Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions Blog - February 2021

Most people’s experience with a drug test comes from the interview process for a new job which is what we call a pre-employment drug test. It is the most common reason for testing and helps employers screen applicants to safeguard the organization from the negative impacts of hiring employees who use drugs. However, employers committed to safety and a drug-free workplace should consider incorporating strategies that monitor drug use beyond pre-employment drug testing.

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Acknowledging the reality of opioid misuse in the workplace is a productive step for any business, and a benefit to every community. With the help of Operation Prevention, employers now have the opportunity to empower their staff and strengthen their organization with simple, no-cost workplace resources that give clarity to the opioid epidemic, including perspectives on science, health, society, and the legal system. Become a leader who inspires personal progress and productivity with versatile learning resources that stress the importance of prevention.

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The coronavirus pandemic shook up the U.S. employment picture last year, but one trend persisted: a rising share of workers who test positive for marijuana.

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Substance use disorders represent a pressing issue for employers and workers around the world. According to data from the U.S. 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 70% of all adults with an alcohol or illicit drug use disorder are employed. Nearly 9% of all employed adults (approximately 13.6 million workers) have current alcohol or illicit drug use disorders, while a relatively equal number (approximately 13.4 million workers) report that they are in recovery or have recovered from a substance use problem. 

Workplaces are a critical point of contact for people...

This guide, developed and published by the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of he U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is for employers to identify and prevent opioid and other substance misuse in the workplace. The resource includes education, identifying the issues, preventing misuse, and workpace resources.  

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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Center for Motor Vehicle Safety recently issued its newsletter focused on workplace driving.  The main article, “Marijuana and Driving: Keep Your Fleet’s Drivers Safe” provided an overview of marijuana, its science, and its effects on driving.  Also featured was “How Employers Can Address Motor Vehicle Safety Risks Related to Marijuana Use.”

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A Side Event of the 64th CND hosted virtually April 16, 2021 by the Green Crescent Malaysia with support from the organizations represented below:

H.E. Dato’ Ganeson Sivagurunathan, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the UN

Dr. Ahmad Fairuz Mohamed, Green Crescent Malaysia

>Presentation:  World Progress and Challenges of Drug Free Workplace Program

Dr. Norli Abdul Jabar, The International Federation of Non-Government Organizations for the Prevention of Drug and Substance Abuse (IFNGO)

>Presentation: One Stop Centre for Addiction (OSCA)

Amy Ronshausen, Executive Director of Drug Free...

Quest Diagnostics is a leader in workforce drug testing analysis and data through its Drug Testing Index (DTI). The latest data available indicates an 11.2% drug positivity rate among the U.S. workforce.

Hair drug testing provides results from a 90-day window that shows patterns of substance use. It is the largely a tamper-proof method as collections are observed. 

Check out Quest Diagnostics latest Employer Solutions Blog:  Ask the experts: Hair testing vs. hair follicle testing.

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Watch an on-demand recording of our "Back to basics: Hair drug testing" webinar.

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This excellent article by the U.S. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides an overview of the issues that are evolving regarding marijuana use and its effect in the workplace.  Marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug in the U.S. with 43.5 million past-year users age 12 or over in 2018. Approximately one-fifth of all U.S. workers reported using marijuana in the past year. The implications for the workplace are significant, especially for risks to workplace safety and for the well-being...

National Prevention Week is an annual health observance dedicated to increasing public awareness of, and action around, mental health and/or substance use disorders.

Purpose of National Prevention Week

The three primary goals of National Prevention Week are to:

• Involve communities in raising awareness of substance use and mental health issues and in implementing prevention strategies, and showcasing effectiveness of evidence-based prevention programs;
• Foster partnerships and collaborations with federal agencies and national organizations dedicated to improving public health; and
• Prom...

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have disseminated more evidence-based prevention resources for parents.   “Listen First” is an initiative to increase support for prevention of drug use that is based on science and is thus an effective investment in the well-being of children and youth, their families and their communities. Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe. The website offers a variety of videos, science fact sheets, parenting tips, monthly newsletters, and much more. 

