OxyContin vs. Oxycodone

Posted on by Craig Bourque

OxyContin vs. Oxycodone

OxyContin and oxycodone can both be deadly when abused. These powerful opioid pain-relievers can do incredible good when taken properly and prescribed and monitored by a physician that understands the possible addiction both of these opioids can create. They are often prescribed for relief from extreme pain, and are usually administered in some type of time-release formula.

Oxycodone is the active ingredient, and is usually combined with other medications, chemicals, powders or liquids. Just because it is mixed with other substances, it doesn’t mean it can’t still be incredibly addictive, dangerous and even deadly when abused. You may find Tylenol, Ibuprofen or some other low-level pain reliever combined with oxycodone. Brand-name precription pain relievers such as Percodan, OxyContin and Percocet all include some level of oxycodone.

 

Spark Better Business

OxyContin, however, has only one ingredient … oxycodone. Since the level of addictive, pain-relieving oxycodone is much higher in OxyContin than in some product which combines oxycodone with other chemicals, OxyContin should be considered highly addictive and taken responsibly and under close physician supervision.

OxyContin does contain time-release restrictions when obtained in a legal, prescribed form. However, abusers and addicts have found that crushing the tablet or mixing it in water removes the time-release restriction, and the rush of euphoria is immediate. Withdrawals after taking OxyContin irresponsibly are severe, and this is what makes OxyContin so much more addictive than medications which combine oxycodone with other chemicals and medicines.

OxyContin abuse has been found to be one of the leading causes to the current opioid epidemic causing widespread heroin use nationwide. Opioid abuse leads to addiction so quickly because the user is always seeking the high they received when they first abused the drug. The build up a tolerance to the drug over time leading to more frequent use as well as stronger drugs such as fentanyl and carfentanil. 

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Opioid Drug Crisis – Oxycontin

Posted on by Craig Bourque

Opioid Drug Crisis – Oxycontin

Any discussion of an opioid drug crisis has to include OxyContin. From 2010 to 2017 in the United States, opioid addiction rates have exploded, up nearly 500% in that 7-year span. Right at the top of the prescription addiction list is OxyContin, a drug which has an addiction more powerful than that of morphine. The United States is far from the only country to suffer from addictions to prescribed medications, with most modern countries recognizing this is a serious public health issue.

Opioid-related deaths have risen by 300% since the turn of the century in the US, and OxyContin is one of the most addictive pain-relievers often prescribed by doctors. Because it is frequently in the news, OxyContin is routinely turned down when offered by a physician for treating pain. The potential relief it can deliver is outweighed by the possible addiction in the mind of the patient.

 

 

pathway to addiction

Ever since the late 1990s, OxyContin has been used to treat postoperative pain for a number of operations and procedures. When the pain is extremely high, this drug is sometimes prescribed because of the oxycodone it contains. One dose of OxyContin contains between 10 and 80 mg of oxycodone, which delivers a time-released relief from pain for up to 12 hours.

Whether obtained through a legal prescription or by other means, OxyContin can be crushed and then snorted or swallowed, or diluted in water and injected. This removes the time-release mechanism and gives a ‘high’ or feeling of euphoria comparable to that of heroin. This sometimes leads to criminal behavior in an effort to get more of this addictive drug than a prescription allows. Street prices for Oxycontin have risen leading people who are addicted to the drug and can no longer get the pill to seek out alternative drugs in its place including heroin which is widely available and more affordable.

 

Medical Review Officer | What is a MRO?

Posted on by Craig Bourque

What is a MRO – Medical Review Officer?

MRO in the world of drug testing stands for Medical Review Officer. A MRO is a licensed physician who receives and reviews laboratory drug test results and evaluates those results while taking into consideration the donor’s medical history and prescription usage. These physicians are specially trained in substance abuse testing and provide protection for the donor to ensure that a positive drug test result is not due to legitimate prescription usage.

 

MRO review, while not always required, is very common in employment drug testing in order to protect both the employee and the employer. MRO review is less common when it comes to legal or court ordered testing.

The MRO Review Process

The MRO review process begins when the laboratory has completed the drug testing process and reports their findings (results) to the Medical Review Officer. The Medical Review Officer’s team examine the entire collection process to make sure the correct test panel was performed and that the correct procedures were followed by the collector to make sure that there is no evidence of tampering or foul play that could disqualify the results.

