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Posts Tagged ‘drug testing’

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Canadian Political Drug Scandal

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Former Edmonton-Strathcona MP (and husband of current conservative cabinet minister, Helena Guergis)  Rahim Jaffer, has just been charged with drunk driving and possession of cocaine.

Ontario police stopped 37-year-old, Jaffer on Sept. 11 on Regional Road 50 in Palgrave, Ontario because he was speeding through the village.  “When the officer approached the car, she smelled the odour of alcohol and demanded a roadside screening test, which [Mr. Jaffer] failed,” said Caledon OPP Sergeant Mike Garant. “He was arrested and searched, and that’s when the alleged cocaine was found on his person.”   Mr. Jaffer was taken to the Caledon OPP office where he provided two more breath samples, which registered more than 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of blood, said Sgt. Garant. After spending about four hours in police custody — part of which was spent in a jail cell while police processed his case — Mr. Jaffer was released. His license was suspended for 90 days.

Jaffer became the first Muslim to be elected to the House of Commons when he won the Edmonton-Strathcona seat at the age of 25 in 1997. He held the riding until last year’s federal election, when he lost to NDP rival Linda Duncan.

Days before the vote, Jaffer’s campaign approved radio ads chiding NDP Leader Jack Layton for comments years earlier that Jaffer cast as broad support for marijuana use.

The spots said, in part: “Edmontonians understand how difficult it is to make sure our children make the right choices, especially on serious issues like drug use. The Conservative Party supports drug-free schools and getting tough with drug dealers who sell illegal drugs to children. Don’t let our schools go up in smoke. On Oct. 14 vote Conservative.”

I find it extremely disheartening that a public figure known for his anti-drug stance has received drug charges for cocaine possession.  The only real lesson that I can take from this story is a reminder that drug use and abuse is not just a blue collar, low income problem.  Employers in white collar jobs also need to be aware that drug abuse is a significant problem, and can have substantial consequences within the company.

Drug abuse in the workplace results in:

  • 5 times more Workers Compensation claims
  • 30% greater employee turnover
  • 40 versus 4 days of employee absenteeism
  • 36 times higher employee theft
  • 300 - 400% more health care benefit utilization
  • A greater chance of workplace violence (66% of those arrested in such incidences test positive)

National Institute on Drug Abuse

As someone in the public eye, Mr. Jaffer should have taken extra measures to abstain from illegal activities.  I am in no way condoning drug use or impaired driving for the average citizen, but people in the public eye do have a greater responsibility to be a role model to the public.  Mr. Jaffer will now serve as reminder to me of the costs associated with drug use.  I’m certain that criminal charges and a tarnished political career are just the tip of the iceberg.

What are your thoughts?

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Posted in Alcohol Testing, Drug Testing, Impaired Driving, Newsworthy | 1 Comment »

Drug Testing is Not Just for Blue Collar Workers: Professionals Also Struggle with Addictions

Monday, August 10th, 2009

“I spent many nights huddled in doorways, talking to strangers. That’s when I’d open up about my own life, my own downfall, and discovered I wasn’t alone. I met doctors, lawyers, architects, engineers - people from every walk of professional life who became addicted to drugs.” Marshall Smith seemed to have it all; he was a political staffer during Gordon Campbell’s first term in office. Smith was 28 years old with a very bright future that was suddenly taken over by drugs. Accepting a line of cocaine one night became a 3 year struggle for Smith who soon established a $2,000 a week habit of cocaine, meth and alcohol. From 2004 to 2007, the rising Politian had become a street-level hustler including dealing drugs to get money to feed his habit and sleeping in Vancouver parks and alleys.

“I was in a bar and someone offered me a line of cocaine. I did it, I liked it and I wanted more. But it was the beginning of the end.”

