Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry News
New DOT Panel to come into Affect January 2018
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Transportation (DOT) have extended the federal urine drug testing programme panel requirements to include the Schedule II opioid drugs hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone and oxymorphone. This panel is...
Understanding Drug Schedules
What are Drug Schedules? Drug Schedules are a classification tool for drugs, substances, and certain chemicals that are used to make drugs. They are distinct drug categories that are defined by medical use and each specific drug’s potential for abuse and dependency....
Motherisk Update
A Canadian laboratory is facing fierce accusations of performing unreliable and inadequate drug and alcohol tests on vulnerable families for over two decades, resulting in children being forcibly separated from their parents when child welfare organizations across...
Is Zero Tolerance Realistic with Legalized Cannabis?
With medical and recreational cannabis slated to become legal across Canada in July 2018, employers are now struggling with how they will regulate its use in the workplace. The reality being dealt with is that drug tests such as urinalysis and oral fluid swabs cannot...
North America Advised to Ignore Federal Drug Laws
Following an unprecedented number of overdose related deaths in North America in 2016, the so called Opioid Crisis, in a report published on Oct. 2nd, the Global Commission on Drug Policy is urging the USA and Canada to take an unconventional stance in its fight to...
Cannabis 102 – Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
Tetrahydrocannabinol - What the heck is that? When cannabis is used the tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) in the plant is broken down, or converted, into tetrahydrocannabinol or THC which is psychoactive. Almost right away the body starts metabolizing, or breaking...
Carfentanil
What is it? Originally developed in 1974 and manufactured as Wildnil, a tranquilizer for large animals, carfentanil is a synthetic opioid produced from morphine. Not suitable or intended for human use, Carfentanil is 1,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times...
Issues With The Use of Drug Sniffing Dogs at AVCO
The workers’ union at Agrium Vanscoy Potash Operations (AVCO) in Saskatchewan claims that AVCO violated its employees’ fundamental right to privacy. As part of its drug and alcohol testing program and mandatory entry requirement, Saskatchewan based mining company AVCO...
Trucking Industry Weighs in on Marijuana
As marijuana is set to be legalized in Canada by July 2018, and in spite of the employment laws and human rights legislation currently supported by the federal government and its proposed standards for legal marijuana use, Canada’s trucking industry is pushing for a...