Heroin Makes a Comeback

In July 2012, the news reports announced that the Australian Federal Police had been tipped off by US drug agents about a drug shipment, leading to seizures of more than a half a tonne of drugs. The drug shipment included 306kg of crystal methamphetamine and 252kg of heroin. The seizure took place in Sydney and led to the arrest of seven Hong Kong nationals.1 The drug bust was notable for several reasons, including the volume of drugs and the fact two policing agencies so successfully collaborated. However, just as interesting and alarming was the fact this was the third-largest heroin seizure in the history of the Australian Federal Police.

One thing is certain: drug smugglers are shipping ice and heroin because they believe it can be sold. The largest drug busts in the past couple of years have been 239 kg of methamphetamine (2011), $75 million of pseudoephedrine (2011), and 464 kg of cocaine (2010). Also in 2010, 168 kg of heroin hidden in a shipment of house doors was found. Now two years later, a 50 percent larger shipment of heroin is seized, and it is an indication that heroin use is once again on the rebound.

Ebb and Flow Tied to Price

Standard drug tests have been able to detect heroin for quite a while. Heroin ebbs and flows in popularity, and the determining factor seems to be price. As the price of ecstasy, cocaine and methamphetamines goes up, substance abusers turn to cheaper drugs like heroin. Black market prices for prescription drugs are also rising, contributing to the increase in heroin use. As any type of pills get harder to obtain, people desperate for affordable “highs” or looking for more powerful drug experiences are once more turning back to familiar heroin.

The upward trend in heroin use was first detected several years ago, as was an increase in other opioids. Statistics for 2008 indicated that 500 Australians died from opioid overdoses, but preliminary statistics for 2009 and 2010 already showed an upward trend. Heroin accounted for 30 percent of the total opioid drug deaths for ages 15 to 54 in 2008.2 The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) reported heroin statistics from the last Illicit Drug Data Report, and those statistics show the weight of heroin detections at the border increased by 241 percent in 2010-2011 compared to the prior year. This was the highest amount recorded since 2001-2002. The ACC states that the increasing number of heroin drug seizures and arrests indicate the heroin market in Australia is poised to expand. 3

A Drug By Any Other Name...

Heroin goes by many names that include horse, smack, hammer, China white, H, rock and more. It works by mimicking the naturally occurring chemicals produced by the brain and body in response to pain. The drug creates a rush of endorphins that produce the “high.” After the rush, the drug user feels relaxed and free of worry. Of course, that feeling does not last, and users soon need another fix. It is easy to overdose on a small amount of heroin and especially when alcohol or other drugs are used at the same time. An overdose occurs when the central nervous system is suppressed to the point that the person’s blood pressure drops so low that oxygen is unable to be transported to the vital organs.

Employers need to stay informed about the current popular drugs of choice to better monitor the workplace for signs of drug use. Though we tend to think of hard core heroin users as injectors, the drug can also be consumed by snorting, swallowing, and smoking. The increase in attempted heroin imports is a clear sign that its popularity and use is on the rise once again.

CMM Technology (http://cmm.com.au) provides reliable drug test able to detect heroin and other illicit drugs. There is a wide range of options available that include saliva and urine drug test, giving employers the ability to structure testing to match requirements and preferences.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3230

Hangover Effects a Workplace Safety Issue

A hangover is the term used for physical and mental lingering effects caused by consuming an excessive amount of a substance. Though usually associated with alcohol, prescription and illicit drugs can also cause hangovers by definition. For purposes of this discussion, the focus is on alcohol and the impact of workers showing up for duty whilst experiencing the many potential side effects of over-consumption.

In the past, researchers have largely concentrated on the symptoms and causes of symptoms experienced whilst drinking. However, the alcohol hangover represents a set of symptoms that a person continues to experience hours after drinking has ended, sometimes as long as 24 hours later. The unproven theory until recently has been that dehydration is the main culprit, and dehydration is primarily responsible for less serious symptoms like dry mouth. However, further research indicates that drinking too much alcohol leads to changes in the immune system and those changes are more likely the cause of serious hangover symptoms like memory impairment. In fact, studies have indicated that the central nervous system, the target of alcohol, and the immune system communicate with each other and impairment of both can lead to typical hangover symptoms. Complicating studies of hangovers is the fact that people often drink during some of the hours they would normally be sleeping, thus sleep deprivation may be another contributing factor to the severity of hangover effects.1

Hangovers and Worker Impairment

Hangovers present a safety risk. A study of 800 assembly workers concentrated on the relationship of hangovers and work performance. The workers admitting they had reported to work with a hangover had problems like co-worker conflicts, falling asleep, difficult completing work and feeling sick. Those workers who had worked with hangovers reported more problems than those who did not. Workers with hangovers had more incidences of supervisors saying something about work performance also.2

