ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on critical issues pertaining to hair analysis for workplace drug testing programs. Hair testing in the workplace for drugs of abuse (cocaine, opiates, methamphetamine, marijuana, and PCP) has many safeguards and advantages over other forms of drug testing. Because of the wide window of detection and other evasion-resistant features, it is not surprising that hair testing has been shown to detect between 7 to 16 times as many drug users in preemployment drug testing. Using the procedures and criteria described in the present report, the authors have operated a safe and effective workplace drug testing program in which over 1.5 million individuals have been tested to date. The safety of and confidence in the program is greatly enhanced by a unique feature of hair analysis, that is, the ability to collect a second hair specimen to confirm the validity of results obtained with the first collected specimen.
