ask your pharmacist

Is there such thing as an at-home drug testing kit?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves and regulates home drug test kits. While many home drug test kits are sold, the only kit on the market currently with FDA approval for home use is the At Home Drug Test made by Phamatech. The At Home Test tests for five common drugs of abuse. Phamatech also makes At Home single drug tests for cocaine and marijuana. There are many home drug test kits that say they are FDA cleared, but not necessarily FDA approved. Ask your doctor or pharmacist what brand of drug testing kit is best for you or your family.

The body eliminates drugs from the body in several ways. Traces of most drugs, including those listed above, are present in the urine of a person who uses them. This makes it possible to test for drug use by testing the urine. Traces of many over-the-counter and prescription medicines also appear in the urine. These medicines sometimes cause false positives when testing the urine for drugs of abuse. Check the instructions of your test kit for information about interacting drugs.

Home drug test kits can provide only a tentative indication of drug use. Tests that turn out positive or inconclusive require a more accurate test by a licensed medical laboratory to confirm the result. The At Home Drug Testing Kit includes a container and envelope so you can mail a sample back to the manufacturer's laboratory for confirmation of the results.

Sources:
FDA Website: http:www.fda.gov/crdh/index.html. Last accessed 12/14/2006.
Drugtest.com Website: http://www.drugtest.com. Last Accessed 2/8/01.
At Home Drug Test Kit Product Information. Phamatech, Inc., 2006.

This answer prepared 2/8/2001.
This information updated 2/7/2007.

To learn more, please go to:

• Information on drugs of abuse and addiction for the National Institute on Drug Abuse