Like Smith many white collared workers can find themselves in this position, being put in life threatening situations fearing for their life. To have everything going for you one minute to having nothing the next shows just how powerful drugs can be to any lifestyle.  Smith found himself in jail many times; ironically he had once been employed with that same jail serving as a guard. Luckily for Smith after serving time for eight months in a series of Lower Mainland prisons, he finally decided to get help. He spent most of his prison time filling out applications for rehab and soon entered the Maple Ridge Treatment Centre in 2007. Free of drugs and alcohol for two years and now helping other addicts to recover Smith has rebounded with his parents and some of his old acquaintances, though many broken friendships will never be repaired.

When most people consider what a drug addict is, the picture of a rising political star, raised in a loving upper class family does not come to mind.  A common misconception is that poverty and low social class breed drug addiction.  While this certainly does occur, drug addiction is not limited to the have-nots.  Drug use occurs within many professional organizations, and the effects it can have on an organization can be devastating.   Employee theft and reduced productivity are common occurrences felt in organizations with an addict on staff.

When companies consider drug and alcohol testing as a pre-requisite for employment, it should not be limited to industrial companies, or those in safety sensitive positions.   Drug use in employees is not relegated by industry.  Any company that employs an addict will notice some negative impact in their workplace.  Reduced worker productivity and missed time, may not seem like a major issue, but over time this can cost a company tens of thousands of dollars.

Fortunately in Marshall Smith’s case, he was able to overcome his addiction and restart his life.  He burned a lot of bridges in the process; he was fired, homeless and arrested in a very short period of time.  But luckily he came to some point in his life where he realized that it was time to change, to get sober.

I am a strong advocate for drug free workplaces and would like to see companies take added steps to ensure a safe and productive workplace.  If you would like more information about the effects of drug use in the workplace, contact SureHire at 1-866-944-4473.

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Posted in Drug Testing, Newsworthy | No Comments »

Prescription Drug Abuse Continues to Rise

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Since the recent death of Michael Jackson, the topic of prescription drug misuse and abuse has been on the covers of magazines and widely discussed on television.

I thought it would be very timely to touch upon this topic, below is an article from the US Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol & Drug Information.

Students in big cities are “pharming” these days- “pharming” being new lexicon for grabbing “a handful” of prescription drugs and ingesting some or all of them. Young people steal grandma’s pills and distribute them at school. Senior citizens falsify their prescriptions for more pain medication. Babysitters take pills from cabinets. An Ohio real estate agent loses her license for pilfering pills from bathrooms at “Open Houses.” Eminem, the rapper, is reported to have had the painkiller Vicodin tattoed on his bicep.

These are all scenes from the latest drug frenzy-getting high (or low) from prescription drugs. The appeal is obvious-the drugs can be legally obtained, the stigma of going to a street pusher can be avoided, and the price isn’t steep. There are an estimated 800,000 web sites which sell prescription drugs on the Internet and will ship them to households no questions asked. Today, about one-third of all U.S. drug abuse is prescription drug abuse.

What drives it?

Experts and students themselves point to many things spurring prescription drug abuse by youth. There’s the extreme competition for college entrance, including competition for Advanced Placement and Honors courses in high school. Students talk of “dying down the pressure” with excess painkillers, sedatives, or stimulants. The abuse of the stimulant Ritalin, a drug used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is rising. Harm is not often associated with prescription drugs until it is too late. Others note that this is a culture which doesn’t easily tolerate pain. Also, an obsession with physical appearance stokes the use of diet pills. One such pill containing ephedra recently contributed to the death of a Baltimore Orioles pitcher during spring training.

Often, people don’t realize that prescription drugs, if used outside a doctor’s orders, can pack a very hard-sometimes lethal-punch.

ER and mortality stats

  • In 2000, 43 percent of those who ended up in hospital emergency rooms from drug overdoses-nearly a half million people-were there because of misusing prescription drugs.
  • In seven cities in 2000 (Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Seattle, and Washington, DC) 626 people died from overdose of painkillers and tranquilizers. By 2001, such deaths had increased in Miami and Chicago by 20 percent.
  • From 1998 to 2000, the number of people entering an emergency room because of misusing hydrocodone (Vicodin) rose 48 percent, oxycodone (OxyContin) 108 percent, and methadone 63 percent. The rates are intensifying: from mid-2000 to mid-2001, oxycodone went up in emergency room visits 44 percent.