When a drug test is reported positive by the lab, the MRO will then contact the donor to determine if there is a legitimate medical explanation for the positive lab result.  The MRO will ask the donor specific, health history and prescription usage questions and seek to validate any history or prescription information provided by the donor. In some cases. prescription medications or medical treatments can cause a positive lab test result.  In these situations, the MRO will obtain verification of a valid prescription or recent medical treatment and then finalize the drug test result and report the result as negative or positive based on their findings.

Using an MRO to review and interpret the laboratory test results provides a professional, scientific, unbiased, third party review of the results. This protects the donor’s health and medical history from parties that do not have the right to that information and also protects the entire process to insure the integrity of the testing process from collection to the final result being reported.

MRO Review For Employment Drug Testing

MRO review is required for all Department of Transportation (DOT) regulated drug testing. For unregulated testing, or non-DOT testing, MRO review is not required, but is strongly recommended given the protections it offers both the employee and the employer.

MRO Review For Legal/Court Testing

MRO review for court ordered or legal forensic drug testing is not as common. The lack of MRO review provides the court the opportunity to see the raw test results direct from the laboratory. Without MRO review, the determination if a drug test is positive due to prescription medication, medical procedures or illegal use gets placed into the hands of lawyers, judges and juries.

 

To learn more about what drug testing services are best suited for your needs, please call or text 843-972-3287 or email us.

 

Level Up!

Posted on by Craig Bourque

LEVEL UP!

Understanding drug test levels

One of the most misunderstood and confusing aspects of drug testing – especially when it comes to drug test results – surrounds the term “levels.”  Understanding what levels mean in the drug testing process requires an understanding of how drug testing is performed to begin with and what final results really mean.  There are three types of “levels” found on a typical drug test result report. They are:  screen cutoff level, confirm cutoff level and actual level (also known as test level). 

All specimens undergo an initial screening process to determine if a specimen may contain a substance of interest. The screening process tests for a number of compounds that fall within a given drug class or panel.  It is important to note that the testing methods in the screening process test an overall drug class known as a drug panel.  The panel may include one or more specific drugs or drug metabolites.  The exact drugs within a drug panel may also vary depending on the laboratory.  For example, an opiate (OPI) panel from Lab A may include codeine, hydrocodone and morphine where as Lab B’s opiate panel may include codeine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, morphine, oxycodone and fentanyl.  Not all drug panels are the same – especially when dealing with different laboratories.

SCREEN CUTOFF LEVEL

A screen cutoff is a predetermined cutoff level of an overall drug class or panel that is established prior to the initial screening of the specimen.  If the specimen tested goes above this predetermined cutoff level for a drug class or panel, the specimen fails the screening process and moves on to the confirmation or laboratory testing process. 

Screen cutoff levels will vary depending on the specimen type (urine, hair, saliva, nails) as well as the established cutoffs used by the testing laboratory.  Most laboratories follow the cutoff levels recommended by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), but this does not guarantee that the cutoff levels established and used meet these recommendations.

Sample Urine Drug Test Result: 

CONFIRM CUTOFF LEVEL

The confirm cutoff is a predetermined cutoff level that is established prior to the laboratory testing of a specimen.  This cutoff level may be different (different level number) from the screening cutoff because the testing process at the confirmation level is completely different.  Testing at the confirmation level uses highly specialized and calibrated equipment and processes. Unlike the screening level that screens the overall drug class, laboratory confirmation testing analyzes specific drugs and drug metabolites within a specimen and delivers a positive or negative result for each individual drug and/or metabolite being tested.  A positive result for a specific drug or metabolite will demonstrate at a certain level called the test level or actual level.

Sample Hair Follicle Drug Test Result: 

 

ACTUAL (TEST) LEVEL

This level simply provides a numeric level of detection of a specific drug or metabolite.  This number is also the most misunderstood and misused number in the whole result reporting process of drug testing.  The only thing this number reflects is that there is an amount of drug or drug metabolite that was found in the specimen being tested at the time of the specimen collection.  This number can and will vary day to day, person to person, test by test and report by report.  By itself, the level found on a positive drug test result means absolutely nothing.   

“By itself, the level found on a positive drug test result means absolutely nothing.”

A common mistake people make is to compare the actual drug test levels to the confirm cutoff number thinking this will give them some degree of severity of use of a substance. This is not true. A drug test result that reports as a positive test is a positive test.  Levels that are close to (but above) the confirm cutoff level are not considered “almost negative” – they indicate a positive drug test.

