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Legal Drug Testing

  • Rapid results
  • Hair, urine, oral fluid and nail samples analysed
  • Able to test for the widest range of drugs including non-standard ones
  • Low transparent prices
  • A quote can be emailed to you in seconds not hours
  • Award-winning and accredited laboratory processes
  • AlphaBiolabs has provided first-class testing services to the legal sector for 15 years

I use AlphaBiolabs every time for my client’s legal drugs testing. That way I know my results are correct

David Brown, Family Law Solicitor

Legal drug testing

AlphaBiolabs works with many legal practitioners, family law firms, courts and local authorities to support decisions that protect children and families from the effects of harmful substances.

We use the latest technologies to bring you fast and reliable legal test results from a wide range of illicit, prescription and over-the-counter drugs. We ensure that our drug tests are as accurate as possible thanks to our expert toxicologists and substantial investment in the latest analytical equipment.

If you have received a quote for a like-for-like legal drug test from another testing laboratory we will match their price and knock 5% off. This makes AlphaBiolabs one of the most cost-effective solutions for your legal drug testing needs.

Our drug testing panel

AlphaBiolabs is able to test for the widest range of drugs and metabolites, including non-standard ones. Using a variety of testing methods, both short-term and historic, drug use can be established. Your account manager will be able to advise you on which test is right for your case, saving you time and money.

Below is a list of the main drugs we can test for:

Amphetamine Cannabis (THC) PCP
Methamphetamine Cocaine Ketamine
MDMA (Ecstasy) Methadone Buprenorphine
MDA Heroin Tramadol *
Alprazolam Morphine LSD *
Diazepam Codeine GHB *
Temazepam Dihydrocodeine Spice *
Chlordiazepoxide Mephedrone Steroids *
Nitrazepam Zolpidem
* These drugs are not in our standard panel. However, we can arrange hair drug testing for them and other less common drugs for an additional fee.

Rapid results for hair strand drug testing

Drug testing to detect substance misuse

Once a drug is ingested, it can be detected in urine almost immediately and for several days thereafter. Drugs can be detected in oral fluid shortly after being consumed and for up to 48 hours.

Hair drug testing gives a detailed history of drug use from 2 weeks after ingestion, up to approximately a 12-month period. Segmentation of the hair into monthly sections is recommended to provide a detailed historical record of drug abuse/abstinence.

Accredited legal drug testing

AlphaBiolabs specialises in legal drug testing. We have worked with solicitors and local authorities for 15 years to build a service designed for their needs.

We go to great lengths to ensure that our legal drug testing processes are the best available, which is why you can be sure if you take a legal drug test with AlphaBiolabs you will get the fastest, most accurate drug testing available.

Our testing laboratory is accredited by UKAS (No. 2773), to the quality technical standard of ISO 17025, and we are also certified to ISO 9001.

Fast, accurate drug testing. Direct from our award-winning laboratory

Our drug testing options include:

Urine drug testing

It is possible to determine whether someone is misusing drugs by taking a sample of their urine and analysing it for particular substances. The window of detection is around 3 days but it could be up to 28 days for cannabis.

An immediate negative result may mean that no further action is necessary. As such, this form of testing can be particularly useful for on-site or point-of-care testing. A non-negative result may require confirmation testing from the laboratory in order to determine exactly what substance was taken and in what quantities.

Oral fluid drug testing

Oral fluid testing can determine whether someone is misusing drugs by taking a sample of their saliva and analysing it for particular substances. This is a ‘narrow window’ form of testing as its period of detection is up to 48 hours (although this can depend on the particular substance taken).

An immediate negative result may mean that no further action needs to be taken. A non-negative result may need to undergo confirmation testing from the laboratory to determine exactly what substance was taken and in what quantities.

Price Match Promise: We will match any like-for-like quote and beat it by 5%

Nail drug testing

Nail clipping analysis can provide up to a 12-month overview of drug use and is beneficial when hair drug testing is not possible. Unlike hair drug testing, nail testing won’t give a historic segmented pattern of drug use, but it will give an overview of up to 12 months.

Hair drug testing

Hair drug testing can determine whether drugs have been abused over a prolonged period of time.

An average person’s head hair grows at a rate of approximately 1 cm per month. Following consumption of a drug and its passage into the bloodstream, a proportion of the drug’s metabolites will enter the hair follicle.

The head hair sample is collected and cut according to the specific requirements. An overview drugs of abuse test, for example to cover a period of 3 months, may show positive for the whole 3-month period even if your client has abused drugs occasionally. This can give the impression that the sample donor had been abusing drugs for the whole period analysed.

To gain a clearer picture of how long the client has been using a drug, we recommend that the hair is segmented, and each segment analysed separately for the presence of drugs. This allows us to analyse the hair sample on a month-by-month basis to indicate over which months the sample donor was taking the drug, rather than providing a general overview of the entire period.

We can perform drug tests using either head or body hair samples. Body or beard hair can only be used to provide up to a 12-month overview of drug use.

Hair testing permits drug use to be determined over a period of months. It can also show whether your client has refrained from taking drugs, and if they have started taking drugs again.

The table below shows an example of hair analyses regularly performed at our laboratory:

Analysis Type Required (months) Number of Segments Reported Time Period
3 1 3 Months
3 3 3 Individual Months
6 2 Two x 3-Month Periods
6 6 6 Individual Months

Hair drug testing gives a detailed history of drug use from 2 weeks after ingestion, up to approximately a 12-month period.

Award-winning and accredited laboratory processes

Drug Screen Plus

Instead of instructing us on particular drugs to detect, our Drug Screen Plus is a standalone service which analyses hair samples for any drugs present. We will then issue a report on exactly what we find and in what quantities.

  • On-line quote forms
  • No charge if no additional compounds detected
  • All testing performed at our laboratory
  • Rapid results

Your account manager will be able to advise you on which test is right for your case, saving you time and money.

Sample collection network

We have a network of trained sample collectors available to collect samples from an address of your choice.

If you require a legal drug test, please call 0140 29466 for our latest offers.

High Quality
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I am very impressed with the exceptionally high quality, service and speed. I will be using your company in all future referrals. 

Helen Sangster
Family Solicitor, Yaffe Jackson Ostrin Solicitors

Very impressed
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Very impressed with the speed of the report turnaround. This is key in childcare cases that we deal with.

Amy Bellingham
Family Law Soilicitor, Elliot Bridgman Solicitors

Excellent service
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Excellent service and all round very user friendly.

Colm McLaughlin
Solicitor, Canter Levin and Berg Solicitors

Excellent turnaround
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Excellent turnaround times, arrived very quickly with the results.

Christopher Miles
Solicitor, Crombie Wilkinson Solicitors