Urine Drug Testing
Urine drug testing is used by many companies today. If your company is planning to institute a drug-free workplace policy or already has one on hand, but you are not sure of the right way to carry it out, you can purchase several helpful manuals from the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace. Manuals such as “Workplace Drug Testing: An Employer’s Development & Implementation Guide” and “Avoiding Legal Liability: The 25 Most Common Employer Mistakes in Addressing Drug Abuse” can be very helpful when setting up or reorganizing a program.
Most companies use urine drug testing as it is the easiest and most cost effective way to screen potential or current employees for drug use. Most employers are looking for usage of what is known as “street drugs,” those that can be purchased illegally on the street. This will include marijuana, cocaine, PCP, opiates, amphetamines, and methamphetamines. Some tests will also look for alcohol usage as well.
Usually, the employer gathers the urine sample on site rather than sending the subject to a laboratory for urine drug testing. The result time will vary depending on the type of test used. Some urine drug testing kits offer results in less than 5 minutes while some may take up to 24 hours. However, in the case of a positive result, you will want to send the subject to a laboratory for further screening to make sure the result is accurate. There are different factors that can result in a positive result that does not necessarily mean the subject is using illegal drugs. Sometimes prescription drug use may interfere with the testing results, so it is important to ask the subject before the test what, if any, prescription medication they are currently taking.
In addition to urine drug testing, many companies are instituting drug abuse policies, drug education and awareness, and some companies even offer employee assistance and rehabilitation programs.
Disclaimer: Cliff Schaffer does not personally endorse or support any of the comments made within the writings of this article.
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