required to take a drug test.
• This test is capable of detecting up to five or six different drugs with one test

How they work

Swab drug test usually work in the same way. It consists of a swab that is made of some absorbent material such as cotton. The swab is inserted into the person’s mouth and is left in for a couple of minutes to absorb the saliva and then the results are immediate or it will be sent to a laboratory to be read.