Well 2010 is finally here and a new decade begins.  What does that mean for the drug testing industry?  The drug testing industry is a field that was cited recently as being worth $1.5 billion – what new direction do you think the field will take to better serve employers, parents, and worried relations?

We think the direction is going to be home drug testing, and in particular the saliva drug test – and here are 3 reasons why:

1.  Great usability for any consumer.  A saliva drug test is extremely easy to use.  It does not have the “ew” factor that some may find in urine drug testing and it is really easy to administer.  Cheating the test is difficult, as you can collect the sample with the person.  So when you purchase a home drug test that uses saliva as its sample you can be confident you’re not throwing money away – important to home consumers and small businesses (especially in this economy!) alike.

2.  Ideal detection time.  Again, as a business, especially a business in a recession, you may be wondering if it is worthwhile to bring in a laboratory to drug test your employees.  Why not cut to the chase and just test yourself, using the one drug test that can tell you if somebody is actually high?  Because although there are many aspects of drug abuse that can affect behavior, in many industries the fact that someone is high can be the most urgent and dangerous aspect, and certainly the most important one to test for.  A saliva drug test has the capacity to tell you if someone is on methamphetamine 5-10 minutes after they take it.  The same goes for cocaine.  Marijuana will show up generally an hour after consumption which is still a short enough delay that you can tell if someone is high or if their work has been/will be affected.

3.  Affordability.  Again, no need for a lab – you can buy these and keep them around, and get the results instantly, all for under $15.00 a test (and that is the high price range for the technology).  Since the saliva drug tests have approximately 97% accuracy, they are a great way to ensure that the workplace is safe without breaking the budget.

These are only the top 3 reasons why home drug testing, and particularly saliva drug testing, is going to expand this coming year.  We will be expanding this series throughout the month.  If you want to drug test but haven’t thought you could afford it, or if you want to get rid of your laboratory service but don’t know what to replace it with, take a look at our article and the links on the side!