Our Drugs & Alcohol Enhanced home test kit screens for the following substances:
1. Alcohol – Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) Test
Phosphatidylethanol testing, known as PEth testing, is a highly reliable blood test allowing the detection of chronic excessive alcohol abuse over the previous 3-4 weeks with a sensitivity and accuracy rate of over 99%.
PEth testing is a “direct biomarker” which means that it is only formed after someone has consumed alcohol. It also stays in the blood stream, attaching to the red blood cell membrane. When PEth is detected you can be confident that this is as a result of alcohol having been consumed.
2. Amphetamines
Amphetamines are synthetic stimulants that increase energy levels and alertness. The most common form on the street is Amphetamine sulphate which is typically snorted or swallowed when dissolved in a drink. It can also be taken in pill/tablet form or as a paste known as base.
Regular use of amphetamine often leads to physical and psychological dependence on the drug, with withdrawal symptoms including tiredness, hunger, irritability, depression, insomnia and mood swings.
3. Barbiturates
Barbiturates are synthetic sedative drugs which slow down the central nervous system, and used to be regularly prescribed for anxiety and depression and insomnia. They are no longer common on the street due to the increased prescription of benzodiazepines.
Regular use leads to physical dependence develop and withdrawal may result in irritability, anxiety or an inability to sleep. High dose withdrawal can have severe symptoms including seizures, low blood pressure and delerium – and can even be fatal.
4. Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines include a wide variety of different drugs with different effects and duration of effect. The most common types include diazepam (Valium), temazepam, and nitrazepam. The date-rape drug Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) is also a benzodiazepine.
Benzodiazepines are depressant drugs and so are used medicinally to treat people with panic attacks or anxiety. Serious physical and psychological addiction can occur when benzodiazepines are taken regularly over a prolonged period.
5. Cannabinoids
Cannabinoids are the chemical substances that join to the endocannabinoid communications system found in the brain and body. The effects caused by cannabis result from cannabinoids interacting with specific receptors in the brain, in a similar manner to opioids.
Cannabinoids are most commonly sources from cannabis, as the dried leaves and flowers (buds) or as resin from the flowers.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the cannabinoids found in the highest concentrations in cannabis. (Note that CBD is a compound found in cannabis and hemp but which has no psychoactive properties. CBD oil is recognised by many as a legitimate treatment for various health conditions.)
Increasingly, synthetic cannabinoids have been produced, with similar effects as THC but with much more variable potency.
6. Cocaine
Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant that’s typically snorted as a fine white powder (coke) or smoked as small crystal (crack. Cocaine is made from the native South American coca plant and while it does have medicinal usage, is illegal for recreational usage.
Cocaine can make you feel confident, alert, excited and full of energy. But it can also have a number of side effects including raised body temperature, increased heart rate, anxiety and paranoia. Street cocaine is often mixed with other contaminants including talcum powder or flour, or other drugs such as amphetamines or synthetic opioids.
Cocaine is also very addictive, due to its effect on the release of dopamine by the brain. Psychological dependence is the most common addiction.
7. Codeine
Codeine is a prescription pain medication used to treat mild to moderate pain. It comes in tablet form and as the main ingredient in prescription-grade cough suppressants. It is also present in several over-the-counter pain relievers.
Codeine is an opiate (sometimes called a narcotic).
8. Dihydrocodeine
Dihydrocodeine is an opiate painkiller. It’s used to treat moderate to severe pain, such as after an operation or a serious injury. It’s also used for long-standing pain when weaker painkillers, such as paracetamol, ibuprofen and aspirin, have not worked.
It comes as standard tablets, slow-release tablets and as a liquid that you swallow. It can also be given by an injection into the muscle or under the skin. This is usually done in hospital. It also comes mixed with paracetamol, this is called co-dydramol.
Dihydrocodeine is only available on prescription.
9. Ephedrine
Ephedrine is a stimulant and a thermogenic (heat producer) and comes from the herb known as Ephedra. It is commonly used as a stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, decongestant, and to treat hypotension associated with anaesthesia.
