Of all the drug tesing methods such as a blood test, urine test, etc., a mouth swab drug test is a very effective, non-intrusive, and quick option. It is used often by many places such as employment firms, and law enforcement agencies, to weed out drug users. The following article tells about the process, uses, advantages, and disadvantages of this procedure.
Mouth swab drug tests are widely used in various parts of the world. The majority among the users are employers and parents. Employers use the test at the time of recruitment of new employees, as well as, to keep a check on their current workers. Parents make use of this to monitor the habits of their children.
Test Procedure
Saliva is a major part of the oral fluids produced by a human. A mouth swab drug test uses this to get the results. This is why, it is also known as a saliva drug test. When you undergo this procedure, you will be given a swab. It has a brush and many bristles on it. You will be asked to place it in your mouth between the gums. You will have to keep it there for a couple of minutes. When it is completely wet, you will be asked to take it out. The person conducting the test will put the wet swab into a drug testing kit. The kit will show a positive result if you have taken drugs in the past three to four days.
Many times, the saliva may be obtained by asking you to spit on the swab or directly on a drug testing kit. Hence, it is also called a spit test. The drugs detected by this process are cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine, amphetamines, cannabinoids, etc. When the kit absorbs the saliva, a colored control line appears. One or more lines indicates a certain type of drug is present. If it’s a multiple drug array, each one is represented by a different color. If you were looking for information on how long does it take to pass, then you should know that the entire procedure takes only a couple of minutes, from sample collection to getting the result. Therefore, you would take about 10-30 minutes, at the maximum, to pass the test.
Pros and Cons
There are many advantages of a mouth swab drug test. The sample can be collected on the spot. It does not involve any modesty issues which is obvious in an urine test. Sample collection under supervision prevents contamination of the sample by switching, tampering, or dilution. It gives a fast and accurate result, which is easy to read.
This process has certain disadvantages as well. It does not tell a long history of drug use. It can only give information of recent usage. Typically the detection period is only 24-48 hours. It may detect a wide range of drug types, but it misses some very commonly used substances such as alcohol or inhalants. Also, such a test does not allow many tests to be performed on the same sample. Sometimes this test may also confuse certain legal medications as drugs. One should get details of all such medicines to circumvent this problem.
A major disadvantage is that users have now found ways to easily fool the test and get false results, very easily. One such method is to smoke cigarettes before the process. It is possible to mask usage of prohibited substances this way, which is why smoking is strictly prohibited before such tests and if caught, it can have heavy consequences.
The best way to pass such a test, is to stay away from any kind of prohibited drug. This way you will never get caught by the tester. Preventing yourself from usage will also prevent you from many unnecessary physical and mental issues. Therefore, always lead a drug free, respectable, and honorable life.
Disclaimer: This article is for informative purposes only and does not in any way attempt to replace the advice offered by an expert on the subject.
