Urine drug testing is the most commonly used and federally mandated method of drug testing. This is used both as on-site tests and for laboratory analysis. It is said to be one of the most economical testing method with lower maintenance cost, yet often said to be with lower effectiveness.

Pros and Cons of Urine Drug testing

As in the case of all other drug-testing methods, Urine testing also has some benefits and drawbacks. It is also one of the most controversial methods. Inexpensiveness, easy to perform, and providing reliable results are some of the benefits of this type of tests. High levels of invasiveness and high potential of adulteration are some drawbacks. The following are some benefits and drawbacks of this method.

Benefits

Urinalysis is one of the economical methods available to test people for drug abuse. Its least expensiveness made it popular with various organizations. It can detect the abuse of more than five to twelve drugs at a time. The drugs, which can be detected using urinalysis, include cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, morphine, benzodiazepines, alcohol, hydromorphone, tetrahydrocannabinol, propoxyphene, methadone, codeine, and barbiturates.

Drawbacks

The specimen collection process is the controversy and it is the major drawbacks of this test. Collecting specimen in urinalysis is highly invasive. Since, it is not feasible to collect specimen under reliable supervision, there is high possibility of specimen tampering. Other tampering methods include drinking excess water and using some adulterants like chlorine bleach, liquid drain cleaner, white vinegar, glutaraldehyde, etc.

there are many commercial products available in the market, which have potential to flush illicit substance out of the body and thus tamper the drug tests easily. Urinalysis cannot be used to detect immediate drug abuse. It requires some time for the drug to be ingested into the body.

This type of testing is the affordable and suitable method for random checking at home and organizations and is easy to execute. Though there are some cons in urinalysis, it is still the classic drug abuse checking method.