Hangover symptoms can vary, but most of them will impair a worker’s reaction time, ability to reason, judgment, physical coordination, and care. For this reason, even a mild hangover or the use of a small amount of alcohol or drugs in the workplace can significantly increase the risk of workplace injuries. There has even been the suggestion that people who drink in the workplace are risk takers and thus more likely to behave in a risky manner anyway, compounding the negative effects of a hangover.3 People with hangovers experience headaches, fatigue, inattention, and impaired memory. Physical injuries are the most serious consequences of hangovers in workplace; but the symptoms can also impact the ability of office workers to do their jobs correctly, increasing the risk of errors that can harm the business. For example, an accountant will have trouble concentrating and makes significant errors in payroll processing or critical tax entries. Hangovers increase absenteeism and health care costs, too.

No Such Thing as “Only a Hangover”

For these reasons, random alcohol and drug testing that detects substance use that may have occurred over a weekend or during off-duty time, like the night before, is valid. The employer has a duty of care to protect the safety of all workers. The worker who tells others that it is “only a hangover” does not understand the seriousness of the condition. In industries where the risk of injury is high, employees must be mentally alert, have good physical reflexes, and able to exercise good judgment. It is critical that workers understand the role of hangovers in work performance and as a safety hazard. That message can and should be delivered in an employee training and education program.

CMM Technology (http://cmm.com.au) works closely with employers in all industries during their selection of the appropriate alcohol and drug testing supplies. There is a variety of breathalyzer devices for detecting alcohol, and saliva and urine drug test and drug test kits for detecting drugs, available to fit budgets and program needs.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3225

The Unlikely Pairing of Hard Drugs and Ageing

It is natural for employers to think of illicit drug users as mostly young adults who fall prey to peer pressure or just get caught up in the party scene. However, it is time to think differently as the Australian population ages and studies indicate that a growing number of people continue their drug use through the decades. In some cases the middle aged substance abusers may cut back on the frequency of drug use, but even that is not always true. The implication for Australian employers is that random workforce drug and alcohol testing programs need to continue no matter how high the average population age rises.

According to the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, the labour force participation for the age groups 45-54 and 55-59 is increasing as public policy and economic conditions encourage people to continue employment for a longer period of time. In fact, between 1996 and 2006, the participation rate rose by 6.2 percent to 71.6 percent. As of October 2006, 47 percent of the working population was over 45 years old, representing an increase of 3 percent. These trends will not only continue but are expected to continue at an increasing rate.1 In these statistics is buried an interesting fact. One of the side effects of improved drug treatments and harm minimisation programs is the fact that lifelong drug users have an increased life expectancy.

Ageing Opioid Users in the Workplace

Recent studies are reporting some surprising results. A study of people over 40 years old, conducted by the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League, is important in several respects. For employers, the key finding is that it documents a growing number of ageing injecting opioid users. One of those reasons is baby boomers who began injecting during the 1970s and 1980 now comrpise the mature population, and some have not aged out of drug use. 

Whilst it was generally believed that mature workers would leave illicit drug use behind, it seems that some have continued using drugs and are living to an older age. The report is only able to extrapolate the number of older Australian opioid users, but the figures indicate the extent of the problem. As many as 45,600 to 79,800 over-40 years old are non-dependentt opioid users and 12,854 to 30,721 are dependent.2

The opioid injectors who were interviewed or who agreed to complete an online questionnaire reported a number of key issues. As would be expected, they included health, family and financial matters. However, they also expressed employment concerns. Almost all of the people interviewed or surveyed were employed at the time. The employed opioid users said their working lives would be improved if they had better treatment access and a way to balance a pharmacotherapy program (like easier access to methadone clinics) with employment.

Dark Secrets

Also of interest to employers is the fact that the mature opioid users admitted they went to great lengths to hide their drug use from employers. In fact, some of the older users would refuse treatment or fail to tell their health professional about the opioid use for fear of losing their jobs or of being able to find a decent job. They also admitted that their drug use impeded their chances of advancement.3

Employers must be diligent in developing and administering a random drug testing program that includes people of all ages. Since so many studies on drug and alcohol abuse address young adults, it is easy to get lulled into believing mature workers have put drug abuse in their past. Unfortunately, a mature age is no guarantee a person behaves in a mature manner.

Based on professional studies, random drug and alcohol test programs should be truly random and not exclude any worker age group. Employers can rely on CMM Technology (http://cmm.com.au/) for all drug testing technology and equipment needs for saliva, urine and breath testing.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3204

Men, Women and Substance Abuse

Substance abuse has seemingly turned employers into experts on drug abuse in many ways. They must be familiar with commonly used street drugs, recognize the symptoms of drug use, learn how people frequently hide evidence of drug use, and become masters at dealing with sensitive issues like positive drug tests and privacy rights. However, there is one more bit of information to add to the list – gender differences in substance abuse.

