06-09-2008: WGNTV
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Hair Drug Testing
By: Emmy Award Winning Journalist Dina Bair
| Medical Watch
WGNTV |
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Hair Drug TestingMonday, June 9
In tonight's Medical Watch -- combing through the growing drug problem in Illinois with a new weapon.
One in five teens report abuse of prescription medications ... nearly 50% say they've used illegal drugs. For adults the statistics show a rise as well. Now a way to test for drug use ... at home with a single hair!
Leigh, tested brother: "He just had behavior that was kind of off the wall. He would do and say things that you would be like, did that really happen?"
That wasn't the only question in Leigh's mind ... She wondered was the bizarre behavior the result of drug use.
Leigh: "I just kept saying he's got the classic symptoms of an addict. He's lying to people all the time."
So Leigh decided to get proof ... to find out if her brother really was lying.
Leigh: "A lot of my family members didn't want to believe it.
Leigh ordered a test kit called Hair Confirm ... unlike a urine test which documents drug use within a few days ... analyzing hair can comb through months ... even years.
Zeynep Ilgaz, Confirm Biosciences: "Once it's in the hair it doesn't go away. It stays in the hair."
Drugs cannot get into the hair just by being exposed to drug users or second hand smoke. It has to be consumed. When a drug is ingested into the system it is broken down but not eliminated. Within seven days it grows out through the hair.
Zeynep Ilgaz: "We actually analyze the molecules that are in the hair shaft."
Dina Bair: "Leigh actually cut her family member's hair. But you can do something as simple as take a few strands off a comb. Place it in this foil pouch then send it off in this pre-addressed postage paid envelope. Keep the code number inside the kit ... for anonymous results in just days.
By logging onto the Hair Confirm website, users can plug in their code and immediately see whether their suspicions were correct. Husbands, wives, siblings and parents have purchased the product.
Zeynep Ilgaz: "We had an individual who tested his baby ... seven month old baby tested positive on cocaine. Turns out it came from the breast milk from the mother."
Leigh: "You can't deny it anymore. It's there in black and white."
Not just the type of drug used but how much and how often. In Leigh's case her brother tested positive for cocaine.
Leigh: "My brother was obviously high ... he was over 10,000, he was 46,000.
While looking at the results wasn't easy ... acting on them was even more difficult.
"He was angry. He said we violated my rights."
That is a question the legal community is grappling with now as technology speeds beyond legal precedent. One thing is certain, the test results will not hold up in court. The question is whether an addict would sue for privacy infringement.
Jane McCahill, Healthcare Lawyer, Bell, Boyd & Lloyd: "When we talk about the regulation of privacy we think about that as a protection of intrusion by the government or by a third party and the law is really not set up to govern privacy within a family."
Whether the law supports family testing doesn't matter according to medical ethicist and pediatrician Dr. Erin Flanagan-Klygis who says secret testing doesn't solve the problem. Starting a dialogue and building trust is better.
Dr. Erin Flanagan-Klygis, Rush University Medical Center, Pediatrician and Medical Ethics Board Member: "We don't want to undermine that trust ... we want the individual to be willing to come in and get the help they need."
But Leigh's family says they tried to confront the problem ... all they got were denials.
Leigh: "Any addict is really good at putting it back on you."
So she says she did what she had to do because without the test ...
Leigh: "It just would have went on and he would have ended up killing himself."
Dina: I am happy to report ... Leigh's brother went into rehab. He now offers his own hair sample for testing and has been clean since January. Some people claim they have found shampoos and gels to fool the test but the makers claim that's not possible since they analyze the molecules inside the hair not on the surface. The kits cost about $65 and can be purchased online at various sites including CVS.
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Back to HairConfirm on TV
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» Hair Drug Testing Cut Off Levels
» Drug Testing Comparison Chart
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NHSDA: Youth Substance Abuse
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SAMHSA: Alcohol & Drug Info
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NHSDA: Youth’s Choice of Consultant
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CASA: Malignant Neglect
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NHSDA: Substance Abuse & Suicide
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Parents - The Anti-Drug Web Site
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