According to an October 2018 poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, rural Americans are highly concerned about the opioid crisis–even more-so than with economic concerns. A staggering 25% of the national rural community felt that the biggest problem affecting them is drug addiction and abuse, while … Read More
Effective January 1, 2018, the United States Department of Transportation is implementing some changes to its drug testing program regulation by adding and amending some of the drugs used in its drug-testing panel, clarifying some of the provisions already in use, and removing the requirement for employers and Consortiums/TPAs to submit blind specimens. Employees can … Read More
The United States is in the midst of a public health crisis. Opioid abuse is currently one of America’s top health epidemics, taking mothers, fathers and children, destroying lives and breaking up families. In fact, it is the 2nd highest killer of young people. This serious epidemic must be addressed in our homes and workplaces. … Read More
More than twenty states have enacted medical marijuana laws since proposition 215 was passed by California voters in 1996. The earliest medical marijuana laws typically only provided criminal protections, however in the past two decades, laws are now extending protections to housing, schooling, domestic relations, and employment. State marijuana regulations uniquely address aspects such as … Read More
Marijuana sales in Colorado topped $1 billion last year. That may have triggered an upswing in the sale of another product: synthetic urine, which helps users fool employers and parole officers in drug tests. Colorado representatives are concerned about the fraudulent use of synthetic urine and aim to ban the substance in the state. Representatives … Read More
Across the country, providers and patients are notating a rise in illnesses associated with prolonged use of marijuana. What is now being identified as cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS, is caused by heavy, long-term use of various forms of the drug. One man reported having severe abdominal pain and vomiting. His physicians couldn’t find a … Read More
OSHA began enforcing the new rule on November 1, 2016. Now is the time for employers who have blanket post-accident drug testing policies to revisit their policies to ensure they conform to OSHA’s new requirements. Below we have included information to answer many questions regarding the new rule. If you need assistance reviewing and revising … Read More
In November at the annual Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association conference, Safety First partner, Quest Diagnostics, announced the results of its drug testing index, which looks at the illicit drug use by U.S. workers. Below are the highlights of the study. The Drug Testing Index is an analysis of test results from three categories of … Read More
Alarming statistics make the rising problem of prescription use notable. For example, in one Southeastern County in six months of this year, 51 people died of heroin overdose, 46 died of fentanyl overdose and 15 died from an overdose of prescription painkillers. It’s important to remember that the problem of addiction rarely starts with heroin; … Read More