I read the article “Hair
Testing for Drug use gains Traction:
Critics say the practice, which may lead to possible racial bias, has outpaced
the science” on the Scientific American website. This article
written by Leah Samuel, a reporter in Chicago, is about the focus that many
employment offices are taking on the drug tests their employers are
participating in. many use the saliva test but now, the hair test is being used
to get an “Accurate” response
to know if the individual being tested is a user of illegal substances or not.
Have you ever been tested
for drugs as part of the interview process for a job? The tests that are
normally done are very noninvasive, but that may change as more and more
federal employers are begging to use hair follicles for drug tests. The process
of this type of drug test is fairly simple but has some pros and cons to it. The
individual being tested needs about a cotton ball size of hair if it is curly,
or at least 120 strands of hair in order for the test to be properly done.
Right now there is a case
waiting for a ruling at the federal Court of appeals to know if this type of
testing is racially discriminating towards individuals. This topic easily comes
up based on studies they have done in what type of analysis is received from
the types and color of hair. Individuals with lighter hair and lower melanin
have less of a chance of than individuals with darker hair and more melanin in
finding the use of drugs in their system. Studies show that even though an individual
may not have done illegal drugs, they can have it in their system from being
around the substance. The smoke within the area will attach to their hair follicles
and will give them a permanent positive on the tests “Employers are interested in hair testing as a kind of
lifestyle test,” said Barry Sample, a pharmacologist and head of science and
technology for Quest. I can see how this can be considered a lifestyle
test, if an employee tests positive for drugs but has never done them
personally, the employer will know the type of individuals the employee surrounds
his/herself with.
There was a case, where six officers from the Boston Police department
were fired because there were traces of cocaine in their hair. Having a job
like an officer, they are constantly around illegal substances, and there is
that possibility that they tested positive because they were in an enclosed
area where it was being used and it entered into their blood system which makes
the test give a positive for their results. This test can be great in many
ways, but until they find a way to do it to make it more accurate, then it shouldn’t
be used.
It seems like technology keeps improving. I find this to be quite useful for most people. It would be interesting to see if they can come up with a similar diagnostic tool for individuals who experience hair loss or baldness. This does, however, seem like a pretty unique and applicable test. It seems quick, easy, and accurate. I enjoyed that you found this article and described what the actual test is, and how different factors effect the result.
ReplyDeleteTL
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteWith topics like this I wonder how it impacts privacy rights. It would seem to me though if someone knows their employer requires drug testing then the person knows what to expect. In the case of the officers losing their jobs because of trace amounts of drugs in their hair maybe that could be prevented with incident logs. When someone in a job that may put them in contact with something that shows up on a drug test then if a person comes in contact with that substance they fill out a report with all the details so their is a way to verify that the contact was work related. It is too bad that employers can't trust a pee in a cup drug test but from the research I have seen there are ways to "mask" or "beat" those type of tests. Some prescription drugs and over the counter medications from my understanding can create a positive test so individuals subject to drug testing need to be upfront and communicate with their employers so misunderstandings don't occur.
Thanks,
RW
I feel like this is a rather strange topic. People could clean up their acts and then still come back positive. Women with long hair will have their history for tens of years; whereas, men shave their heads or cut their hair short so often. That cotton ball size of hair is a lot of hair as well. That would make me panic to have that much hair removed from my head. Is this something that the court can rule? Can you opt out of this because you don't want to lose that much hair if this were to pass?
ReplyDeleteI noticed you didnt mention if this was optional or not, do you think that maybe in the future this might be optional for people to choose if they want to get this test done or just go with the regular drug testing that most companies do?
ReplyDeleteRuth Guerra
I was doing quite a bit of research but i was not able to see if hair drug testing specifically is optional. Depending on the company many drug test are optional. For some companies it is better to not do drug testing. Sometimes companies only do them when they suspect an employee is abusing drugs or alcohol. Right now there is also some controversy going on with hair drug testing that was mentioned in the article above. This article i found was pretty cool and kind of useful to find an okay answer, check it out if you'd like. AV http://www.employeescreening.com/OurServices/DrugTesting.aspx
DeleteI thought this article was very intriguing, and I really liked the point that it does show how the person lives and the habits of the people around them. I do understand however that there are many variables that could come up that would not be fair to the tester.
ReplyDeleteThis is super cool to me. First off, I didn't realize that you could test positive even if you'd never done the drugs before. That could be an easy loop hole for anybody who does the test, so I guess in that sense it's kind of inaccurate. But I think that its unfair to say that they would still want to conduct the test saying that it's to see what their lifestyle is like; that's not always something that people can choose.
ReplyDeleteAB
This seems like a big step towards law enforcement since the new method doesn't require much of the suspect. a peice of DNA or hair in this case would suffice in court cases and help solve crime. this can potentially help eliminate other processes to drug testing as well.
ReplyDeleteMC
Why are some employers choosing this as opposed to other types of drug tests? Is it really necessary to ask someone to remove a some of their hair in order to test for drug use?
ReplyDeleteTF
This is very interesting. As an employer I can see why there would be a need for through testing, especially if its a high security level position. Testing that is currently available for employees can be manipulated and people can produce false negatives. The hair test seems to be more decisive testing. SRH
ReplyDeleteThe new drug test is said to be more accurate, but seems to be very contradictory stating that it does not detect well in people who are more light haired (blonde) and that the hair follicles pick up effects of our surroundings, such as smoke, in which a person would test positive for being a smoker even though they are not. What would the reason be for changing if it theoretically seems about as accurate as other LESS-invasive drug tests? –JA
ReplyDelete