Ephedrine stimulates the brain, increases the heart rate, increases blood pressure, expands bronchial tubes, increases metabolism, and increases body heat. Because of the effects of ephedrine, it is a commonly abused drug (especially by athletes, students, weightlifters and long-distance drivers for its stimulant effects).
Often, people do not realise the harmful effects of ephedrine and continue to use and abuse it; eventually they will develop an addiction. Ephedrine is one of the most popular stimulants that is abused and leads to an addiction very quickly.
10. Ketamine
Ketamine is used by medical practitioners and veterinarians as an anaesthetic. It is sometimes used illegally by people to get high. Ketamine can produce psychedelic effects, causing a person to see, hear, smell, feel or taste things that aren’t really there or are different from how they are in reality. It is a dissociative anaesthetic meaning it can block sensory perception.
11. LSD
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), first synthesized in 1938, is an extremely potent hallucinogen. It is synthetically made from lysergic acid, which is found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other grains. It is so potent its doses tend to be in the microgram (mcg) range. It’s effects, often called a “trip”, can be stimulating, pleasurable, and mind-altering or it can lead to an unpleasant, sometimes terrifying experience called a “bad trip.”
13. MDMA
MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug. It’s an illegal drug that acts as both a stimulant and psychedelic, producing an energizing effect, as well as distortions in time and perception and enhanced enjoyment from tactile experiences. It is known commonly as Ecstasy or Molly.
MDMA exerts its primary effects in the brain on neurons that use the chemicals serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine to communicate with other neurons. Serotonin is most likely responsible for the feelings of empathy, elevated mood, and emotional closeness experienced with this drug. Overall, these neurotransmitter systems play an important role in regulating:
14. Methadone
Methadone is a synthetic opiate used as a strong painkiller and as a substitute for heroin in the treatment of heroin dependence.
Like heroin, it is a sedative drug that can produce feelings of relaxation and can reduce physical and psychological pain, but methadone doesn’t deliver the same degree of pleasurable effects as heroin.
When a heroin user first begins treatment they are given a level of methadone (or other substitute drug) that is enough to minimise the withdrawal symptoms from the heroin.
The idea is that methadone will:
Methadone, as with all the stronger opioids, can itself become addictive.
15. Methaqualone (Quaaludes)
Quaaludes (methaqualone) are a synthetic, barbiturate-like, central nervous system depressant and a popular recreational drug in the U.S. from the 1960s until the 1980s
The active ingredient, methaqualone, is an anxiolytic (lowers anxiety) and a sedative-hypnotic drug that leads to a state of drowsiness.
Quaaludes are rarely encountered on the streets today.
16. Morphine
Morphine is an opiate used to relieve severe pain. Named after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, morphine provides a feeling of euphoria often described as a dreamlike state. The drug can be taken in the form of a tablet, syrup, or injection. In some cases, morphine can even be smoked.
Morphine has the potential to be highly addictive, as tolerance to it develops rapidly and because it has powerful pain relief effects.
Morphine is a naturally occurring substance extracted from either the opium poppy plant or concentrated poppy straw. Its chemical makeup is similar to heroin, as they are both extracted from the same plant.
17. Phencyclidine (PCP)
Phenyclidine (PCP) was developed in the 1950s as an intravenous (IV) anesthetic; however, due to the side effects of postoperative delirium, confusion, and hallucinations, its development for human medical use was discontinued.
Today, PCP is abused for its mind altering effects. PCP is considered a “dissociative” illicit drug due to its ability to distort sight, sounds, and lead to a feeling of detachment from one’s self.
It goes by the street name “angel dust” or “supergrass” when smoked with marijuana
18. Propoxyphene
Propoxyphene is in a group of drugs called narcotic pain relievers. Propoxyphene is used to relieve mild to moderate pain.
Order a Drug & Alcohol Enhanced Test Kit. Screen for the most common drugs of abuse and detect alcohol using Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) testing. (PEth testing is the most accurate blood test available allowing the detection of chronic excessive alcohol abuse over the previous 3-4 weeks.)
Get the convenience of home testing with the reassurance of professional clinical analysis. Your results are delivered quickly and securely online.
In summary, the following drugs are screened for:
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