Urine drug tests can detect many illicit substances, including but not limited to:
- Prescription opiates
- Marijuana (THC)
- Cocaine (COC)
- Amphetamines (AMP)
- Ecstasy (MDMA)
- Synthetic drugs
- Etc.
Some urine test cups are able to detect multiple substances at once, while some are specific for certain drugs. Choosing the right urine test cup for your purposes depends on why you are drug testing and what you are testing for.
There are two basic types of urine drug testing:
Urine Screening Test
This type of test uses immunoassay to find the parent drug and/or metabolite. Immunoassay means the test looks for certain substances and molecules to provide a positive or negative result. Most common drugs screened include cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, marijuana, PCP, methadone, and benzodiazepines (BZO). A urine screening test is fast, but may not be the most reliable result. If a urine screening test is positive, it should always be confirmed using a more specific urine confirmatory test.
Urine Confirmatory Test
This type of urine drug test undergoes gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) testing in a laboratory setting. This test is much more specific than a urine screening test and results are very accurate. This type of urine screening is used in testing for the presence of a specific drug, especially when the initial screening test produces a positive result.