Origin Diagnostics Drug Testing

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It is a screening device. One of the best ways to protect your business is to aggressively screen out alcohol or drug abusers before they become employees. Drug tests can help pinpoint those who are dependent on alcohol and drugs.
It is a defensive tool. Giving applicants a drug test protects your company from negligent hiring claims arising from violence or safety violations. It is also true that drug abusers tend to avoid firms that test.
It may be a legal requirement. For certain safety-sensitive positions and occupations, drug and alcohol testing of applicants is mandated by federal or state law.

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Drug testing amongst employees is carried out by employers in order to find out about problems related to drug addiction amongst their employees. As the problem of drug addiction is a very serious one which affects the professional life of a person, it is in the best interests of the company to find out if any of their employees are indulging in any drug related malpractices.

Though drug testing requires an initial investment by the company, the benefits it provides are many. Most companies follow a two pronged strategy; they screen all new recruits for drug abuse, and also carry out random checks among their existing team members. As drug abuse spreads like cancer, it is better to find out the root of the problem, if it exists, and remove it as soon as possible. This will lead to a much healthier working environment at the organization. Absenteeism due to drug abuse related diseases will be reduced. Problems arising out of accidents at the workplace and also that of turnover will be reduced. As a combination of the above factors the productivity of the company goes up and as a result it enhances the profit margins of the company.

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Drugs affect every person differently, and so drugs will be metabolised by every person differently. Drug testing results are always unique to the individual. This means that there are certain factors about you and your drug use that can affect these results. These include:

the strength of the drug
how much you use
how you use it
how often you use it
what other drugs you use.

Results are also affected by your unique body, such as your:

tolerance
sex and age
overall health and wellbeing
metabolism
mood and the environment you are in.

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According to a news report from the Los Angeles Times New Service, a study of 161 prescription and over the counter medications showed that 65 of them produced false positive drug test results in the most widely administered urine drug test procedure. Ronald Siegel, a psychopharmacologist at UCLA said ‘The widespread testing and reliance on tell-tale traces of drugs in the urine is simply a panic reaction invoked because the normal techniques for controlling drug use haven’t worked very well. The next epidemic will be testing abuse.” Currently there are more than 250 over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs that can cause false positives.  

Click on links to find false positive drugs:

Marijuana (THC)
Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCA)
Barbiturates (BAR)
Buprenorphine (BUP)
Benzodiazepines (BZO)
Phencyclidine (PCP)
Methadone (MTD)
Oxycodone (OXY)
Methamphetamine (MAMP)
Amphetamines (AMP)
Propoxyphene (PPX)
Opiates and Morphine (OPI or MOR)

Note: Cocaine (COC) and Ecstasy (MDMA) has no cross reaction drugs at this time.

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MDMA or ecstasy is a Schedule I, synthetic, psychoactive drug possessing stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. Ecstasy possesses chemical variations of the stimulant amphetamine or methamphetamine and a hallucinogen, most often mescaline. Ecstasy is a semi-synthetic chemical compound.

MDMA use is closely tied to the underground rave (and dance club) scene throughout the world, but has also been widely used by therapists as an adjunct to psychotherapy. Because MDMA is so popular and because it goes well with dance parties, the demand for it usually exceeds supply–especially at any given location on any given night.

MDMA, or ‘ecstasy’ is a ‘psychedelic amphetamine’ that has gained popularity over the past 20 years because of its ability to produce strong feelings of comfort, empathy, and connection to others. It most frequently comes in tablet form, although it is occasionally sold in capsules or as powder. It is most frequently used orally and rarely snorted.

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The cost to employers from illegal drug abuse is over $100 billion every year:

8.2% of full-time workers are current illicit drug uses
80% of drug abusers steal from their workplace
65% of all work related accidents are the direct result of substance abuse
As many as 50% of all workers’ compensation claims involve substance abuse

Employers have an obligation to provide a safe and healthy working environment. Employees who abuse drugs jeopardize the safety and well being of all employees and impact the bottom line. In these economically challenging times, it is more important than ever to prevent and reduce expenses related to substance abuse.

Each substance abuser costs an employer about $9,600 a year in:

Absenteeism
Low productivity
Loss Time From Accidents
Increased Health Care Costs
Increased Workers Compensation Costs
Loss Time Handling Confrontation/Conflicts

Regardless of which tests are done, drug testing always produces a positive return on investment:

Pre-employment drug testing can significantly improve applicant selectivity for your company. Why not avoid hiring an employee that might decrease safety, productivity and moral in your workplace, and cost you money?
Random drug testing has been shown to be a powerful deterrent to substance abuse in the workplace for existing employees. Such programs reduce accidents, improve productivity and may provide savings on workers compensation insurance premiums.
Reasonable Suspicion and Post-incident drug testing may be valuable in reducing liability in your operations. Reasonable Suspicion/ For Cause drug tests consistently produce the highest positive rates (18%).

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Marijuana is a green or gray mixture of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). It is the most often used illegal drug in this country. All forms of cannabis are mind-altering (psychoactive) drugs that contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active chemical in marijuana.

THC is the chemical in marijuana which makes you feel “high” (which means experiencing a change in mood and seeing or feeling things differently). Certain parts of the plant contain higher levels of THC. The flowers or “buds” have more THC than the stems or leaves.

When  marijuana is smoked, THC goes quickly into the blood through the lungs and then to the brain (this is when the “high” is felt and can happen within a few minutes and can last up to five hours). THC is absorbed more slowly into the blood when marijuana is eaten because it has to pass through the stomach and intestine and can take up to one hour to experience the “high” effects, which can last up to 12 hours. THC is absorbed quickly into body fat and is then released very slowly back into the blood. This process can take up to one month for a single dose of THC to fully leave the body.

