Date Rape Drugs – New Process to Identify if You’ve been Drugged

The Kansas City Star ran a front page article in their Sunday, August 22nd Edition on the dangers of the date rape drug GHB. Date rape drugs are a problem that continues to grow.

The drug stays in the system for such a short time that in the past you had to get tested within as few as 10 hours to identify whether you had been drugged.

Now there is a way to identify if the drug has been used- even if the date in question was 90 days ago.  This is done through a hair test to determine if and when the drug was administered.  If you think you’ve been drugged, don’t hesitate to contact our lab. We simply take a sample of hair from the back of the neck and send it out for testing.  Results are available in 10 business days.

Drug Testing – What you need to know

Drug screening are becoming a more popular choice for employers concerned about users – particularly those in positions where they may have significant liability if an accident were to occur.  Most employers still use a urine test to detect drug usage.  Urine tests are quick, inexpensive and accurate.  The standard test administered is called a 5 Panel Drug Test.  Drugs included in that panel are Amphetamines, Opiates, Cocaine metabolite, Phencyclidine (PCP), and THC Metabolite (Cannabis).

Due to the relatively short time many of these substances are in the body, employers are beginning to consider hair testing for these drugs.  Hair testing is much more expensive to administer, but it provides the employer with a much better overview of drug use by potential employees.

If you’re concerned about drug testing, here’s some information you might want to know about detection times for  the most commonly abused substances:

Substance	Urine	Blood	Hair
Alcohol	10 – 12 hours	12 hours	Up to 120 days or more
Amphetamines	1 – 2 days	12 hours	Up to 90 days
Methamphetamines	2 – 4 days	24 hours	Up to 90 days
Barbiturates	2 – 3 days	1 – 2 days	Up to 90 days
Cannabis (light use)	2 – 7 days	12 days	Up to 120 days
Cannabis (prolonged use)	1 – 2 months	12 days	Up to 120 days
Cocaine	2 – 4 days	24 hours	Up to 90 days
Codeine	1 day	12 hours	Up to 90 days
Continine	2 – 4 days	2 – 4 days	Up to 90 days
GHB, Rohypnal, Ketamine	10 -24 hours	10 – 48 hours	Up to 90 days
Heroin	2 days	6 hours	Up to 90 days
LSD	2 – 24 hours	0 – 3 hours	Up to 3 days
Methadone	3 days	24 hours	Up to 30 days
Morphine	2 days	6 hours	Up to 90 days
Nicotine	2 – 4 days	2 – 4 days	Up to 90 days
Phencyclidine (PCP)	3 – 7+ days	1 – 3 days	Up to 90 days

 

At MedExpress Labs, we provide all of these tests – urine, blood or hair.  There is no doctor’s order required to get tested and results are available in 10 minutes (quick urine test), 24 hours (urine and blood tests performed by a certified lab) or 3 – 10 days for hair testing.