The numeric drug test level DOES NOT indicate a severity of use of the drug or metabolite detected, it merely provides a quantitative (numeric) value to the level of substance found at the time of testing.  Every person’s body reacts and metabolizes drugs at different speeds and quantities making it impossible to compare one drug user to another using a single test to see who is the heavier drug user.  Therefore, one cannot assume that the actual level number in comparison to the confirm cutoff level indicates anything other than the specimen tested positive for the presence of the drug indicated. 

IS THERE A BENEFIT TO drug test LEVELS?

If an actual level reported by itself has no meaning, then what is the point of showing levels on a drug test result?  That’s a great question – and the answer is an important one – especially when it comes to substance abuse tracking, investigative and legal purposes. 

In cases of legal investigations or tracking substance abuse in an individual, levels are a valuable tool to determining if a drug user has abstained from further use or has continued using a specific drug.  In order to determine this, an initial drug test must be performed to obtain the “starting point” or “initial level.”  For tracking purposes, hair follicle testing is most beneficial specimen to test because it detects substance use over a period of 90 days.  Once an initial level has been obtained from the first drug test, subsequent testing using the same specimen type and laboratory will show comparative levels against the initial level.  If the number of the level on a subsequent test is lower, it indicates that the user has not engaged in additional drug use since the last test that was conducted. A higher level would indicate continued use.

It is important to remember that you cannot compare levels from different specimen types or from different laboratories.   For example, you can’t compare a hair follicle test result level to a urine test result level. You also cannot compare a hair follicle test done at Quest Diagnostics to a hair follicle test done at American Toxicology.  For a proper and valid comparison, the testing specimen and laboratory must remain constant throughout the tracking process.

CONCLUSION

In summary, the purpose of levels reported on a drug test result are to assist in determining ongoing drug use or absence of use only.    For initial testing purposes, levels displayed on an initial drug test only provide a starting point or benchmark from which to compare future testing.  A single drug test level as a stand alone number provides no evidence of the severity of use or abuse of a drug. Comparing actual levels to the screen or confirm cutoff levels does not provide an accurate or estimated measure of severity of drug use and should not be practiced.

Legalized Marijuana & Your Company

Posted on by Craig Bourque

Marijuana Legalization & What It Means For Your Company

The legalization of medical marijuana in over 24 states and the legalization of recreational marijuana use in several states creates a big question for employers. While the use of marijuana is rapidly gaining acceptance in today’s society, the fact remains that it is still illegal according to Federal laws.

So the question remains…
Do we really want to drug test our applicants & employees?

Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water…The real question employers should be asking is:

Do we want to include marijuana in our drug testing panel?

The answer is – It really depends on the employer and other factors.   Employers that are regulated by Federal Agencies like the Department of Transportation or Department of Defense are required to include marijuana or THC in their drug test panels.   Non-regulated companies have far more latitude when it comes to drug testing and can choose what drugs they want to test for, how to test for it (urine, saliva, hair, blood) and how often or what situations to test in.

 

CONSIDERATIONS

First and foremost, it is important to understand and realize why drug testing is so important in the first place. Considering these factors may help in making your decision:

accidentQ: Do you really want a heroin addict or “meth head” driving that forklift or entering your customer’s home or office?
A: Of course not – nothing good can come of that. From accidents to theft to loss of productivity and higher insurance costs – a drug abuser on the payroll is never a good idea so ditching drug testing altogether is probably not the best option.

Q: Can an accident be caused by someone impaired by marijuana use?
A: Yes, marijuana use has been proven to slow reaction times under normal and emergency conditions..

Q: Can an applicant or employee use marijuana over the weekend and be completely unimpaired when reporting to work Monday morning?
A: Most likely, yes. Impairment is most recognized by the user during the first 4-6 hours of use, however, studies have shown impairment can last up to 24 hours.

Q: Will a urine(the most common specimen) drug screen show recreational use of marijuana?
A: Yes. Urine specimens can show drug use for 2-4 days and up to 30 days for chronic marijuana users.

Q: Can I just ignore a positive marijuana test?
A: As an employer, under no circumstances, should you ignore a positive drug test for marijuana or any other drug. Doing so opens everyone up to significant liability.

 

TRENDS

With the legalization of marijuana for medical or recreational use in several states, two very distinct trends are appearing when it comes to employer drug testing.

