The Secret to Reduce Specimen Tampering - A Case Study Among Individuals Under Arrest

With the reinstitution of the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program and the research efforts put forth from The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, the purpose to this new case study was to demonstrate the feasibility of oral fluid screening collected on-site anonymously by jail staff. This would be considered a new surveillance method that has previously never been explored among individuals under arrest.

Although ADAM was discontinued in 2014 due to budget limitations, its reinstitution helps provide a major source of information about drug abuse trends nationally because it analyzes an offender population known to be susceptible to drug misuse and that are not often reached at in-patient or health care surveys. The ADAM program formerly tested urine specimens and was the only national survey that used a bioassay (urinalysis) to measure drug use in the offender population.

The article goes on to say that "this method of drug surveillance has practical and scientific benefits...As compared with standard urine testing, oral fluid is a simpler, less intrusive and more dignified method of specimen collection, as well as less susceptible to tampering". Additionally, contrary to popular belief, the participation rate for the study was 79% for individuals approached by correctional deputies which showed only a 3% decrease when compared with when research assistants collected data.

These considerations could provide valuable insight for sheriff departments, corrections, probation and drug court programs to reevaluate and update their drug abuse surveillance methods. With the same ELISA testing technology available at the point-of-care, perhaps adaption of low cost oral fluid devices will be a must-have for criminal justice moving forward. To access the complete study, follow the link below.

Surveillance by oral fluid of drugs subject to misuse among individuals under arrest

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