Importance of Detecting Drugs in The Company
For prevention to be effective, it is important to raise awareness about the disability caused by drugs, which is why it is essential to both educate and have the commitment of company directors. Having an education is a basis on which to begin to change the culture.
According to Carolina Aguirre, it is also necessary to use appropriate models “since it is proven that prevention models based on information are obsolete; “A continuous strategy is necessary that integrates both the organization and the individual since an isolated action is of no use.” Complementing the above, the Senda executive affirms that a “third element is the family environment; This triad can indeed be an important part of a long-term preventive strategy.
Planning: Prevention cannot be limited to testing; it is necessary to have a program. Clearly, talks and specific activities are not; “We need long-term plans and align the entire organization, starting with general management and including the joint committees and unions through efficient communication and the support of the company’s resources or third parties, to those who are having difficulties.”.
How a drug test works
Drug tests help detect narcotic substances within a person’s body, but each type of test is capable of detecting these substances differently.
Choosing one type or another test will depend on our needs. Drug tests generally detect one or more substances, so we must first know which drugs we want to detect and for what period they have been consumed.
Samples of urine, blood, breath, saliva, sweat or hair can be analyzed. Urine analysis is the most used because it is non-invasive, rapid, and capable of detecting many drugs. It can detect drugs taken within the last four days, sometimes longer, depending on the drug. Blood tests are not usually done because they are invasive tests and can only detect the presence of drugs up to a few hours after consumption. Hair analysis is not as easily available, but it can detect certain medications if they were consumed within the previous 100 days. Health professionals can directly observe the collection of the sample and seal it to be sure that it has not been tampered with.
Drug tests are not always accurate. Urinalysis, the most commonly used test, gives incomplete and sometimes even incorrect results. Sometimes, tests do not detect a drug that the person is actually taking (a false negative result). This can happen if the following occurs:
- The test is not designed or has limited sensitivity to detect a specific drug or drug component.
- The urine is very dilute, so the amount of drug in the urine is less than the test can detect.
- The person presents a sample from another person or adds a substance to the urine to alter the sample.
On the other hand, tests sometimes give positive results when the person is not using drugs (false positive result). For example, poppy seeds can produce false positive results for opiates (heroin is a derivative of poppy plants).