The first trend is that companies are reinforcing their current drug policies, specifically no potstating that even though medicinal or recreational use of marijuana is legal in some states, the company still recognizes federal laws that identifies marijuana as an illegal drug and does not condone or allow marijuana use by its employees. The policy further states that positive test results for marijuana will result in disciplinary action. State Supreme Courts have already upheld the employer’s right to discipline an employee for a positive drug test for THC – even in states where marijuana is legal medically or recreationally.

second optionThe second option some companies are choosing is to remove marijuana (THC) from their current drug test panels for pre-employment and random drug testing. They are, however, keeping marijuana (THC) in the drug test panels for post accident testing and reasonable suspicion testing – using oral saliva as the specimen instead of urine. Oral saliva testing in addition to instant alcohol tests for post accident or reasonable suspicion situations is quickly gaining in popularity.     Testing, combined with supervisory observations, seek to provide evidence of impairment at the time of the incident or observation. Oral saliva testing is used because, unlike other specimen types, it can detect immediate recent use of drugs and can only detect up to approximately 72 hours.

 

THE CHOICE

The choice is not clear cut – unless you are in a regulated industry. As an employer in an unregulated industry, you must weigh the pros and cons to determine what kind of drug testing program and policy works best for your company. It is best to educate yourself on your options including the types of drug tests available, when drug and/or alcohol testing should be done, the different specimen types, and the length of time each specimen can detect use. A Certified Drug & Alcohol Testing Consultant can assist you in making the best, most informed decision for your company as well as help you to review, edit or develop a solid substance free workplace policy that meets your company’s needs.

 

ABOUT CAROLINA TESTING

Our Certified Drug & Alcohol Testing Consultants educate and guide employers and organizations in best practices to educate, deter and prevent illicit drug use through effective review, development and management of substance free policies.

Steadfastly dedicated to a strict code of ethics, confidentiality and integrity in the performance of our duties, Carolina Testing is positioned as trusted professionals in the drug and alcohol testing industry, promoting ongoing education and training in our fields of expertise. We take pride in offering free educational seminars to schools and community organizations illustrating the dangers and damaging effects illicit drug use can play in our workplaces, families and communities.

For more information, or a FREE, no obligation consultation, please contact us today!

Legal DNA Paternity Testing | Myrtle Beach

Posted on by Craig Bourque

WHAT IS DNA PATERNITY TESTING?

DNA Paternity TestingDNA paternity testing is an important genetic test that determines the biological father of a child. DNA is received from our biological parents — half from our mother and half from our father. A DNA paternity test compares the child’s DNA patterns with that of the alleged father to determine if there is a genetic match confirming or denying paternity.

Choosing a DNA paternity test where the results will be used as a legal document is an important choice.  You should make sure that the test being conducted is a Legal DNA Paternity Test.  A Legal DNA Paternity Test involves strict documentation and guidelines starting with the specimen collection, transporting the specimens to an accredited laboratory, and the testing process itself.  The specimens must be accounted for during every step of the process through legal chain of custody procedures in order to have the results accepted by the courts.

Some common reasons for Legal DNA Testing include:pregnancy-test72

  • child support
  • child custody
  • birth certificate changes
  • immigration
  • will / estate proceedings
  • court order
  • adoption
  • tax forms / dependents

HOW TO PREPARE FOR LEGAL DNA PATERNITY TESTING

At the very minimum, the alleged father and the child will need to have saliva specimens collected via cheek swab in order to complete a DNA paternity test.  The mother is encouraged to also provide a specimen to produce faster, more definitive results.  All parties do not have to be present for the specimen collections at the same time.  Specimen collections can be done locally and nationwide through a network of specimen collection sites in the event that the parties live in different areas of the country.  Adults should be prepared to bring government issued photo identification such as a driver’s license, passport, military ID or other state issued photo ID.  Children with no photo ID should have a birth certificate or social security card with the child’s name with them at the time of their specimen collection.

For more information about DNA Paternity Testing, please contact Carolina Testing.  www.carolinatesting.com

Call or Text: 843-972-3287  Email:  info@carolinatesting.com

 
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Is A Good Economy Hazardous To Your Business?

Posted on by Craig Bourque

Can You Find Good Help?

As the economy continues to strengthen and grow and the memories of the Great Recession fade, challenges for growing businesses continue to mount. With unemployment rates steadily decreasing, the pool of good quality available workers also decreases. The most reliable applicants who are drug free with clean backgrounds are likely already employed leaving behind a pool of applicants that may be drug users and/or have undesirable background histories. Now, more than ever, good employee screening practices are critical to the success of your business. What is put at risk when a company elects to forgo drug screening and background checks as part of their employee application process? For starters, the company’s reputation, the safety of other employees, the well being of customers and your company’s financial stability are all at stake.