Disturbing trends

While most illicit drug abuse, particularly for middle and high school teens, began to slow or actually decline in 2002 after a half a decade increase, abuse of prescription drugs continues to climb:

  • Over the past decade-and-a-half, the number of teen and young adult (ages 12 to 25) new abusers of prescription painkillers such as oxycodone (OxyContin) or hydrocodone (Vicodin) has grown five-fold (from 400,000 in the mid-eighties to 2 million in 2000).
  • New misusers of tranquilizers such as diazepam (Valium) or alprazolam (Xanax, called “zanies” by youth)-medicine normally used to treat anxiety or tension-went up nearly 50 percent in one year (700,000 in 1999 to 1 million in 2000).
  • More than 17 percent of adults over 60, wittingly or not, abuse prescription drugs.
  • In 2000, more than 19 million prescriptions for ADHD drugs were filled, a 72 percent increase since 1995. An estimated 3 to 5 percent of school-age children have ADHD. A study of students in Wisconsin and Minnesota showed 34 percent of ADHD youth age 11 to 18 report being approached to sell or trade their medicines, such as Ritalin.
  • Among 12- to 17-year-olds, girls are more likely than boys to use psychotherapeutic drugs nonmedically.

If you would like to read the original article, click here

An additional article on the rise of prescription drug use in Canada, and specifically Alberta can be found here.

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Posted in Alcohol Testing, Drug Testing | 4 Comments »

Strip-Searched 13-Year Old’s Case Goes to the Supreme Court

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

This week, the case of Safford United School District No. 1 v. Redding (08-479) is heading to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final ruling.  In 2003, 13-year old Savanna Redding was strip-searched by two Arizona school representatives after one of her classmates accused her of providing prescription-strength Ibuprofen.  The Arizona school has a zero tolerance policy for drugs including over-the-counter and prescription medication without prior written consent.  School officials were unsuccessful in finding any drugs in Redding’s backpack or on her person after performing the strip search.  Previous courts and panels found the search reasonable because of the school’s zero tolerance policy.  However, last year the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Redding, citing that the strip search was illegal and “traumatizing” for Redding.  For more background information about the case itself, visit the link above.

The obvious issue in this case is whether the school board went too far by having the youth strip to her underwear to search for Ibuprofen!  Did school representatives have strong enough evidence to search her based on reasonable suspicion?  The CNN report states that Redding was searched because she was accused by a classmate.  Redding had no prior disciplinary history, was an honors student, told school officials when questioned that she did not have any Ibuprofen, and no pills were found when her backpack was searched.  The reasons not to strip search her seem to outweigh the justification of the search.  It would be different if the classmate had provided evidence of the pills, or if other students interviewed had also reported seeing Redding with the pills.

Many schools have instituted a zero-tolerance policy for drugs in an effort to make their school safer for teachers and students in light of the number of school shootings in the past 10 years beginning with the Columbine massacre. However, at some point common sense has to be used.  I don’t know if trafficking ibuprofen has ever been linked to school violence, but I would highly doubt it.  Ibuprofen has a very low physical addiction property.  There are some serious health effects of abuse of ibuprofen; however, there are serious risks with abuse of any type of drug.  It would be different if Redding was being accused of possessing cocaine, marijuana or even oxycodone.

At the same time, school administrators and officials are under the microscope from parents and the general public to make schools safe.  Policies are developed to provide rules to be adhered to.  They are implemented to provide a framework to a cut and dry method of responding to situations.  School representatives are expected to follow the policies and procedures and may be reprimanded if not followed appropriately.  School teachers do not want to be disciplined for not following school rules, even if common sense suggests that the situation arises where the policy may be appropriate.  However, there are always exceptions to the rules.  Redding’s case is one of these situations.

We will keep you updated as to the outcome of this case.  The Supreme Court is in a precarious situation with this ruling, as a ruling in the favour of Redding may deter schools from acting in the same manner where there is more evidence for reasonable suspicion.  However, I believe in this case, the school acted in a manner that was overzealous, inappropriate and intrusive given the situation and information available.  Whether or not it was illegal is up to the courts.

