Testing for Drugs: Bathrooms or Barbershops?

Abstract

In an attempt to establish drug free work environments, an increasing number of public and private organizations are using some form of drug test. The most common method is urinalysis. However, in recent years, the chemical analysis of hair samples has emerged as an alternative. Hair analysis is more effective than urinalysis in identifying long-term drug use, and is less intrusive than the testing of bodily fluids. But there are disadvantages associated with hair testing: it is expensive, and cannot detect immediate impairment from drug use or recent drug use. Nor do researchers know whether environmental exposure to drugs will affect hair analysis tests. Only five percent of Fortune 500 companies and less than one percent of state governments currently allow the use of hair analysis to screen for drugs.