 

 

Reputation

Your company’s reputation is on the line every day. You have built your company and it’s reputation and know how damaging an unsatisfied customer can be. Your employees represent your company and their appearance, behavior and actions are a direct reflection of your company. Without proper screening tools in place and in use, placing a drug abuser or person with a criminal record in a position to reflect and represent your company is very likely. Do you really want your company represented by a drug abuser? A child molester? A convicted felon?

 

What about second chances? Some companies are looking toward the recently incarcerated and people with past criminal records (depending on the infraction) to fill employment needs. Knowing a person’s past and working with them and giving them that second chance may produce incredibly productive, loyal and thankful employees. Bringing someone on board that is currently testing positive for drug use, on the other hand, may not be the best option.

 

Safety & Well Being

Substance use and abuse in the workplace is the leading cause of accidents on the job. More often than not, the injured party is usually a fellow employee of the drug user instead of the drug user themselves. Creating a safe work environment for all employees creates an environment where everyone will be happier. If caring about your employee’s well being is not high on your priority list, how about your customers? Is you customer’s safety important to you. Should electrical systems be installed properly to avoid fires? Who really needs their customers to have correctly working brakes, right? The safety and well being of all of your employees and your customers should be a top priority – always.

 

Financial Stability

The bottom line is your bottom line. When accidents happen, it costs the company money – in insurance rate increases, time off, production losses, etc. When a user or abuser of drugs is working for you, it can cost you more than you can afford. Substance abusers (drug and alcohol) cost businesses billions of dollars every year!   As a result, companies can lose customers, experience decreased productivity, see higher rates of absenteeism and turnover costs, pay higher insurance and worker’s compensation premiums, the list goes on and on.

 

Conclusion

Just because you absolutely need to fill a position and hire someone, the last thing you want to do is skimp on the employee screening tools available to you such as background checks and drug screens. It would be more cost effective to leave the position unfilled than to allow someone to come on board that could potentially destroy your company.   You may want to consider raising your starting pay rates, offering more or better benefits, recruiting good workers from other companies and competitors. Be creative and make your company more attractive to potential employees – do everything you can to attract the best applicants and screen out the applicants that can harm your business and reputation. Companies that are doing these things are raising prices and cutting costs in other areas to be able to offer better wages and benefits and a more attractive work environment.

Hiring In This Economy?

Posted on by Craig Bourque

Hiring In This Economy?

Don’t Skip The Drug Test & Background Check!

 

As the local, regional and national economy continues to grow, unemployment rates are at an all time low causing problems for some businesses. Getting applications to fill open positions is not the problem – there are plenty of people looking for jobs still. The problem is, do you really want them working for your company?

 

Lower unemployment rates typically mean less qualified applicants for open positions. Even more concerning is the fact that those typically applying for positions are less likely to be able to pass a background check or a drug test. Companies sticking to stringent pre-employment screening guidelines are finding it will take longer to fill open positions, but they also realize the risk in loosening screening guidelines.

 

At what cost?

Hiring an employee with a criminal record or someone with a drug problem can quickly add up in unexpected costs for the company. Most companies would agree – they don’t want a registered sex offender walking into their client’s home representing their company. It is not worth the risk for the client or the company. The same can be said of a drug user. Stories of service personnel going into clients homes performing duties for the company and returning at a later time to burglarize the same home for drug money are becoming more and more common. Imagine the damage to your company’s reputation when your employee get arrested and charged with burglarizing your customer.

 

What to do?

Credible companies who are concerned about the safety of their employees, clients, customers and the general public are sticking to their pre-employment screening requirements – even if it means leaving an open position unfilled for a longer period of time. To fill those empty roles, some companies are now offering higher wages and more attractive benefits in an effort to attract good employees from competitors.

 

To learn more about pre-employment screening services such as background checks and drug screening, contact Carolina Testing.

Hair Follicle Drug Tests – Myrtle Beach | Conway

Posted on by Craig Bourque

Hair Follicle Drug Tests on the Rise

Hair follicle drug tests are growing in popularity for two main reasons – the inability to cheat the test and the longer term detection window provided by such a test. In addition to standard hair follicle tests, some labs are also now offering environmental exposure testing using hair samples.

1. Inability to cheat the test

Hair follicle tests involve a directly observed hair collection by a trained specimen collector. Unlike urine specimen testing, where a donor is behind closed doors, this specimen collection process cannot be subverted or hidden in any manner. A quick “clean up” fix like those offered online are great money makers for those selling the products, but they have no effect on hair follicle testing results. The excuse that you were exposed to drug smoke does not hold any water either as a standard hair follicle test involves special processes to clean the hair prior to testing and the matter being tested is the inside of the hair itself.   If an environmental exposure test is ordered, the test result will clearly identify the positive reading as exposure and not use. More on exposure testing later in this article.

