Tucson Sheriff Selects
Associated Pathologists Laboratories For Hair Testing;
Why Sheriffs Have Such Short Hair?
May 14, 1998
See New Rhode Island
"Drug" Testing Contract For Using Proprietary Hair Testing Method
and
New York City
Police Department Plans To Use Hair Analysis To See If Its Officers Use "Drugs"
and
Hair Testing Has One Great
"Advantage": It Catches More Blacks Than Whites Company Press Release
SOURCE: Associated Pathologists Laboratories
Pima County Sheriffs Department Selects Associated Pathologists Laboratories Hair
Testing Technology
(Ed. note: There are shampoos on the market that purport to make
hair "clean" enough to pass these tests and I have heard anecdotal reports that
they work, but please don’t ask me for advice on this. Also coarse black hair is more
likely to test positive that fine blond hair.)
LAS VEGAS, May 14 /PRNewswire/
Pima County Sheriffs Department (Tucson, AZ) has awarded a contract to Associated
Pathologists Laboratories (APL) to provide drug testing services. After an exhaustive 18
month evaluation process, Pima county selected APL’s unique
hair testing program to test Sheriffs Department job applicants. The departments
1800 officers and civilian staff will also be tested randomly for past use of drugs of
abuse using APL’s proprietary hair testing method (patents pending).
Under the program, a small sample of hair will be sent to
APL’s central laboratory in Las Vegas for testing. Hair samples will be tested for
cocaine, methamphetamines, opiates, PCP and Marijuana.
Hair testing for drugs of abuse can detect drug use for the previous 90 days.
Traditional urine drug testing can only detect drug use in the past 72 hours. Hair testing
can detect up to twice as many drug users as urine testing.
(Ed. note: It is interesting that they would not say that urine testing can detect
marijuana use for up to six weeks. In this regard hair testing is much more effective at
screening for hard drugs, than for marijuana. Perhaps that is not a selling point?)
"We are all excited about this new partnership and technology" according to
Chris Radtke, Personnel Supervisor with the Pima County Sheriffs Department. David Parker,
Director of Pima County Risk Management is "very excited about the use of hair
testing technology" and has received several inquiries about the new Pima County drug
testing program from risk managers across the country.
Associated Pathologists Laboratories is a privately held corporation headquartered in
Las Vegas, Nevada. Founded in 1966, APL has a laboratory staff of over 1200 employees,
supervised by over 25 MD’s and Ph.D’s. APL is licensed and accredited by
numerous organizations including the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
SOURCE: Associated Pathologists Laboratories
Supported