Since most parents are employed, having tools such...

Annually, on April 7th, the World Health Organization (WHO) focuses on recognizing World Health Day.  This year, WHO is advocating for building a fairer, healthier world for everyone. Advancing the universal importance of a healthy workplace, especially one that is substance free, is critical.

In a 2013 report, the International Labour Organization estimated that globally there are more than 3 billion workers (International Labour Organization, 2013). WHO stated that employees spend an average of one-third of their lives generating the products and services of their countries, however, 15...

An essential component of any drug testing program is a comprehensive final review of laboratory results, which includes review of appropriate documentation, as well as an interview with the donor of the specimen to discover whether or not an acceptable medical explanation exists for the laboratory result.

A confirmed positive test result reported from a laboratory does not automatically identify an employee or job applicant as having misused drugs, nor does a laboratory result of invalid, substituted, or adulterated automatically identify a person as having tampered with a specimen.

A...

Newsroom  |   Farah Hancock  |  October 12, 2020

Do the effects of cannabis mess with cognitive ability for days after use and are urine tests the best way to sniff-out at risk employees?

Kirk Hardy has in his boardroom a bulk bag of dried parsley flakes, which is well past its use-by date.

It's a prop, not an elderly garnish. The former police drug squad detective boasts he can estimate by sight what 14 grams - half an ounce - of parsley is.

The 14 grams is what’s proposed as the amount of cannabis a person can legally buy a day should cannabis be legalised [in New Zealand]...

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major effect on people for the past year causing many different challenges, be it working or not working, taking care of children and home schooling, being separated from friends and family, grief from the loss of loved ones, being isolated; the list goes on and on. The effect on people’s mental health has resulted in many resorting to increased substance use.

Workplace Impact

Accelerated consumption of alcohol or the illicit use of drugs only serves to make the situation worse, especially if the consumers are employees. According to Quest Diagnostics Drug...

Over the past months, we have shared a number of reosurces regarding working parents and how the workplace can support their role within their family that will ultimately have a positive effect on their role on the job. Building confident and encouraging parenting and communication skills helps their kids to resist substance use.

Today we are sharing some resources from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). They havedeveloped resources for parenting entitled "Listen FIrst" and other parenting resources and tips.  This is especially important as families face the stress of...

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Prescription Drug Toolkit and Fact
Sheets from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) provides guidance related to counseling, referrals, and follow-up
services that EAPs can offer employees whose substance misuse has affected
their workplace environment. The Toolkit also shares insight for employers
about preventing substance misuse and maintaining professional standards.

These materials describe the ways in which EAPs provide alternatives to
prescription drugs, workplace drug misuse and relapse prevention, information
...

Substance Use Cost Calculator for Employers
Presented by Rachael Cooper and Dr. Eric Goplerud
3/17/21 @ 2pm-3pm EDT (UTC-4) 

Join the National Safety Council and NORC at the University of Chicago for a free webinar to learn about the new Substance Use Cost Calculator for Employers. Substance use is an issue in every U.S. workforce, with 1 in 12 workers dealing with an untreated substance use disorder. To address these issues, National Safety Council and NORC collaborated to update the Substance Use Cost Calculator for Employers, funded by Nationwide. This authoritative, easy-to-use tool...

From: Fulbright Australia 

A new study led by an Adelaide-based Fulbright Scholar has found that every dollar invested in programs that support and nurture employee mental health and wellness generated over three dollars of benefits through improving staff absenteeism and job performance.

Employee assistance programs (EAPs), voluntary workplace-based counselling programs, are widespread across industrialized countries, including the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Today, a team of researchers from the U.S. and Australia published the first known controlled economic evaluation of an EAP...

In recent months, we’ve featured several posts regarding parents in the workplace but I wanted to share some new parent resources from the U.S Department of Health and Human Service’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  

You may recall our discussion about working parents that have a child that becomes involved with using drugs or alcohol and the negative effect that has on the parents’ focus on work responsibilities.  It is a great practice for workplaces to have educational resources available for parents and all employees on substance use topics such as those...