wait till you read this

remember hgr owns sun now......Chandler firm's saliva test hits drug screening market
The Business Journal of Phoenix - Angela GonzalesThe Business Journal
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Chandler-based Edward Andrews LLC is introducing a drug screening tool in the Phoenix market designed to help employers get a quick glimpse of drug use in the work force and at the same time save money.

The OraLine tool for substance abuse testing looks like a pregnancy test kit, but only requires a bit of the subject's saliva to determine if the employee has any major drugs in his or her system. The test looks for marijuana, hashish, heroin, morphine, codeine, crack, cocaine, speed, crank and ecstasy.


The company is targeting private and public companies, such as car dealerships and construction companies, that need an instant answer to the question of employee drug use on the job.

"The OraLine we feel is the wave of the future," said Bob Crosta, regional sales manager for Edward Andrews LLC.

Edward Andrews LLC is one of four distributors for the product, which is made by Sun Biomedical Laboratories Inc., Blackwood, N.J.

There is growing concern that too many employees tamper with urine samples, making it difficult to gain an accurate picture of drug use in the workplace, he said.

The less expensive saliva test can give a preliminary indication of whether the employee has traces of drugs in his or her system, he said. Because the test is less expensive than a urine test, all employees could be given the saliva test, followed by a urine test for those who test positive on the saliva test, he said.

The way it works now, the only way an employer can legally terminate an employee for suspected drug use is if the employee tests positive with a urine sample.

Crosta hopes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will clear the saliva test the way it has cleared the urine test as proper documentation for termination.

According to the Equal Employment Advisory Council, the federal government is considering expanding the types of specimens approved for drug testing to include hair, saliva and sweat testing for federal agency employers. While the mandatory guidelines only affect federal agency employers, private employers usually follow the guidelines, too.