What are drug use screening tests?
Drug use screening tests are questionnaires designed to find out if you are abusing drugs. Drug abuse is a pattern of using drugs that can cause serious problems in your work, relationships, and health. Drug abuse can include taking illegal drugs or misusing legal drugs. Misuse means using the drugs for a nonmedical reason, such as getting high, or taking more than the prescribed dose. It can also mean taking someone else’s medicine or taking medicine in a different way than you are supposed to, such as crushing and snorting tablets.
Drug abuse is a disease that can make you physically and mentally dependent on drugs. A drug use screening test can help your provider make an effective treatment plan for you.
Commonly abused drugs include:
- Marijuana
- Prescription opioid pain relievers, which include oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and codeine
- Heroin, an illegal opioid
- Cocaine
- Methamphetamines
- Hallucinogens, which are drugs that cause hallucinations (seeing, hearing, and/or feeling things that are not real). They include LSD and Ecstasy (MDMA).
Drug abuse may also be called drug addiction or substance abuse. Substance abuse can also refer to the abuse of other substances including alcohol and inhalants. Inhalants are household products, such as paint thinner and certain types of glue, that contain substances that affect perception and mood when inhaled.
Other names: Drug Abuse Screen Test (DAST); DAST-10; substance abuse screening; Screening, Brief intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT); Cut down Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener (CAGE) tool; Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends, Trouble (CRAFFT) Screening Tool