The oft-quoted statistics from the 2007 national Drug Strategy Household Survey give the first clues to gender differences. Forty-one percent (41%) of males and thirty-four percent (34%) of females over the age of 14 had used illicit drugs in their lifetime at least once. When asked about use of illicit drugs in the previous twelve months, 15.8% of males and 11.0% of females admitted to recent use. Statistically speaking, males are more likely during their lifetime to use an illicit drug than females. In fact, 3 out of every 5 Australian men have used an illicit drug, which means there is a 60% chance that even a small business with 5 employees has a worker who would test positive for drugs like heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, hallucinogens, or cannabis.1 However, the numbers also include the use of legal prescription drugs used for illicit purposes.

The Bigger Picture

Though these statistics are important to know as part of the ‘big picture’, the Institute of Criminology (IOC) also offers a glimpse into gender differences in drug use patterns. After conducting a study on offenders, some interesting information emerged. For example, IOC found that there are gender differences in the type of drugs used. More women (43%) used amphetamines and methylamphetamine than men (34%). More men (59%) used cannabis. More women (18%) used heroin than men (13%), but more men (9%) used ecstasy.2

The message is clear for employers: the ideal drug tests are those that detect multiple drugs, like the saliva device DrugWipe® 5+. This particular product detects opiates, cannabis, amphetamines, methamphetamines, and cocaine. Another example of a multi-panel test is the Oraline saliva device that detects opiates, methamphetamines, cocaine, and marijuana.

Also of interest to employers in the IOC study is the statistic indicating that criminal offenders charged with property crimes or a drug crime were much more likely to be drug addicted. This was true for men and women. Drug addiction often leads to property crimes, including in the workplace, because of the need for money for drugs. Yet, the IOC concluded that there are, “...differential patterns of male and female drug use...” Women offenders use harder illegal drugs than men and are more likely to commit property crimes just to support their drug habit. Another way to state this is that women are committing many of these crimes because they are on drugs. One theory proposed is that women turn to harder drugs like amphetamines, cocaine and heroin because they are looking from a way to manage psychological distress.3

Unbiased Drug Testing

There are several reasons why it is important for employers to understand the gender differences in substance abuse. First, the statistics eliminate personal perceptions. People tend to think of the worst drug offenders as men. Second, women are more likely to commit property thefts to support drug use. Third, it is clear that random drug testing is ideal because it overcomes any potential employer bias in the drug and alcohol testing program. This gives an employer a stronger legal footing for taking employee disciplinary action or managing legal challenges to the testing program.

CMM technology (cmm.com.au/index.php) has a number of multi-panel drug testing devices that are able to produce highly reliable results. The quality devices ensure that administered test results are unbiased when used in a well-designed random drug and alcohol test program in the workplace.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3197

Airline Industry Proves D&A Testing Works

In perusing news articles on drugs, Alcohol Testing Australia, and workplace drug testing, it does not take long to find serious allegations of employee drug use. Though all drug and alcohol use in the workplace is disturbing and jeopardises worker safety, there are some situations that are more disturbing than others. 

For example, over 100 airline employees working in Australia tested positive for alcohol or drugs during a seventeen month period. This level of substance abuse is even more disturbing when it is revealed that two of the people failing the tests are those who have a direct impact on the safety of passengers and crew in the air – pilots and flight crew.1

The statistics associated with this case were released by CASA, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. CASA has had the legal right to randomly test employees for drug or alcohol use since 2008, and this case proves again why a testing program is so important. Opponents to workplace drug testing might try to argue that finding only two in-air positions testing positive amongst the thousands of tests does not justify a comprehensive program, but it is a disingenuous argument at best. One pilot under the influence of a substance jeopardises all of the lives on the aircraft and the lives of the people on the ground working near the aircraft. It also threatens the lives of people in other aircraft who are counting on the pilot’s ability to do his or her job accurately and safely. In other words, one pilot under the influence of of drugs or alcohol threatens the safety of hundreds of people.

The very fact that certain positions are included in the testing program is a clear indication that CASA and the airlines consider all the positions associated with aircraft in any way as safety-sensitive. They include air traffic control staff, air and cabin crew, ground workers, baggage workers, maintenance personnel, refuellers, aircraft engineers, and security screening personnel.

Increasing at an Increasing Rate

The statistics are alarming. Three months after a Qantas pilot was removed from a flight on suspicion he had been drinking, the CASA report was issued revealing the extent of the problem. The tests were conducted between September 2010 and February 2012 and were administered for one of three reasons: 1) pre-employment testing, 2) reasonable suspicion or for-cause, or 3) employee was returning from a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. There were 27,549 alcohol tests and 24 positive results and 19,402 drug tests and 80 positive results.

