ABSTRACT
Testing for drug use by employees and applicants for employment is a common practice in the U.S., where corporations often model their drug programs after the federal Drug Free Workplace programs. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (DHHS/SAMHSA) published its Proposed Revisions to Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs,
which included the alternative matrices hair, oral fluid, and sweat in addition to urine. Of these matrices, hair offers features that contrast sharply with the others. Some of the unique features of hair as a matrix include its wide window of detection; its ease and noninvasiveness of collection;
ease of storage due to its dry state, which provides stability of the analytes at ambient temperatures; and the presence of multiple metabolites for some drugs to clarify interpretation of results. The wider window of detection of hair analysis provides increased detection of drug use relative to urine and oral fluid testing and an optimum matrix for detecting heroin, phencyclidine (PCP), and ecstasy use. With hair analysis, the ingestion of poppy seeds, codeine, or nasal inhalants does not confound interpretation of results.
