The 10-Panel Drug Test: How Does It Work? 

Using drugs while undertaking obligations in a work environment is hazardous and can also harm an individual or other employees, primarily when operating heavy machinery. Therefore, most workplaces implement a 10-panel drug testing to prevent any possible harm or the likelihood of incurring legal obligations due to drug use. 

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As the name indicates, the 10-panel drug test is a drug test that aims to establish whether you have taken any drugs in the recent past. The drug test seeks to establish drug usage by the subjects for different reasons. You may need to take a drug test for a legal obligation, as an athlete, or simply because the employer has a policy against drug use.  

In case you need to take a drug test in the near future, here is a quick summary of what the 10-panel drug test does and what to expect when taking the drug test. 

Understanding the 10-Panel Drug Test 

As noted above, the 10-panel drug test aims to establish the usage of ten types of 10 drugs for the drug test subjects. These drugs are selected for the test because they are some of the most commonly used substances globally. If an organization has a policy against drug use, these are the most common drugs their employees are likely to consume. 
 

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There are different kinds of 10-panel drug tests. These types of drug tests are different depending on what they test. They include the urine test, the blood test, or the hair follicle test. 

The urine test is the most common type of 10-panel test used because it effectively detects drug use over a time period. Moreover, this drug test is more accurate than other drug tests, which is why medical practitioners prefer it over other drug tests. 
 

What Kind of Drugs Does the 10-Panel Drug Test Look for? 

The 10-panel drug test tries to identify the usage of the following drugs, which are highly prevalent on the street and prescription medication. The ten drugs are as follows: 

• Amphetamines 
• Barbiturates 
• Benzodiazepines 

• Cocaine 
• Marijuana 
• Methadone 
• Methaqualone 
• Opiates 

• PCP 
• Propoxyphene 

When testing for marijuana or cannabis, the 10-panel drug test looks for the THC component of marijuana. The test can also identify CBD, which is the medicinal component of cannabis. However, most drug tests don’t look for CBD, considering it is legal in the USA.  

Depending on how regularly you use the drug, the ten-panel drug test can identify marijuana usage 2 to 28 days after the last usage. This is because THC stays in the body longer for chronic users. 

PCP (Phencyclidine) is a common drug available in the market as a prescription or drug used for recreational purposes. This drug is also called rocket fuel or angel dust on the streets. The 10-panel drug test tests usage of this drug between 8 days and 30 days for frequent users. 

For cocaine and amphetamines, the detection of the drug goes between one and eight days of usage. As with other substances, the likelihood of detection varies depending on how users consume the drug. The detection mechanism for the other drugs also differs depending on the usage. However, uncommon drugs such as barbiturates have a shorter detection span of up to a day to several hours since the last use. 
 

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The 10-panel drug test that detects drug use through hair samples is likelier to identify substance use even up to 90 days since the last consumption. This is because hair samples retain drugs for longer. 
 

What to Expect During a 10 Panel Drug Test? 

As is the case with any other test in the laboratory, the person administering the test will have to obtain the sample from the test subject. The method of extraction of the sample differs depending on the kind of test. For a urine sample, you will need to provide a clean urine sample either under the supervision of one of the lab technicians or in private, depending on how strict the test is.  

However, for the saliva test, the lab technician will only need some saliva from the mouth of the research subject, which can be procured at the lab station. 
 

Final Words 

The 10-panel drug test results are positive, negative, or inconclusive. A positive drug test indicates that the subjects have the presence of the drugs in their system. In contrast, a negative drug test would suggest the drugs tested were not present in the system. An inconclusive test would indicate that the sample did not have precise results and will need to be retaken. While the urine-based drug test is cost-effective, the test based on hair samples is more accurate. Therefore, it would be advisable to use the hair test as it can detect drug usage over 90 days, depending on the circumstances.