To put the growing problem in perspective, consider the fact that random drug and alcohol tests conducted by the airlines between 2008 and March 2012 produced 27 positive results out of 51,645 tests, as opposed to 104 positives out of 46,951 recent CASA tests. The airline results covered approximately 4 years, whilst the CASA results were for a 17 month period. Clearly, drug and alcohol use in the workplace is growing rapidly.

Most of the positive results were associated with cabin, ground staff, and baggage handlers. Besides the CASA random testing program, a second tier internal testing program for safety sensitive aviation activity personnel is also conducted. That testing recorded another 45 positive alcohol or drug tests out of 51,000 tests administered.2

Lessons to Learn

The airline industry and government efforts to detect worker drug and alcohol use hold lessons for all industries. First, the airlines random testing program is supported by an education program, and that surely contributes to the low rate of substance abuse. Second, the two-tier approach supports the strong joint commitment to airline safety by the employers and the government. Third, drug and alcohol testing programs are an integral component of a workplace safety program. Fourth, drug and alcohol test programs work.

The truth is that no employer wants a single worker under the influence of substances during working hours because every place of employment needs to be safe and productive.

CMM Technology (cmm.com.au/) facilitates drug and alcohol testing programs by supplying state-of-the-art equipment and kits. Accurate testing is critical so that employers and staff have confidence the testing program is valid and reliable.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3189

Steps Toward Building Relationships

As a drug test equipment provider, we at CMM Technology recommend the power of building relationships with other businesses and your customers. These relationships are all encompassing, building rapport and bring you closer to making return customers and return clients on all levels. When building this rapport, it is important to understand the people with whom you are dealing and to be able to place a high level of trust in the employees or managers you send out to seal the deal.

Unfortunately, some individuals are dangerous liabilities to your company, since they are not able to help themselves from engaging in alcohol or drug abuse. This means that, on a fairly regular basis, you will need to use employee drug testing. Certainly, this is a fine goal to shoot for, but there are very simple ways to follow through on this idea and make sure that it gets done.

CMM Technology provides the urine drug tests and saliva drug tests to screen for AODs and we recommend our Medix integrated pro-split cup 6+6. We make drug testing in Western Australia really simple, and we do it effortlessly.

When you are building relationships with your clients, you absolutely must employ trustworthy people to build them. If your employee is not following company policy, even if they are really good at this relationship building, they are not loyal to you and can potentially steal your clients away from you. It is therefore really important to keep their loyalty and to test for compliance with your own regulations. In some industries, screening tests are a requirement, but this may not be necessary for your business. It may, however, be a really good idea that you still implement because of the low employee turnover and protection of your assets and employee safety. These are all really valid concerns, and all types of relationships are important to build.

That includes the relationships between yourself and your employees.

In addition to following through on company protocol, build relationships and friendships with your employees by protecting them from abuse from coworkers. Show them that you care by using employee drug testing. Call CMM Technology today to order your supplies.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3171

How to Tell Yourself the Truth

If you or someone you know has a drug or alcohol problem, then there is a certain amount of deception which is occurring within you. For many people, there is the denial of a problem or the susceptibility to a problem. For some, it is simply about being unable to cope with certain situations. Here are some examples.

Instead of saying, “I did nothing wrong,” say “How would the situation have been handled by a better leader than I am?” This allows you to keep away from attacking yourself, but also asks a question about improvement. It’s about self improvement.

Instead of saying, “I don’t want to cope with that,” say “Is there a small part of this that I can get started on now, or is there another time when I would feel better about handling this?” This statement takes away the pressure of getting the whole thing dealt with at once, and opens up the possibility of doing it all at once, but just incrementally.

Instead of saying, “I am unhappy,” say “I wonder what put me in this bad mood, and what steps can I take to get back to my previous peaceful and motivated mood?” This makes you more aware of yourself and your surroundings and it makes you pay attention to yourself throughout the day.

One of the best ways to improve telling yourself the truth is to implement employee drug testing in your company. This means that you have to be accountable for the health and safety of your employees and yourself. That’s a big responsibility and demands accurate information, which is why CMM Technology provides high quality LifeLoc FC10 breathalyzer devices, drug test kits with adulterant tests built right into them, and we even provide breathalyser recalibration services for businesses throughout Australia. Employee drug testing is extremely important in maintaining an attitude of personal responsibility and accountability in companies. Both employees and managers need to know the consequences for irresponsible actions. Onsite drug testing is available from our sister site, while drug test equipment is sold by CMM Technology.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3158