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Hair sample drug testing is a great way to detect whether or not a person has used drugs in the past 90 days. Whether in an office format or in the home, hair drug testing serves the purpose of answering questions about an individual’s drug use history.
How Does Hair Follicle Drug Testing Work?
Hair drug testing is actually quite simple and merely requires a sample of hair in order to be completed. Parents who are worried about their teen’s use of drugs can collect a strand of hair from their pillow. Employers can request a sample from their employees. Once a hair sample has been collected, it is sealed in an envelope and sent to a participating laboratory for completion. Hair testing is fast and more accurate than other drug test forms.
For instance, hair sample drug testing can detect drug use for up to 90 days after use. The detection window is much larger in hair drug testing (compare it to few days for urine and saliva based drug testing) because trace amounts of drug chemicals become trapped inside each hair. A simple lab test can detect these trace chemicals making for either a positive or negative test result. Once the results are recorded, you are sent notification of the results. Some companies even provide a phone service where you call in, enter an account number and retrieve the results in that way.
What Kinds of Drugs Can Hair Drug Testing Detect?
Hair sample drug testing can detect all of the major types of drugs, including marijuana, opiates, methamphetamines, PCP, ecstasy, and cocaine. Hair follicle drug testing can detect the trace amounts of illicit substances trapped in the cortex of the hair for up to 90 days after use.
Employee drug testing programs often incorporate hair follicle drug testing into their plans because of the sheer accuracy of these tests. Even though hair testing is more expensive that a urine drug test kit, for example, they can provide a level of accuracy that is nearly ten times that of other testing methods. Likewise, hair follicle drug testing does not involve the embarrassing collection of samples like that of urine or saliva drug tests. In most cases, a few strands of hair is all that is needed to obtain accurate results.
Parents can also benefit from hair sample drug testing. Hair testing is discrete and confidential. An individual can be tested without their knowledge, making it so parents can know the truth about their teen’s drug use first before making accusations. By using hair drug testing in the home, parents can safeguard their teens against drug abuse, and help them quit the abuse should test results come back positive.
From School Library JournalGrade 7–9—In the (seemingly) not-so-distant future, the divide between the rich and the poor is greater than ever, with the wealthy having private helicopters and mansions, and the poor stuck in endless traffic and living in projects. Standardized tests determine which kids will be allowed to go to college and have a decent life. Ann’s father works for Warren, the slumlord who owns the projects; when he tries to get the residents to rebel, Tony, the building manager, threatens Ann. Warren also owns the company that publishes the tests and has connections in Washington. Lep, a Thai immigrant, is asked to do illegal and dangerous things for Tony in exchange for the test answers. When Lep and Ann discover how much corruption is behind the tests, they decide to take action, thus putting their lives in danger. While the characters are somewhat flat and the writing is often repetitious, the plot is fact paced with short chapters that end in cliff-hangers, allowing the book to be a good read for moderately reluctant readers. Teens will be able to draw comparisons to contemporary society’s shift toward standardized testing and ecological concerns, and are sure to appreciate the spoofs on NCLB. Although the novel wraps up too neatly, it still may be an inspiration for teens wishing to change their political/social environment.—Marie C. Hansen, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From BooklistSeventeen-year-old Ann’s future will be determined by a high-school exit test. If she passes the XCAS, she will graduate from high school, go to college, and be granted opportunities for a better life. If she fails, she will join the masses struggling to survive the city’s squalor. Needless to say, the XCAS is Ann’s primary focus until the day a menacing man on a motorcycle with a strange logo follows her home from school. When a boy at school appears wearing a shirt with that same logo and is too frightened to speak with her, Ann is compelled to find out what or who is behind the logo, and why she is being followed. As she digs deeper, Ann is led right back to the XCAS. Part mystery, part action thriller, part romance, this is also a mild dystopian story with the requisite environmental and political overtones. Although it may lack the necessary depth and literary sophistication to engage older teens, its fast pace and unique blend of genres holds attraction for younger teen readers. Grades 7-10. –Holly Koelling
About the Author For more than thirty years, William Sleator has thrilled readers with his inventive books that blend real science with stories that explore our darkest fears and wishes. His House of Stairs was a groundbreaking book for young adults, and was named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by the Young Adult Library Services Association. Critics call his writing “clever and engrossing . . . and just plain fun” (Booklist) and “gleefully icky” (Publishers Weekly). He divides his time between homes in Boston and Thailand.
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Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
 Standardized Testing Thriller
By V. W. Thompson
William Sleator has come up with another winner. The climate in schools these days is fraught with tension about testing. Even wee kindergartners are now dragged into it. It’s out of control and TEST, a semi-futuristic teen thriller, neatly incorporates the fears and concerns about standardized testing into a story of the high school caste system carried to a logical and chilling elitist extreme. The book is vibrant and fun to read, the characters are real and compelling, and the outcome is satisfying.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
 A bit different from his other books
By Laura
Others See Us by William Sleator was the first scifi book I read, and ever since I’ve been addicted to not only his work but to scifi books in general. I was a little dissapointed in this book though. It does have futuristic aspects to it, but thats about as far as it goes in the scifi department. Overall its a good book, I was just expecting a little more.
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