Tasha Bevan-Stewart and Amber Pocock, in our Family Law team, explain how drug and alcohol testing work in Family Law Proceedings.
Hair strand testing is used in Family Law Proceedings to determine whether a person uses illegal substances/drugs, and if so, what substance and how much they use them. This form of testing can also be used to test for how much alcohol a person is drinking. Hair strand testing is used typically to prove or disprove claims that the donor ingested substances/alcohol or when a professional, such as a social worker has concerns that the ingestion of the substance or alcohol is having an effect on the care provided to a child.
There are two types of hair strand testing in the UK; overview and segmented. Overview hair testing provides a general indication of drug and alcohol use throughout a defined period, for example a four-centimetre overview can provide an overview of use over a four-month period but will not show trends within that time. Conversely, segmentation provides a month-by-month breakdown highlighting a more detailed history of a person’s drug or alcohol use.
How does hair testing actually work?
The process of hair strand testing starts with a professional taking a hair sample of around five-millimetre thickness from the head or body of the donor. It is then deposited in a sealed, tamper-proof envelope. The amount of hair required for the sample depends on the time frame of detection required.
Once the sample is obtained it is sent to a laboratory for testing. The window in which alcohol can be detected from a hair sample is from seven days to six months, whereas for drugs it is from seven days as long as can be demonstrated by the hair length of the person.
When an individual ingests drugs or alcohol, specific chemical makers are created called metabolites. These metabolites pass into the hair which then acts as a record of an individual’s drug or alcohol use.
Once the results of the hair strand test have been received, solicitors in both private and public law cases must obtain permission from a Judge to use the results in legal proceedings. Without the authority from a Judge the results are not admissible as evidence in the case. Generally, permission is sought and obtained before the tests take place.
Limitations to hair strand testing
The sensitivity of hair strand testing has been questioned over the years. One of the reasons for this is because the results cannot distinguish between oral intake and passive exposure. Passive exposure can occur in various ways, but one example would be the inhalation of cannabis smoke. Similarly, there are certain medications that may influence the results of the test.
With that being said, hair strand testing has been confirmed in H (A Child – Hair Strand Testing) [2017] EWFC 64 as the most reliable way to obtain a picture of a person’s alcohol consumption.
If you have any queries regarding hair strand testing in Family Law Proceedings, please contact our Family Law team.
For further information or legal advice, please contact law@blandy.co.uk or call 0118 951 6800.
This article is intended for the use of clients and other interested parties. The information contained in it is believed to be correct at the date of publication, but it is necessarily of a brief and general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional advice.
