MOCCA and MOCCA-B: the most commonly tested substances in legal drug testing

As a leading provider of legal drug testing for family law professionals, social workers, and local authorities, our award-winning laboratory routinely tests for a wide variety of drugs and their metabolites (breakdown products). Yet of all the substances we test for at AlphaBiolabs, there are a handful that show up time and time again in […]

Buyer beware – what are users really getting when they buy drugs on the street?

As a leading provider of drug testing services for members of the public, the legal sector, and the workplace sector, we are used to receiving questions from sample donors regarding their drug test results. This is especially true when an ‘unexpected’ substance is found to be present in their sample.   But how does this happen? […]

Cocaine use in Ireland reaches an all-time high

Figures from the Health Research Board (HRB) have found that cocaine is now the most common problem drug in Ireland with a 259% increase in the number of cases between 2016 and 2022, accounting for around 30% of drug treatment programmes. The same study also found that demand for cocaine use treatment soared within the […]

Drug & alcohol testing for work and official matters

What is drug and alcohol testing? As a leading drug and alcohol testing laboratory, we test for a wide range of drugs and their metabolites using hair, oral fluid, urine, and nail samples. We also offer a full alcohol testing service including point-of-care breath tests, blood analysis, nail analysis, hair analysis and SCRAM Continuous Alcohol […]

HSE publishes fresh alert over ecstasy danger as ‘super-strength’ MDMA on the rise

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a fresh warning over ecstasy use, following reports of ‘super-strength’ MDMA sweeping Europe. According to an update published on the HSE’s drug information service, drugs.ie, rising numbers of MDMA-related hospital admissions and deaths in some countries have been attributed to a higher concentration of MDMA in illegally-manufactured […]

Gardai to use new roadside drug testing device this Christmas

Gardai will be out in force on Ireland’s roads this Christmas, with a new drug testing device designed to deliver rapid results during roadside drug tests. The pocket-sized Securetec DrugWipe® 6s device has been introduced by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS) as part of a six-week Christmas and New Year road safety enforcement […]

Report raises new addiction concerns as synthetic drugs are found in syringes

A new study has revealed a dangerous trend in users injecting synthetic substances along with other drugs such as heroin, raising new concerns around addiction and the associated health risks. The study, titled Syringe Analysis Pilot Project, was conducted in September 2021 and is the first of its kind in Ireland. It was conducted by […]

Legal drug testing: how to interpret the results  

Legally instructed drug tests remain a fundamental part of family court proceedings, especially in instances where the safety of a child is paramount. Once hair, nail, urine, and/or oral fluid samples have been collected by a trained clinician under chain of custody conditions, testing can begin at the laboratory, and the Reporting Scientist will collate […]

5 common myths about addiction: what you need to know

Former Manchester United, Everton and England player Wayne Rooney hit the headlines earlier this year (February 2022) after lifting the lid on his previous battles with alcohol. Ahead of a documentary set to air on Amazon Prime, Rooney opened up to interviewers about the pressure of playing football on the world stage, revealing that he […]