Hair Strand Drug Testing

[fraser196]

Hi all, I’ve been supporting my partner through his battle for access. He hasn’t seen his children in 2 years they are 8 & 4, the mother has accused DV and alcoholism. Section 7 has been done and they suggested a hair strand test, no evidence of DV and this wasn’t even brought up by the judges at the last dispute hearing. My partner will start contact centre contact almost immediately and then there is another hearing in December following the HST. The court have requested a test to show 6 months via the GP. Although he wouldn’t drink alcohol when the children were in his care we are now a little
Concerned after reading various things. They’re testing for chronic/excessive alcohol use. What does this mean? We’ve had a couple of 2 week all inclusive holidays in that time period and birthday/wedding celebrations. Usually I’d estimate 2 drinking days a week this could be a few whiskeys and the sharing of a red wine or sometimes a few ales. What units do they go off does anyone know? As I read excessive drinking to be 7.5 units a day or 52.5 a week which he’d be no where near. Thanks in advance.

6 months is a lot, usually it's 3months. His hair would need to be 6cm long. It's usually done by a private company. In the courts ideal world, they want zero and if you get asked for a test, it's good practice to say if it'll come back positive for alcohol and explain the celebrations etc. They can segment by month, too as opposed to working out an average. It doesn't actually take much to tip the balance when you look at the science of it. I had it worked out at one point, something like 8g of alcohol in 1 unit. So you add the units, times by 8g/6months/100 =alcohol in mg. Google the cutoff values but I'm fairly certain it's about 30mg. I'd abstain now, just incase you don't get a good result, atleast you can say it's not indicative of your drinking and do another. I think anything above 20mg is at risk drinker, you don't want that either. If memory serves, I calculated my vacation at around 13mg, test came back much lower. I also scored high, but my first test wasn't indicative of my normal alcohol intake, ended up doing 3 tests before they were satisfied, so it really pays to abstain, and takes away the worry of results. Best of luck .

 

[Merlin836]

If drug use is alleged or admittedly used it is important within the Family Court to ensure that the right drug test is ordered. Only you will know which one is right for you.

When it comes to drugs, the Courts will usually order a hair strand test for three or six months. A three month test needs 3cm of hair growth and a 6 month sample needs 6cm so it very much depends on how much hair is available to test.

There are two different types of test available, one is an overview test and the other is a segmented test.

The overview test is a 3cm sample giving an overview result for the three month period. The results from this will simply be positive or negative with an overall reading.

The segmented test is different. A 3cm sample will be cut up into 3 x 1 month samples and each 1cm sample tested separately. If the sample covers say Jan to March and there has been 'some' drug use then the segmented test will pinpoint the month. It will also show an increase/decrease in drug use over time. So, for example, the test results could show positive for January and negative for February and March with each month giving its own reading. This method can prove one off/occasional use rather than addiction or regular use.

It is really important to get the Court to give directions on which test you have. You cannot decide yourself afterwards, you have to do the specific test that has been ordered.

If you haven't used any drugs at all it won't matter which test is ordered as both will give the desired negative result. Segmented tests are more expensive though.

If you have occasionally used a substance within the last three months then it is really important that you ask the Court to order a segmented test to prove you are not substance dependent.

If you are represented then a Barrister would ensure the right test is ordered but if you are self repping and don't know the difference then you could end up with the wrong test which could impact massively on your case.

Alphabiolabs is a Court approved testing company and the differences in testing methods are on their website. Here is the link.

Overview vs. Segmented (Month-by-Month) Hair Analysis - What is a Segmented Drug Test? | AlphaBiolabs UK

There are two types of hair drug tests available: overview or segmented (month-by-month) analysis. Read more about Overview vs. Segmented Hair Analysis...

www.alphabiolabs.co.uk

This is great advice as I'm trying to estimate how many hearings I may end up with so might have to self rep on a couple due to funds .
I'm not yet sure if they'll require a drugs test , hopefully they won't as it was a one off thing in 2020 but my ex is making sure she highlights everything (including falling asleep on the bus after a night ) but this is good to know should it be ordered .

 

[NewcastleBrownAle]

Hi all, I’ve been supporting my partner through his battle for access. He hasn’t seen his children in 2 years they are 8 & 4, the mother has accused DV and alcoholism. Section 7 has been done and they suggested a hair strand test, no evidence of DV and this wasn’t even brought up by the judges at the last dispute hearing. My partner will start contact centre contact almost immediately and then there is another hearing in December following the HST. The court have requested a test to show 6 months via the GP. Although he wouldn’t drink alcohol when the children were in his care we are now a little
Concerned after reading various things. They’re testing for chronic/excessive alcohol use. What does this mean? We’ve had a couple of 2 week all inclusive holidays in that time period and birthday/wedding celebrations. Usually I’d estimate 2 drinking days a week this could be a few whiskeys and the sharing of a red wine or sometimes a few ales. What units do they go off does anyone know? As I read excessive drinking to be 7.5 units a day or 52.5 a week which he’d be no where near. Thanks in advance.

As I lecture in medicine, allow me to give you an answer for this one. The best way forward is to simply NOT drink. The much quoted 7.5 units a day is based on an average healthy 21 year old male with no medical conditions and a healthy lifestyle and liver, and even then it's just an "average". Essentially the liver detoxifies alcohol in a particular way. For a simple small drink , the liver can clear this in a linear fashion, but with any more , it has to use other processes and these cause byproducts. These byproducts of elimination travel in the blood stream and "stain hair and nails" at that point in time, like a scar, as the hair grows, the scar is seen higher up the hairs strand, until the point it is cut or falls out or is outside of the test range. Which is why segmenting the hair gives a rough idea of when it occurred, and I mean.. rough, it can be anything between 3 and 20 days, before this "scar" occurs.

The problem is the word "average", some people can detoxify large amounts well, others cannot. This is not just health or age, it is genetic.
The other problem is that after a few drinks, we suffer with "oh what the hell" syndrome and sink the bottle and open another.....

The simple, worry free , 100% foolproof tactic is to simply not drink at all. By the time your court case comes round, you hair will be clean and you'll pass the test, feel better, have more money, have lower blood pressure and be able to concentrate better on the task of getting to see your children.

Trust me, don't try and play the numbers game, just don't drink at all.

For those that want some light bedtime reading, alcohol metabolism ( the process of getting rid of it) is quite fascinating. You can read more here

ALCOHOL METABOLISM

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov