Drug testing has become a standard part of life for most of us. It impacts our ability to find employment, can be used to secure insurance settlements, is needed in private contractor situations, and much more. It’s even used in child custody or divorce cases. As such, understanding more about the different types of drug tests is important. One example is the 5 panel drug test. A 5 panel drug test isn’t that complicated if you understand the basic points behind it. Essentially, it’s a drug screening test that looks for 5 primary drugs. These include:
- Marijuana
- PCP
- Cocaine
- Amphetamines including methamphetamine
- Opiates – codeine, morphine, heroin, opium, and all other opiate based drugs
Those five drugs make up the majority of commonly used illegal drugs and as such the 5 panel drug test is primarily used in most situations. This also offers additional benefits including:
- Lower overall costs than 10 panel tests
- Faster results
- Accuracy that is above the individual rapid or instant drug tests sometimes used
In other words, the 5-panel test is the most common because it offers a wide range of testing options with fast turnaround times and lower overall costs for the test. As such, it fits into the budgets of employers, organizations, and even of individuals who need to secure a drug test for whatever reason.
5-panel drug tests are usually a urine-based test, enhancing the ease of collecting samples. However, blood or even hair follicle tests could be limited to the 5 basic drug types listed above as well. No matter the situation, there are plenty of reasons that a 5-panel drug screening makes sense. There’s a good chance that you’ve already undergone one yourself, and will likely undergo another one at some point in the future. It’s a basic test that is far more common than most may realize.