2. Longer detection window

Unlike urine testing which detects usage for the past 2-7 days (longer for marijuana users), hair testing typically provides a window of detection for 90 days or more. When drugs are taken, the metabolites go into the hair follicle, and then into the strands themselves, where they stay, pretty much forever. Hair on your head typically grows at a rate of approximately .5 inches per month. In this case, if your hair was 18 inches long, and you tested the entire length of hair, they could find drugs consumed more than 3 years ago! There is no reason to worry about this in most cases, because the standard hair follicle test only tests 1.5 inches from the root end of the hair strands.

If head hair is not available to collect, body hair may be collected. Body hair collection can be done from facial hair, arms, legs, chest or underarms. The detection window for body hair is estimated by some labs to be up to one year, but this has yet to be scientifically verified. A good rule of thumb, regardless of where the hair was collected from is that the detection window will reflect the past 90 days of use. There is no way to determine from test results when the drug use occurred, only that drug use did occur.

3. Types of Tests

The two primary types of hair follicle tests include standard hair testing and exposure testing.

For standard hair follicle tests, the number of drugs being tested for can be any number of combinations from 5 panel, 10 panel, 17 panel or more. Tests can also determine alcohol usage as well as drug usage. This type of testing only determines consumption/use of the substance being tested for.

For exposure tests, also known as environmental exposure tests, the hair strands are not washed prior to testing and the outer shell of the hair is tested for the presence of drugs. Exposure testing is most commonly combined with hair follicle testing which tests for exposure to drugs as well as ingestion of drugs. If exposure to drugs is detected, the test results will clearly indicate that the specimen tested positive for exposure to drugs.   Exposure to drugs does not indicate ingestion or use of drugs. It simply indicates that the person was in the presence of drug use. This is a popular test in child welfare situations and is used to determine if a child has been exposed to drug use in addition to the possibility of ingesting drugs. This test, offered by Carolina Testing is known as the Child Guard Test.

In closing, hair follicle testing offers a fool proof way to test for a wide range of testing possibilities over an extended period of time. Depending on your exact needs, the costs of hair follicle testing can typically range from $120 to over $500. Please contact your Carolina Testing professionals for assistance in choosing the right test for your needs.

Cocaine – Getting Higher In The Workplace

Posted on by Craig Bourque

Cocaine, derived from the coca plant is native to South America where many people chew the plant’s leaves to reduce pain, thirst, hunger, while giving a boost of energy. By the 1880s, doctors were studying cocaine as a miracle anesthetic for surgeries. It was also being studied for a variety of health conditions including anxiety and pain. By the turn of the 20th century, fatalities were associated with cocaine and an article in The New York Times by Dr. Edward Huntington Williams warned of the drug’s dangers, calling its effects “cocaine-craze insanity.” In 1914, Congress passed the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act which banned the non-medical use of cocaine in the United States. Today, cocaine is classified as a Schedule II controlled drug with a high potential for abuse, which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

 

After an analysis of more than ten million workplace drug tests, cocaine made headlines in this year’s Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™ (DTI) report because drug test results indicating cocaine use rose 12 percent in 2016. This increase reflects a seven-year high which has led to a trend of consecutive year increases of cocaine use in the workplace – both in federally mandated, safety-sensitive positions like transportation workers as well as general U.S. workers. Overall, cocaine drug use has fluctuated in the U.S. general workforce with its highest levels in 1998 and its lowest levels in 2012 according to the DTI.

 

Even more troubling is that positive drug tests indicating cocaine use are twice as high when the test was conducted in a post-accident scenario as compared to pre-employment tests.

While a positive test doesn’t necessarily prove drug use caused the accident, it does raise the question as to whether it played a role in the incident.

The most current findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health tell us:

  • An estimated 8.2 percent of adults (aged 26 or older), or 17.1 million people, currently use an illicit drug
  • 580,000 young adults (ages 18-25) and 1.2 million adults currently use cocaine
  • Approximately 31,000 adolescents (ages 12-17), 229,000 young adults, and 637,000 adults suffer from a cocaine use disorder, pointing to dependence and recurrent use that affects health and responsibilities at work, home, or school

 

Visit QuestDiagnostics.com/DTI for the full report and data.

 

To learn more about drug testing, visit our website or contact us online or call/text 843-972-3287.