Marijuana, the most often used illegal drug in this country, is a product of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. The main active chemical in marijuana, also present in other forms of cannabis, is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Of the roughly 400 chemicals found in the cannabis plant, THC affects the brain the most.

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Employee drug testing has gained significant importance in organizations as it helps to find out drug abuse problems among employees. Maintaining a drug free environment fosters employee productivity, professionalism, and prevents absenteeism, addiction related crime, accidents, and injuries. Conducting pre-employment and random employee drug testing keeps a check on addiction and ensures prevailing of a safe and productive work environment.

Safety at Work Place

The organizations that conduct employee drug testing can ensure that the work environment is free from any form of addiction related crimes, injures, and accidents. Employee drug testing increases the safety at the job and maintains a safe and secure environment. Conducting pre-employment drug testing can prevent addicted persons from joining the organization and spoil the working environment. Random employee drug testing prevents existing employees to abuse to any kind of drug before coming to workplace.

Improves Productivity and Quality of Work

Employee productivity and professional environment is important for any business establishment. Drug abuse is a potential threat to any organization as it hampers the employee productivity and encourages negative traits and unprofessional behavior. Detecting drug abuse among present and future employees will lead to a healthier working environment. A healthier environment will increase the productivity and quality of work thereby increasing the profits of organization. It has been found that doing away with employees prone to addiction significantly improves productivity in organization and reduces accidents.

Reduces Health Costs of Company

The employee drug testing effectively eliminates the drug addicted employees and cleans the system. Thus, getting rid of such employee can save significant amount of money given by company towards health insurance premiums and other health costs. The addicted employees suffer from sudden mood swings and irrational behavior patterns that can result in work place accidents. The company can save health costs towards medical treatment of such employees due to workplace accidents and illnesses that occur due to addiction. Organizations can also save on recruitment costs towards hiring, firing, and training as employee drug testing ensures that present and future employees are drug abuse free.

Helps in Maintaining Integrity and Discipline

Drug free environment in organizations is a nurturing habitat for positive qualities like integrity, discipline, professionalism, productivity etc. Removing addicted employees ensures that there will be less workplace conflicts, unscrupulous behavior at workplaces. Removing addicted employees will also send a message across other employees that company has zero tolerance towards addiction. This helps to ensure that there is harmonious environment where integrity and discipline is maintained.

Employee drug testing can be effectively performed in organizations using saliva testing, urine testing and hair follicle testing. Saliva testing is non-invasive and provides instant results. Urine drug screening is done using test strips and provides accurate and reliable results. The hair follicle testing is non-invasive and performed in laboratories. It plays an important part in employee drug testing as it can give drug abuse history for much longer period of time.

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The method of collecting a urine sample for drug screening can be important. Some illicit drug users may attempt to substitute another person’s urine, or chemically alter their own specimen. If the urine drug screen is being used for an important decision, such as employment or legal action, procedures to minimize chances of an adulterated or substituted sample may be necessary. These include measuring the temperature or pH of the sample immediately after it is procured, and using tamper-proof containers. Supervised specimen collection may be conducted to ensure that the urine indeed comes from the person being screened.

The most commonly used method for urine drug screening is immunoassay, a rapid and accurate test that uses antibodies embedded on test strips to reveal drug use. Antibodies react only in the presence of very specific substances—in this case, drugs present in urine. When a sufficient concentration of a drug (or drugs) are present, the test strip will indicate which substances have been detected. A control band on each strip confirms that the test was done correctly.

Positive screening results should always be confirmed by a more sensitive method. The most widely accepted corroborative test for all drugs is gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), which can determine the specific substances in the body by recognizing not only the molecular structure of the original compound, but also its metabolite, a chemical created when the drug is metabolized.

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Passing a drug test is a common discussion on the Internet these days and the majority of the information is focused on passing a urine test.  The majority of drug tests that are given are for pre-employment purposes.  Because of this, many substance abuse users are finding themselves in the position where they want to get a job, but they are not able to pass a drug test.
There are various resources that people utilize when attempting to pass a drug test.  These individuals are often very knowledgeable on how long drugs can be detected in their system.  For instance, alcohol is only present for 12-24 hours, but can be detected up to 5 days after use with a standard EMIT drug test.  Marijuana can stay in the system from 2 days to 12 weeks depending on use.  Methamphetamines can be detected within 3-5 days.  These individuals will try to take their drug test at the latest possible time or date that they can.
Another tactic that many users will use is to drink an excess of water before the drug test.  This causes the urine to become very dilute and may cause the test results to become unreliable.  Additionally, people will drink detox solutions that are filled with B vitamins and then they drink this with an excess of water as well.  Be concerned if urine is extremely dilute.  This is often a red flag that they are trying to wash their system out.
Another tactic is to create a false positive by taking Tylenol.  This interferes with the test and may also provide inaccurate results.  Additionally, people will claim to have been eating a poppy seed bagel or muffin when they test positive.
Other individuals have become rather sneaky in the manner in which they attempt to pass drug tests.  It is not uncommon for individuals to try and sneak in synthetic urine or the urine of another animal.  Depending on where you are located, it is important to know that there are at least ten states that have outlawed the sale of synthetic urine or adulterants.  These states include:

• Arkansas
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• Illinois
• New Jersey
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Virginia

If a person does end up failing the drug test, they will often simply fallback on the excuse of “that’s not possible.”  In this situation, they may attempt to have a test rescheduled at a later date.  This is often in an attempt to continue cleaning out their system so that they can pass the next test.
There a wide variety of methods that individuals will use to pass a pre-employment drug test and it is a good idea to have a firm grasp on these methods as well as the signs that something may not be right with a person’s test specimen.