Drug tests

Law enforcement once hoped that the creation of an alcohol test, one that could easily be used in police headquarters, would decrease the incidence of drunk driving. It has had some affect, but many drivers seem intent on trying to “beat the test.” Too many drivers realize that the taking of a urine test increases the time during which the alcohol could disappear from the body system. Those same drivers will no doubt have reason to read carefully the following article about the alcohol test. It provides more information on the factors that can govern the results of a urine test.The results of an alcohol test rely greatly on the time at which that test is given. Alcohol that has been ingested does not remain in the bloodstream forever. Therefore the results of an alcohol test depend on the time between the consumption of the alcohol and the request for a test sample. The timing of that request depends largely on the nature of the sample. It could be a sample of the subjects’ breath, or it could be a sample of the subject’s urine.

Suppose that a driver stopped by a policeman has a choice of either a breath test or a urine test. Suppose too that the driver has requested a urine test. Then the test results would seem to depend on the answer to this question:  How long will alcohol stay in system for urine tests?

The ability of the human system to retain ingested alcohol appears to result from the influence of many different factors. A healthy individual is apt to have a system that will hasten the exit of the alcohol. Size too can be a factor. A smaller person might find it more difficult to deal with the potentially harmful alcohol. A short and fat individual would definitely hold the alcohol for a longer period of time than a short and thin individual.

Tolerance for alcohol can influence the results of an alcohol test. As tolerance for alcohol increases, the body is able to eliminate the alcohol at a faster rate. Some of the influences on an alcohol test center around the exact nature of the alcohol consumption. Has the test subject used alcohol repeatedly? Did the test subject consume a large quantity of alcohol? Did the test subject consume a poor quality of alcohol?

All of the above factors play a role in determining the results of an alcohol test. When the alcohol test is a urine test, then the nature of the test has introduced yet another factor. The results of such a test can vary, depending on the pH of the urine. A subject with a more acidic urine is apt to have a shorter period during which the test can detect the alcohol use.

Announcement of that fact could send many drinkers out in search of pH papers. They would probably want to know whether they had acidic, basic or normal urine. They might want to tamper with the acidity of their urine.  Law enforcement officers are probably not overly concerned about that possibility, because it is difficult to find a store that sells pH papers.

Few heavy drinkers would want to search all over for such papers. Even fewer would be lucky enough to discover that, outside of the science lab, a printing facility is the place where one is most apt to find pH papers.