DEVELOPING ADVANCED TESTING
As the global drug situation becomes more complicated, drug test kits are constantly being developed.
They are designed to detect specific by-products that remain in an abuser’s body after taking illicit drugs.
Currently, the test kits in the market are considered advanced and versatile. Just a small sample from an abuser’s urine, saliva, or hair is enough to get a result.
They can also detect tampering by measuring acidity, temperature, and other characteristics of the sample.
For instance, urine tests are able to detect at least 200 different individual and classes of drugs.
However, these are still not enough, according to Alcotech, a provider of drug testing products and services.
“Novel synthetic drugs are very, very new. So no test kits have been produced to specifically detect those,” said Mr Ben Chan, a specialist at Alcotech.
A negative result can appear when existing test kits are used to detect abuse of novel synthetic drugs.
When a new synthetic drug emerges, developing a test kit for it can take two years, said Mr Chan.
“Novel synthetic drugs are still being produced, and this will be a catch up,” he added.
“There will never be a day that you can preemptively detect things that are not invented yet or just recently invented.”
Abuse of synthetic drugs can lead to cardiovascular problems and seizures. It could also lead to a severe toxic reaction leading to death.
Meanwhile, some halfway houses are relying on former drug abusers to look out for signs of substance misuse.
“People coming into the centre, you can see they are high, (and) you will know,” said Mr Samuel Wong, programme manager at HCSA Highpoint halfway house and a former drug abuser.
“You can actually assess a person (to see if) this guy’s eyes are very red, (he) walks with a stagger, slurs his speech and cannot put sentences together, (his) thoughts are a bit haywire, and (he) cannot sit down.”
