Drug and Alcohol Testing


The impairment argument is incredibly complex. Many employers use the term in workplace drug and alcohol policies but this may not be the most prudent choice as marijuana impairment cannot necessarily be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Trends in Marijuana Legalization: A Wake-Up Call for Employers

Weakening or removing employers’ rights for a safe and drug free workplace ultimately threatens all of us.

Relaxed attitudes toward marijuana use come at a time when the drug is more potent than ever. (J.J. Keller & Associates photo)

Marijuana Use and Its Impact on Workplace Safety and Productivity

Despite the safety and productivity risks associated with marijuana use, the drug is increasingly seen as socially acceptable and its dangers may be marginalized.

Adapt Pharma Making Naloxone Available to All U.S. High Schools

Adapt Pharma Making Naloxone Available to All U.S. High Schools

The announcement, made at the CHMI Fifth Annual Health Matters Activation Summit, builds upon a 2015 announcement with Adapt Pharma to provide school districts, college campuses, public safety agencies, and community-based organizations access to discounted pricing to Naloxone.

Dr. Jay Butler, chief medical officer of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, called the state

HHS Commissions Addiction Report

The report will examine the health effects of drug and alcohol misuse from the perspectives of prevention, treatment, recovery, neurobiology, and delivery of care.

Treating marijuana the same as alcohol is impossible for several reasons. There are no measurements for marijuana impairment that relate across the board to how we understand alcohol impairment.

New York State Medical Marijuana Program Launches Today

As of Jan. 5, nearly 150 doctors statewide had registered for the program and can certify their patients, if clinically appropriate for their qualifying condition and consistent with the department's guidance and regulations.

'360 Strategy' Tackles Heroin, Rx Drug Abuse

"This three-sided strategy . . . could be a model for many other communities," said Gary Tuggle, DEA Special Agent in Charge for the Philadelphia Division.

Some locations, operations, or hazmat personnel may require security awareness training that includes security risks associated with their specific tasks and methods designed to enhance security.

FMCSA Cuts Random Testing Rate for 2016

FMCSA reports the estimated positive random controlled substance test rate in 2013 was 0.7 percent, compared with the estimated positive rates for drugs of 0.9 percent in 2011 and 0.6 percent in 2012.

Attorney General Eric Holder recommends that federal law enforcement personnel who may encounter people experiencing an opioid overdose be trained and equipped with naloxone.

CDC Researchers Report Big 2014 Increase in Opioid Death Rates

Heroin overdose death rates increased by 26 percent from 2013 to 2014 and have more than tripled since 2010, from 1.0 per 100,000 in 2010 to 3.4 per 100,000 in 2014.



Daily Marijuana Use Overtakes Cigarette Use for 12th Graders

Dr. Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIDA, said "continued areas of concern are the high rate of daily marijuana smoking seen among high school students, because of marijuana's potential deleterious effects on the developing brains of teenagers, and the high rates of overall tobacco products and nicotine-containing e-cigarettes usage."

Safety Council Raises Alarm Over Increase in Prescription Opioid Overdoses

"As a society we have not heeded the data warning us of the deadly cost of addiction. Our grace period is over," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council.

U.S. Supreme Court to Rule on Drunk Driving Tests

The court will consider whether it is lawful for states to charge an individual with a crime when the person has refused to submit to a blood or alcohol test for drunk driving and whether law enforcement officers can administer a blood or breath test for drunk driving with no search warrant.

NSC Poll Says Prescription Drug Abuse Impacts 80 Percent of Indiana Workplaces

Two-thirds of employers believe prescription drugs are bigger problems than illegal drugs. The survey also discovered that only 53 percent of employers have a written policy on using prescription drugs at work, despite 80 percent reporting that they have had an issue.

Cargo Vessel's Grounding Attributed to Drunken Chief Officer

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that he "lost situational awareness due to his consumption of alcohol." The cargo vessel Lysblink Seaways ran aground at full speed in West Scotland on Feb. 18, 2015, resulting in a fuel spill and eventual scrapping of the vessel.

Four North Central Texas College softball players died in the September 2014 accident where a tractor-trailer crossed an I-35 median and struck their bus near Davis, Okla.

NTSB Blames Crash on Trucker's Use of Synthetic Cannabinoid

The truck crossed a median on I-35 near Davis, Okla., on Sept. 26, 2014, and struck a medium-sized passenger bus carrying members of the North Central Texas College softball team, four of whom died in the wreck. The board's report says this crash demonstrates the need for seat belt use laws with primary enforcement for all vehicles.

DEA 360 Pilot Targets Abuse of Heroin, Prescription Drugs

"DEA's 360 Strategy recognizes that we need to utilize every community resource possible to reach young people and attack the heroin and prescription drug epidemic at multiple levels," said Gary Tuggle, DEA special agency in charge for the Philadelphia Division.

U.S. Adults' Marijuana Use Up Sharply, Surveys Show

"Based on the results of our surveys, marijuana use in the United States has risen rapidly over the past decade, with about three in 10 people who use marijuana meeting the criteria for addiction. Given these increases, it is important that the scientific community convey information to the public about the potential harms," said George Koob, Ph.D., director of NIAAA.

NSC Calls on DEA to Require Education for Opioid Painkiller Prescribers

Highly addictive medicines are overprescribed, and the council urged DEA to require more education for the medical practitioners who prescribe them.

Treating marijuana the same as alcohol is impossible for several reasons. There are no measurements for marijuana impairment that relate across the board to how we understand alcohol impairment.

GHSA Report Urges National Action on Drugged Driving

"While this report summarizes the research and data available, it also highlights how much remains unknown," said the report's author, Dr. Jim Hedlund. "For example, we still don't know with certainty how much of a specific drug will cause impairment or if such a relationship can even be defined. Many states do not have the data to measure their drug-impaired driving scope or characteristics."

Looking Ahead to NSC 2016

The biggest U.S. safety trade show of the year returns to the West Coast next October, taking place in the shadow of Disneyland at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The new program will give 16 states annual awards between $750,000 and $1 million over the next four years to advance prevention on multiple fronts, according to CDC.

CDC Helping States to End Prescription Drug 'Epidemic'

The agency announced a program to give 16 states money for the next four years to combat the problem.

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