Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry News
Info Update: Naloxone
Overview What is naloxone? Naloxone is an injectable drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. It is sometimes called a “save shot” or a “rescue shot.” Brand names for naloxone are Narcan and Evzio.1 Naloxone only reverses the effects of opioids such as...
Police are forced to abandon field tests due to opioid danger
Field tests have now been largely abandoned in St. Louis, Missouri, over fears that police officers will be exposed to deadly fentanyl while handling testing samples. Previously, police officers would test for illicit drugs like cocaine, heroin, and other narcotics by...
Alberta’s Top Court Upholds Injunction Against Suncor
Suncor, and Unifor Local 707, have been battling over random drug testing in Alberta for six years. Most recently, in December of 2017, Justice Paul Belzil stated that the privacy rights of the employees are just as important as safety, and Suncor immediately...
Info Update: Drug and Alcohol Use During Spring Break
Every year, Canadian students flock south to make the best of their March break vacations. This year, given the current opioid crisis affecting North America, it is more important than ever to be aware of the risks associated with drug and alcohol use. If you plan on...
Fentanyl laced drugs may be reason for recent wave of overdoses
After reviewing a patient’s hospital discharge report that indicated use of fentanyl when the patient only claimed to have smoked crack cocaine, Rhiannon Thomas, a coordinator at Toronto’s South Riverdale Community Health Centre, warned CBC Radio’s Metro Morning that...
City of Canmore’s New Drug Policy May Include Testing
In March, in preparation for the July 2018 national legalization of cannabis, the city of Canmore in Alberta will be voting on whether or not it will include drug testing in its drugs and alcohol policy revisions for civic employees. "We've covered it currently in our...
The Two Sides to the Legalization of Cannabis
In preparation for the country’s legalization of cannabis slated for July of this year, cannabis producers across Canada are positioning themselves within what is expected to be a booming market. In 2017, the number of Canadians looking for jobs in the cannabis...
Random Testing Ordered to Stop for Teck Resources
As of January 23rd, British Columbia coal mine company Teck Resources Ltd. has been ordered by arbitrator John Kinzie to cease its random drug and alcohol testing of employees. "[Teck] apparently pulled names out of a hat somehow and would select people and then force...
Health Canada proposes switching to mainly pharmaceutical funding
In October of last year, Health Canada proposed raising the fees it charges to drug manufacturers for new medicines introduced into the market. Historically, Health Canada has used these fees to fund 50% of its operating costs in regulating prescription medication,...
