Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry News
Lack of Information Worsens Opioid Crisis
As drug use deaths across Canada create a nationwide opioid crisis, many Canadians still don’t know how to help in the case of an overdose. In its “Opioid Awareness” survey, Statistics Canada has reported that while 4,000 people in Canada died of opioid overdose in...
Legalization of Cannabis Presents Conundrum for Canadian Military
Questions are arising in the Canadian army, navy, air force, and special forces as the July 2018 legalization of cannabis looms. Since the Spring of 2017, military experts have been assessing their drug and alcohol policies in advance of the legislation that will see...
Canadian companies worry about hazy rules around legal cannabis
Without a clear, legal definition of impairment in advance of the legalization of cannabis slated for July of this year, confusion has arisen among workplace policy writers, particularly in sectors that are not classified as “safety-sensitive.” Concern is being raised...
Employee Reinstated after Positive Drug Test
On January 3rd, Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Justice Rosalie McGrath upheld an arbitration decision to reinstate an employee who was fired after failing a drug test when a series of manifest errors occurred at the Hibernia offshore platform. The court...
Edmonton Police Brace for Cannabis Legalization
With the looming legalization date for cannabis set for July of 2018, police forces around the country are preparing to enforce cannabis-impaired driving laws. With 40 to 50 per cent of its impaired fatalities linked to drugs, and many resulting from a combination of...
Toronto police chief considering drug testing for officers
After last year’s fentanyl overdose death of Const. Michael Thompson, 37, an officer working undercover in the Toronto Police Force drug squad, Police Chief Mark Saunders is considering drug testing for the city’s officers. “I don’t want to lose any officers to...
More babies being treated for opioid withdrawal in Canada
Another side effect of the Canadian opioid crisis is now affecting neonatal wards around the country, as hospitalization rates for babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) after being exposed to opioids in the womb have risen significantly over the past...
The MRO
What is an MRO? The position of Medical Review Officers was first outlined in 1988 within the US Federal Department of Transportation’s drug testing regulations.1 Since then, it has become an integral and necessary part of workplace drug testing procedures across the...
Fentanyl Strips Could Lead to False Sense of Security
Health Canada has issued a warning regarding the use of commercially produced fentanyl testing strips, which, in an effort to stem the number of opioid related deaths in Canada, are being used across the country to detect opioids in street drugs. The warning comes...
