Critical Issues in Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse Testing, Second Edition, addresses the general principles and technological advances for measuring drugs and alcohol, along with the pitfalls of drugs of abuse testing. Many designer drugs, for example, are not routinely tested in drugs of abuse panels and may go undetected in a drug test. This updated edition is a must-have for clinical pathologists, toxicologists, clinicians, and medical review officers and regulators, bridging the gap between technical and clinical information. Topics of note include the monitoring of pain management drugs, bath salts, spices (synthetic marijuana), designer drugs and date rape drugs, and more. Serves as a ready resource of information for alcohol and drug testing Ideal resource for making decisions related to the monitoring and interpretation of results Includes concise content for clinical laboratory scientists, toxicologists and clinicians

This comprehensive text provides clear explanations of the effects of drugs on human performance and the need for workplace drug testing. It provides essential information on the regulatory and legal frameworks around the world, how to set policies and coverage of all aspects of drug analysis and the associated interpretation of results.Contents include:* epidemiology of drug use in the working population* the evidence base and guidelines for workplace drug testing* legal, regulatory aspects and policies for drugs and alcohol* urine and alternative sample collection process* analytical techniques and specimen adulteration.Case studies of successful programmes are also included to illustrate the principles discussed.Written by internationally acknowledged experts this informative book will be essential reading for anyone interested in workplace drug testing or setting up such a system including clinical and forensic toxicologists, occupational health physicians, nurses, human resources, drug counselling and treatment providers, analytical chemists and lawyers.Alain Verstraete is Professor at the Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium and Department Head of the Toxicology Laboratory of the Laboratory of Clinical Biology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.

Written in a handbook style with specific methods and tips on eliminating false positive and false negative results, this book is a practical guide to the detailed mechanisms of such occurrences.

A comprehensive review of the science of drug testing in all its aspects, placing emphasis on technologies that use body fluids other than urine for determining the presence of drugs of abuse. The authors discuss the various body fluid specimens suitable for testing for illicit drugs-particularly saliva, sweat, and hair-describe the structural and manufacturing aspects of on-site testing devices based on lateral flow immunoassay, and detail the pitfalls of using these specimens. They also discuss in detail the problem of sample adulteration and its detection. Since oral fluid has the best potential of succeeding urine as the next matrix of choice for drug detection, four popular saliva testing devices are examined: Intercept®, the Drager Drug Test®, Oratect®, and Drugwipe. Political, social, and legal issues are also considered in articles on privacy, the use of drug testing in courts, and the problem of sample adulteration.