Kratom use and popularity have significantly grown over the years in the US and worldwide. This surge in kratom popularity may result from the federal authorities’ classification of kratom as a legal substance. But as a stimulant with medicinal effects, there is curiosity about kratom’s status with the standard drug test procedures currently used by employers, government agencies, and institutions.
There are several standard drug-testing procedures applicable in the world. These testing procedures vary in application and methodology based on the test substances.
Some of these procedures would pick up kratom strains and some that cannot detect kratom.
A discussion on the various drug testing procedures will be sufficient to answer kratom’s chances of showing up on drug tests.
Five Panel Drug Test
A five-panel drug test is a urine drug test to detect commonly used substances such as marijuana, cocaine, morphine, heroin, PCP, and codeine. This testing procedure came into use in the 1980s, marking the beginning of the modern drug testing era. The five-panel drug test can also detect alcohol, nicotine, and ecstasy.
The five-panel drug test is the most requested drug testing procedure and a favorite of most private employers and government agencies.
Like many of today’s frequently abused drugs, Kratom is not detectable through the five-panel drug test.
Ten Panel Drug Test
The ten-panel drug test is viral with probation drug testing, employers, and individuals. This test’s application is for screening and confirming the use of illicit drugs and the illicit use of legal prescription drugs. PCP, marijuana, amphetamines, methadone, opiates, and cocaine screening are common substances for this procedure.
There is a standard ten-panel drug test and another version known as a ten-panel drug test with expanded opiates. The extended version tests for additional opiate metabolites and is usually a UD Department of Transportation (DOT) requirement.
Kratom is detectable when screened using the ten-panel drug test for a period of up to seven days after use, depending on particular usage variables like frequency of use, dosage, and age.
Hair Follicle Drug Test
This test, also known as the hair drug test, screens for illegal drugs and the illicit use of prescription medicine. This test analyzes a piece of hair strand from the head for drug use for up to ninety days preceding the test. Hair follicle tests screening is standard for marijuana, cocaine, and amphetamines screening.
However, the US Drug Testing Laboratory Inc has developed the first test to detect kratom in hair and nail. Hair and nail specimens offer a more extended substance abuse period by trapping biomarkers in keratin fibers for up to three months in hair and six months in nails.
Kratom is detectable in the nail-bed drug test because kratom traces can be in the nail for up to a maximum of six months.