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Posted in Drug Testing, Drug Testing Legislation, Newsworthy, Schools | 1 Comment »

Roadside Drug Testing in Canada

Monday, April 20th, 2009

The Canadian Society of Forensic Science estimate that there are currently fewer than 200 cases per year of drug-impaired driving compared to 81000 cases of alcohol-impaired driving.  However, there are currently very few studies available that have measured actual numbers.    In July of 2008, a new Canadian law came into effect authorizing police to perform road-side drug testing.  Drivers who refuse to submit to the test can be fined up to $1000 or a month in jail for a second refusal to test.  The consequences are similar to refusing a road-side breathalyzer.

Drummer et al. (2004) report that drivers who have recently used drugs have a significantly higher chance of being involved in an accident when compared to a drug-free driver.  The authors calculated the odds ratio for different drug categories when compared to controls.  An odds ratio provides an index of whether a specific drug is associated with an increased risk of a driver causing a road crash.  For example, an odds ratio of 1 means there is no increased relative risk when compared to a drug free group, while an odds ratio of 1.5 means there is a 50% increase relative to the control group.  Drummer et al. (2004) study found that those with THC (a byproduct of cannabis) had an odds ratio of 2.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.02 - 7.0) and those with amphetamines present had an odds ratio of 2.3 (95% confidence interval, 0.9 - 5.6).  Interestingly, heavy vehicle drivers with amphetamines present had an odds ratio of 8.8! That means this group of people were 880% more likely to be involved in an accident than drug-free drivers.  In addition, Davey et al., 2002 report that there is a belief among drivers that there is a reduced likelihood to being detected after consuming drugs versus after consuming alcohol.  This suggests there is a need for a deterrence strategy targeting drivers using drugs.

Since its inception in Canada, there have been no official statistics released to help evaluate the law’s effectiveness at removing drug-impaired drivers and acting generally as a deterrent.  However, road side drug testing has been implemented elsewhere in the world.  In Victoria, Australia, new legislation was implemented in 2004 prohibiting anyone driving a motor vehicle while methamphetamines, THC, or ecstasy is present at any level in the driver’s specimen.  Under the Road Safety Act (2003), police have the legislative authority to randomly drug test drivers using oral fluid techniques.

Statistical results from the Australian program were recently reported by Boorman and Owens (2009).  From December 2004 - December 2006, police tested 25 317 drivers; only two drivers stopped refused to provide samples.  Of those tested, 573 had a positive oral fluid sample and were asked to submit a second sample.  17 of the 573 refused to provide a second sample, and 489 of the 573 were convicted after testing positive in their second sample.  In summary, 508 of the 25 319 tests administered were positive or refusal to test; approximately a 2% positive test rate.  While 2% sounds a bit underwhelming, I think the power of these statistics lies in the absolute number of positive tests.  The Australian police helped to prevent 508 motor vehicle accidents from occurring including the potential fatalities that may have resulted!

Interestingly, the authors reported that approximately 1/50 drivers tested were positive for drugs, while the rate for alcohol was 1/103 during the same time period.  This implies that fewer drivers understand and/or care about the dangerous risks of drug-impaired driving when compared to alcohol-impaired driving.  Alternatively, it may be that these same drivers believe the risk of being caught impaired due to alcohol is higher than while using THC, methamphetamines or ecstasy.

There obviously continues to be an issue with driving while impaired on drugs.  However, the results of the Australian road-side random drug tests imply that the program can be successful in preventing drug-related motor vehicle accidents and fatalities.  In addition, more information needs to be directed towards the general public to educate about the risks of drug-impaired driving.  It will be interesting to see the results of the Canadian program, its effects on drug-related motor vehicle accidents and fatalities, and the long-term impact on road-side drug testing as a deterrent.

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Posted in Drug Testing, Impaired Driving, Interesting Facts, Youth and Drugs | 1 Comment »

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