SAFFORD — The Graham County Probation Department is going to try something new — drug testing using a patch that collects a person’s sweat.
Chief Probation Officer Josh Halvorson received the OK from the Board of Supervisors on Monday to expend about $45,000 for 550 PharmChek sweat patches and 550 lab tests.
“We haven’t used them yet; it’s somewhat newer,” Halvorson said. “It will detect any substances for a 24-hour period to, I believe, it’s two weeks.”
Halvorson said the patches will show signs of tampering, and they will not replace the department’s current process of drug testing through urine.
According to the PharmChek website, the patch uses a semi-permeable polyurethane film, which allows small molecules, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor to pass through the patch, keeping the skin healthy, while capturing about 2 ml daily of the body’s insensible perspiration — the uncontrolled loss of sweat from the skin. Approximately 300 to 700 ml of insensible sweat is excreted each day.
