Hair follicle testing Q&A

Sep 23

5 min read

Hair Follicle Testing: A Clearer Understanding

Hair follicle testing is often misunderstood, largely because it's less common than other drug testing methods like urine or saliva tests. However, it plays a crucial role in legal matters, particularly in:

Criminal Court cases: such as drug driving offences, probation/parole, and appeals, where drug use may impact legal decisions.
Family Law matters: where a judge has reason to believe that one or both parents may be using drugs or alcohol while caring for children.

This article aims to demystify the hair follicle testing process and explain its common applications.

How Hair Follicle Testing Works

Unlike urine or saliva tests, which detect recent drug use, hair follicle testing captures drug use over a much longer period—usually up to 90 days. During the test, a small sample of hair (approximately 50 milligrams and at least 3 cm long) is collected from the scalp and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Drugs and their metabolites are carried by the bloodstream and embedded in the hair shaft, allowing the test to reveal a historical pattern of substance use.

Substances Detected by Hair Follicle Testing

Hair follicle testing is capable of detecting a wide range of substances, including:

Cannabinoids: THC and synthetic cannabis (e.g., K2)
Cocaine
Opiates: such as heroin, morphine
Amphetamine-type substances: such as methamphetamine, MDMA (Ecstasy), amphetamines, phentermine
Fentanyl
Benzodiazepines: such as Xanax, diazepam
Ethyl Glucuronide (EtG): a metabolite of alcohol
Steroids

In legal contexts, however, courts are primarily focused on Cannabinoids, Cocaine, Opiates, Amphetamine-type substances, and Benzodiazepines. In cases where there is a history of drink driving or concerns about alcohol use, hair follicle testing for alcohol (EtG) may also be requested.

Understanding Cut-Off Levels

It’s important to note that hair follicle testing isn’t designed to detect casual or one-time drug use. The courts are not interested in occasional social drinking or recreational drug use that doesn’t impact an individual's fitness as a parent. Instead, the test is used to identify sustained drug use over an extended period.

Everyone metabolises substances differently, but at these cut-off levels, we have never encountered a positive alcohol result stemming from normal social drinking or having a drink with dinner.

Q: Is hair follicle testing accurate for detecting methylamphetamine use?

A: Yes, hair follicle testing is highly accurate in detecting methamphetamine and other amphetamines. Methylamphetamine and its metabolites are carried through the bloodstream and get embedded into the hair shaft, where they can be detected for up to 90 days. The test is designed to reveal sustained use, not one-time or rare use, and is nearly impossible to cheat, even with hair treatments like dyeing or bleaching.

Q: Can environmental exposure to drugs (e.g., secondhand smoke) cause a positive result?

A: No, secondhand exposure to drugs like cannabis or methamphetamine, whether through smoke or residue, will not cause a positive hair follicle test. The test also identifies metabolites (11-nor-9-carboxy-THC for Cannabis, amphetamine for methylamphetamine) that are produced after the drug has been ingested and processed by the body. Simply being around someone using drugs will not result in enough drug entering your system to be detected in a hair follicle test.

Q: Can people "cleanse" or alter their hair to pass the test?

A: Despite popular myths, there is no reliable way to "cleanse" your hair of drug traces. Methods like using detox shampoos or bleaching hair may reduce the concentration of drug metabolites, but they won’t remove them entirely. Laboratories are aware of these techniques and account for them when analysing hair samples. Furthermore, if scalp hair is heavily treated or damaged, the hair will be rejected by the laboratory and we will need to retest or use body hair which shows a longer period of time (approximately 6 months).

Q: Is hair follicle testing being used to unfairly target certain communities, like Lismore?

A: Hair follicle testing is used to ensure the safety and welfare of both individuals and the broader community, especially in legal contexts. It’s not about targeting specific communities but rather ensuring compliance with the law and protecting vulnerable groups, such as children in custody disputes. We have conducted testing for the Melbourne, Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Lismore, and Brisbane courts so no - Lismore is not being singled out.

Q: What happens after a positive result in a legal (court) case?

A: In legal situations, such as family law or criminal cases, a positive hair follicle test can have significant consequences:

Family Law (Child Custody): A positive test for drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, or cannabis could affect custody or visitation rights. Judges use these results to assess whether an individual is fit to care for children, prioritising the child's safety and welfare.
Criminal Law: In cases involving probation, parole, or appeals related to substance abuse, a positive result could lead to increased supervision, legal penalties, or even imprisonment.

Q: Can I challenge a positive test result?

A: Yes, you can challenge a positive result, especially if the test was conducted by a foreign lab without NATA accreditation. For discrepancies with accredited Australian labs, such as issues with hair length tested, legal advice should be sought.

Q: Can I choose my collection agency and laboratory?

A: You can absolutely choose your own providers. The court usually only sets the requirement that a laboratory is accredited to 'ISO 17025' (a cheap 'tick and flick' that a lab is a lab, every hair lab in the world has this accreditation, even labs that test rocks have this accreditation). However to ensure the other side in your court case doesn't get your test thrown out, you should select a NATA accredited laboratory. A collector or collection agency would need to be partnered with the laboratory conducting the test.

Northern Rivers Hair Collection Centres (Alcohol/EtG) Partnered with NATA accredited laboratories

LISMORE (NSW, 2480)

WHS Guardian | 105 Molesworth St (Lismore Professional Centre) | 1300 183 984

^ Not a typo, WHS Guardian is the only Northern Rivers collection centre partnered with a NATA Accredited lab for alcohol testing.

Northern Rivers Hair Collection Centres (Drugs) Partnered with NATA accredited laboratories

LISMORE (NSW, 2480)

WHS Guardian | 105 Molesworth St (Lismore Professional Centre) | 1300 183 984

QML Lismore | 211 Ballina Rd (Prema House Medical Centre) | 0497 016 070

CASINO (NSW, 2470)

QML Casino | 143 Canterbury St (Maria Clinic) | 0499 404 539

BALLINA (NSW, 2478)

QML Ballina | 2/99 Tamar St | 0498 782 155