Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry News
Marketing of opioids to end in Canada
In response to a call to action from Canadian Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, wherein she asked pharmaceutical companies to restrict their marketing of dangerous opioids in light of the climbing death toll from opioid abuse across the country, Oxycontin’s...
Opioid alternatives ineffective and potentially harmful
Canadian medical professionals are trying to substitute alternative drugs for back pain in an effort to stem the opioid addiction crisis sweeping across North America; unfortunately, many of these alternative prescriptions, according to a study by the Canadian Medical...
B.C. Cannabis producers concerned about being shut out of market
Small-scale cannabis producers in British Columbia could be denied access to the impending legal market if the federal and provincial governments don’t make essential changes to the legalization policy. In an open letter to federal justice minister Jody...
How drug addiction hijacks the brain
The human brain is naturally wired to reward itself with the "feel-good" neurotransmitter dopamine when its basic needs of food, water, and sex are met. Addiction taps into this reward system to "trick" the brain into wanting more. This is why opioids like fentanyl...
Cannabis Legal as of October 17, 2018
It’s official: recreational marijuana will be legal across all provinces and territories of Canada as of October 17th, 2018. Originally, the cannabis legalization date had been set for July, but confrontation between the Red Chamber and the House of Commons as well as...
Intention irrelevant in breach of drug and alcohol policy
A Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal has reached its decision in the case of Terra Nova Employers’ Organization versus Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, Local 2121, 2018 NLCA 7. The grievor had been employed as an on-call millwright by Magna...
Quebec’s Government-Run Cannabis Stores
Although there is no official date set for the legalization of cannabis, Alain Brunet, CEO of Quebec’s liquor board, has said whenever the time comes, the SAQ will be ready to serve Quebec consumers both in store and online. While the Société des Alcools du Québec...
Mussels showing up positive for opioids
After transplanting clean mussels from Whidbey Island to eighteen urban shores around Seattle’s Puget Sound, Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has found evidence that opioids have reached the open seas. Traditionally used as a barometer to measure ocean...
New police curriculum to detect drug-impaired driving
Introduction to Drug-Impaired Driving In preparation for the legalization of cannabis across Canada, a new drug-impaired driving training program is being formed to aid law enforcement in their efforts to help prevent Canadians from driving while under the influence...