Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry News
Magic mushroom seizures on the rise in the US
According to the results of a new study funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), law enforcement seizures of mushrooms containing the psychoactive component psilocybin increased dramatically in the United States between January 2017 and December...
HHS marks two years of Overdose Prevention Strategy
Earlier in February, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) marked two years of implementation of its Overdose Prevention Strategy launched by the Biden-Harris administration and announced new actions to prevent illicit drug-related overdoses. As part...
Stigma creates obstacles to opioid dependency treatment
A recent opinion article authored by Dr. Mark S. Gould and published by Psychology Today discusses the impact of negative attitudes and stigma towards individuals affected by opioid use disorder on their access to treatment. According to Dr. Gould, stigma can...
U.S. Democrats urge DEA to reschedule cannabis
Earlier in January, 12 U.S. Senate Democrats put pressure on the Biden administration to ease federal restrictions on cannabis regulation in a new letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Tuesday, as it deliberates rescheduling cannabis. According to new...
Kitchener drug checking program finds xylazine
According to recent data released by the Kitchener drug testing program at the city’s consumption, the powerful tranquilizer xylazine is “rampant” in the local illicit drug supply. To date, the program has tested nearly 1,000 samples from 300 individuals since it...
RCMP relaxes drug policy to accommodate recreational cannabis use
Earlier in January, RCMP released a new substance use policy to replace the previous 2018 rule requiring front-line officers and other employees in "safety-sensitive" positions to refrain from recreational cannabis use for four weeks before duty. According to a recent...
Saskatchewan launches new drug alert system
Saskatchewan initiated a new Provincial Drug Alert System in January, aimed to enable the Ministry of Health to improve coordination of the issuance of drug alerts and assist partner organizations with monitoring the toxicity of illicit drugs across Saskatchewan. As...
Teen substance use linked to mental health issues
According to the results of a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), teenagers who drink alcohol, or smoke cigarettes or cannabis are more likely to experience psychiatric symptoms compared to their peers who do not use these...
Calgary mobile service helps prevent overdoses
A recent article published by CBC and authored by Boshika Gupta examined the effectiveness of Calgary’s drug checking pilot program, Drug Checkin YYC, launched by the local advocacy organization Alberta Alliance Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly (AAWEAR). The...