Home Drug Testing Kit

Choosing a home drug testing kit

If you are trying to choose a home drug testing kit, be prepared to encounter a dizzying array of products and services available online, over the phone, and via mail order. With so much out there, it's difficult knowing which one to choose.

When choosing a home drug testing kit, narrow down and focus on the drugs you plan to test for, as different tests will identify different drugs. For example; one test may only detect stimulants, while another will cover a much broader range. Prices usually reflect how many drugs you choose to test for - multi-tests can be a bit pricier.

When choosing a home drug testing kit, there are two ways to obtain the results. You may use a complete do-it-yourself test, and have the results in 3-5 minutes, or you can send the sample to a laboratory and have results within three to five days. Please take heed, these 'instant tests' can sometimes be unreliable, yielding 'false positives' and 'false negatives.' However, when compared to lab tests, they are relatively inexpensive and usually quite easy to use.

There are six main approaches to the home drug testing kit:

Self-contained urine analysis ; these plastic cups have a built-in testing device - similar to a litmus strip - that records the presence of drugs in a urine sample.
Oral fluids test ; simply swab the inside of the test subject's mouth then insert the swab into a hand-held testing device that 'reads' the saliva and detects the presence of drugs.

It is also possible to use oral fluids to test for alcohol - these testers work like a thermometer that is then inserted into its own small digital reader.

Dip stick or test sticks . These paper sticks are similar to litmus strips in that they are dipped into a urine sample and the resulting color change corresponds to a certain classification of drug.
Pipettes or cassette s. These involve using a small plastic pipette to drip urine onto a testing 'cassette.' Color changes correspond to the presence of drugs.
Hair sample test s. These tests require a small sample of hair to be snipped from the subject's head and then sent to a laboratory for analysis.
Tampering detection kits. These test strips pick up common substances used to skew test results such as bleach and vinegar, and commercial products such as Klean, Urinaid and Instant Clear.

NZ Drug Testing Advice