The Truth About Drug Testing

Not all drug tests are created equal and many manufacturers' specifications are inaccurate and fanciful.

Many or most suppliers of drug test equipment in Australia claim to have their product "complies with" or "in accordance with" Australian Standards, however this is far from the truth and many Australian suppliers do not consider they are putting the lives of many employees and employers at risk by selling a product they know does not work or far removed from the standard because there is no requirement to prove otherwise.

So ask for a NATA approved "Certificate of Verification" or at the very least a lab report to be sure the device actually works and you are confident of the accuracy, which could very well cost your company considerable angst and litigation.

In Saliva testing it is important to check the test for Cannabis as many devices do not detect the THC so you must check that Δ9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC Parent) is the test medium.

In some cases the cut off (the level of ng/ml of substance in the system) may be too sensitive and create an excess of false positive with the likes of codeine etc. or so poor with Cannabis they may not detect anything.

In Australia there is little regulation and the TGA and Consumer Groups have no input so it is rife with all sorts of claims without reprocussion - So consumer be aware.

AS Target Concentration Cut Ofs OPI 50ng/mL AMP Type 50ng/mL THC* 25ng/mL COC 50ng/ml Supply Pos/neg controls CHAIN OF CUSTODY Sample & referee NATA AS4760
TOXSURE II ORAL 50ng/mL 50ng/mL 25ng/mL 50ng/mL yes yes yes
DRUG CHECK 40ng/mL 50ng/mL 50ng/mL 20ng/mL No ? No
COZART RAPI SCAN 30ng/mL 50 N/A 30ng/mL No ? No
FIRST SIGN Saliva test 40ng/mL 50ng/mL 75ng/mL 20ng/mL No No No
ORATECTXP 10ng/mL 25ng/mL ALL 40ng/mL 20ng/mL No Yes No
ORALINE 40ng/mL 50ng/mL MET only 25ng/mL 40ng/mL No No No
DRUGWIPE Saliva Test 20ng/mL 100ng/mL AMP 200ng/mL 30ng/mL 50ng/mL No No and no sample for lab No
ORALAB Saliva Test 40ng/mL 50ng/mL 100ng/mL 20ng/mL No Yes No
PROSCREEN Saliva Test 40ng/mL 50ng/mL 100ng/mL 20ng/mL No Yes No
SMARTCARD
ACON CASSETTE		 10ng/mL 25ng/mL 100ng/mL 20ng/mL No Yes No
40ng/mL 50ng/mL No 20ng/mL No ? No
SYNTRON Saliva Test 30ng/mL 50ng/mL No 20ng/mL No ? No
iSREEN OFD Saliva Test 40ng/mL 50ng/mL No 20ng/mL No Yes No
Required to meet AS Required to meet AS

* THC = Parent Drug delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol required to detect Cannabis.
Note: Where N/A applies the manufacturer cannot guarantee a specific cut-off.

Australian Standard® Procedures for specimen collection and the detection and quantitation of drugs in oral fluid. AS4760-2006:
SECTION 1. SCOPE AND GENERAL

1.5 paragraph 2:

“For initial testing, the nominated concentrations shall not be less than the confirmatory target concentrations listed in Section 5.” AND “For this purpose the use of nominated concentrations higher than the listed target concentrations is not recommended, unless this can be justified to meet the intended purpose.” (laboratory data evidence is the requirement)

SECTION 3:

3.2 “ (D) The collecting agency shall ensure that appropriate quality control procedures are implemented to monitor performance.

Each day, immediately prior to testing of the specimens, a minimum of one positive and one negative quality control shall be run for each lot number used. Further at least quality control for each 25 specimens shall be run.”

The Matrix is a comparison of 13 different saliva testing devices currently on the market. As you can see the Toxsure II is the only device that meets the above requirements for Australian Standards. These standards must be met for legal defence in the case of a donor challenging the results in a court of law.