Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry News
Importance of reasonable suspicion training
A Vancouver employer recently learned that testing an employee for drug impairment on top of alcohol impairment without a reasonable cause is not allowed. On March 13, 2017, a unionized employee “C.L.” working in a safety-sensitive position at Vancouver Drydock Co....
Canada’s hidden issue with fetal alcohol syndrome
A recent article published in the National Post examines the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in Canada, concluding that the existing underlying drinking problem among women needs to be addressed. FASD is an general term used to describe a range of...
Dangerous drugs detected in Canada
Earlier in April, two dangerous and potentially-deadly drugs were found in Canada. In the first instance, carfentanil, a synthetic opioid approximately 100 times stronger than fentanyl, and 10000 times stronger than morphine, was discovered in Ottawa. In the second...
FMCSA prepares to launch Clearinghouse database
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has created a website which provides answers for frequently asked questions regarding the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, a national online database which will list, in real time, the names of commercial motor...
Review: Clearing the smoke on cannabis
A research report released by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction entitled “Clearing the Smoke on Cannabis – Regular Use and Cognitive Functioning” evaluates a large number of scientific studies on the effects of cannabis use on cognitive functions and...
Synthetic urine use on the rise
With more companies and organizations implementing drug testing, the market for synthetic urine is undergoing a rapid growth. Synthetic urine can be created in a laboratory using a mixture of urea, water, creatinine and/or uric acid. Urinalysis testing employs two...
Opioid crisis update: 10,000 deaths 2016-2018
According to new data released by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), more than 10,000 Canadians have died from opioid overdoses over the period of 2016-2018. The findings released in the report demonstrate that the opioid crisis has affected every part of...
NL holds up employer’s refusal to hire medical cannabis user
The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador recently upheld an arbitration decision to dismiss a grievance filed by a union on behalf of an employee who was not hired for a safety-sensitive construction project position because of his use of cannabis for medicinal...
Fentanyl circulates as fake Xanax in Halifax
According to frontline addictions workers in the Halifax area, there is a significant increase in the number of fake Xanax pills laced with the lethal opioid fentanyl circulating on the streets. Xanax is the brand name for a type of benzodiazepine medication typically...