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More and more employees are testing positive for drugs in workplace screenings, an increase that is concerning for some employers and safety specialists. 

Marijuana positivity for the American workforce is up for the fifth consecutive year, a trend showing no signs of slowing. Drug positivity in states without marijuana use statutes has kept pace with the national average of 2.1% for the combined U.S. workforce. However, data from Quest Diagnostics shows that the states with the highest positivity rates do not necessarily contain the cities or metropolitan areas with the highest marijuana positivity.

CBD, one of the buzziest wellness products of 2019, just hit a snag. New York City has forbidden the sale of CBD edibles in restaurants, bars, and other establishments that fall under the Department of Health's purview, Eater reported Tuesday. Health inspectors in the city are already visiting restaurants to enforce the crackdown.

Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) and Assemblyman William Brough (R-Dana Point) have introduced Senate Bill 283 and Assembly Bill 551 to require law enforcement to drug test in cases of fatalities occurring within 48 hours of a traffic collision. Current state law only requires medical examiners or county coroners to test deceased drivers and passengers for alcohol, but not for drugs. These bills will update current law and ensure that all municipalities are conducting drug testing involving cases of fatal collisions and to report the data to the California Highway Patrol.

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) - It was completely voluntary, but dozens of members of the State Senate and the House of Delegates gathered at the Capitol Wednesday morning, to get drug tested. 

Members of various labor unions - who are often required to be drug tested - were on hand to watch. Many believe that when Delegates and Senators pass drug testing laws that apply to the public, they should be obligated, too.

By ASAP

Who is required to go through the DOT Return to Duty SAP process?

For many employers it can be a stressful and confusing time when an employee tests positive on a DOT mandated drug or alcohol test.  Does the employer now have to “DO” anything?  Must the employee be fired?  How long will the driver be out?  Can the driver be re-hired?  The key is to precisely follow the DOT regulati

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan Addiction Center shows that more than half of the people who take medical marijuana for chronic pain say they have driven under the influence of cannabis within two hours of using it at least once in the past six months. One in five of them said they had driven while "very high" in the past six months, the researchers reported in a new paper in the journal Drug & Alcohol Dependence.

The rate at which middle-aged American women die from overdoses involving opioids and other drugs nearly quadrupled between 1999 and 2017, new government data shows.

As more states legalize medicinal and recreational marijuana , more people are using the substance.

While wisdom teeth are a leftover oddity from our days as a stick-gathering, reed-chewing people who needed back-ups for their teeth, today, they continue to pose unexpected problems. Namely, they lead to post-surgical pain for which many dentists prescribe highly addictive opioids.

Fentanyl has surpassed heroin as the top drug involved in U.S.

In recent years, Americans have begun, justifiably, to recognize the complex public health problem of opioid misuse and associated overdose deaths as a national crisis. Unfortunately, as is often the case when a tidal wave of worry about a particular health issue engulfs the nation, other similar concerns are often swept out of public consciousness. 

And so it begins: Michigan residents woke up Dec. 6 knowing that they can smoke marijuana, at least in private, and not be arrested for it. They can carry it on their person in small amounts. They can grow it in an enclosed, out-of-view spot on their property. But there are no stores yet, because the state hasn’t figured out how to set up the regulatory and taxation scheme, and some cities are refusing to allow stores within their borders.

Prescription and illegal opioids are commonly abused because they are so addictive.

Per the Federal Register Notice linked here, the FAA random rate will remain the same for 2019—25% for drug and 10% for alcohol.

 In states where recreational marijuana use is legal – Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington – car crashes rose six percent, according to research from two studies.

A study published this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds the United States has more than double the overdose-related deaths of at least 12 comparable countries.

With the holidays just around the corner you may be wondering how you can stay sober with parties, dinners, and social gatherings.

 American Substance Abuse Professionals, with their friends and family, came out to support Paul's Place at their annual Huff & Puff 5K &1M. Paul’s Place is a catalyst and leader for change, and their mission is to improve the quality of life in the Southwest Baltimore communities. Paul’s Place provides programs, services, and support that strengthen individuals and families, fostering hope, personal dignity and growth. Learn More

New York City employers are squarely blaming a raging drug epidemic for much of the trouble they have filling jobs in one of the tightest labor markets in a generation.More local prospective workers are testing positive for substance abuse, or showing up stoned for work, according to industry analysts.

The Zheng drug trafficking organization was hardly clandestine. The Shanghai-based network sold synthetic narcotics, including deadly fentanyl, on websites posted in 35 languages, from Arabic and English to Icelandic and Uzbek.

While cases of customers who suffer drug-related overdoses in private businesses are common, food service industry workers endure an increasing number of issues associated with substance abuse.

As mandated by its drug and alcohol regulation, FTA will increase the minimum rate of random drug testing from 25 percent to 50 percent of covered employees for employers subject to FTA’s drug and alcohol regulation, effective January 1, 2019. This change is due to an increase in the industry’s ‘‘positive rate’’ as reflected in random drug test data for calendar year 2017. Learn More

Jimmy Sullivan prepared for his job as a bricklayer the same way every morning for years: injecting a shot of heroin before leaving his car.

The first time he overdosed on the job, in 2013 at a Virginia construction site, a co-worker who is his cousin stealthily injected a dose of Narcan, an opioid antidote, into Mr. Sullivan’s leg. He woke up and went straight back to work.