Drug testing is a big business. With at least fifteen large U.S. corporations supplying laboratory testing, employees and others are only a few minutes’ drive from a testing facility. From employers who use drug testing as a pre-employment screening tool to parents who want to keep tabs on the well being of their teenagers, there are many groups that frequently use drug testing as a screening mechanism.
Since the mid-1980’s, drug testing has become more and more common. Probably the group that is tested most often is prospective employees. With strict workplace safety legislation and the fact that employees can use dangerous equipment or have access to sensitive information, employers want to be certain that their employees are not drug abusers. With a sample of urine, hair, blood or swab from the mouth, drug-testing laboratories can often product positive or negative results within 24 to 48 hours.
Recently, drug abuse testing has become increasingly common in professional athletics. With the controversies surrounding the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, athletes are under a great deal of scrutiny. The government has also stepped in, and has begun to implement stricter controls and more frequent screening of athletes. A positive result on a drug test can result in penalties such as fines, loss of game time, or complete dismissal from the team. It is safe to say that drug-abusing athletes are taking huge risks with their careers by abusing performance or other illegal drugs.
Opponents of drug testing argue that it violates a person’s rights to privacy. They hold that even if an employee is a recreational drug user, it does not necessarily follow that his or her work will be affected. With random drug testing gaining popularity in the workforce, one may literally be drawn out of a hat as the next one up for a drug screening. While states only loosely enforce drug-testing laws, opponents say that random drug testing can ruin a person’s life. Even recreational weekend usage may result in the loss of employment if the drug usage is determined with a drug test. Random drug testing is often argued to be testing without any probable cause.
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Why Companies Perform Random Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Perhaps the most controversial of all drug screenings is the random drug test. Employers have the legal authority to request a random drug test, whether they have a reasonable suspicion or not. Many companies have implemented a policy of completely random drug testing. This practice...
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The Rise of High School Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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School districts, much like employers, have begun to implement drug-testing policies. Many school officials cite statistics relating to school performance and safety among drug users. Whether the drug testing acts as a method of screening students or as a method of deterrence from drug use,...
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The Importance of Employee Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Employers entrust their workers with a vast array of responsibilities in their businesses. Many employers feel it is necessary for prospective employees to submit to a pre-employment drug screening. This is especially true in industries that require the use of heavy machinery such as forklift...
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Home Drug Testing: An Overview
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The past 20 years or so have seen a large increase in drug testing in the workplace and elsewhere. This testing has usually taken place in a laboratory setting; home drug testing is a relatively new phenomenon. With increased demand for pre-employment and random drug...
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A Look at Hair Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Drug testing has become very common in both the workplace and schools within the last twenty years or so. Generally, urine testing is the most common form of drug screening. Many people are creative in their efforts to beat drug tests and have formulated many...
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Types of Drug Testing Kits
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Employers have been administering drug tests with increasing frequency in the last 20 years or so, for a number of reasons. These include safety, trustworthiness with sensitive information, and health/ insurance costs. Some privacy advocates have protested these policies, especially when they occur randomly rather...
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Urine Drug Testing: An Overview
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The oldest and most commonly used method of drug testing is the urine drug test. Urine drug testing is usually the most inexpensive and quickest method of screening for drug use. Some benefits of urine drug testing are that the tests are minimally invasive and...
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The Need for Pre-Employment Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Employers have many reasons for requiring pre-employment drug testing. One of the most obvious reasons is that of safety. Those handling dangerous equipment or those who drive commercial vehicles have a greater chance of accidents or inflicting injury upon themselves or others if they are...
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Employment Drug Screening
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Drug testing can be one of the most effecting risk management strategies appointed during pre-employment screening to avoid trouble in the future. Drug abuse can make a person confused with continuous mood swings, low job productivity, an increased chance of violence, and can even push...
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Common Symptoms of Prescription Drug Addiction
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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There are many common signs that people addicted to prescription drugs often exhibit. Prescription drug addiction symptoms are pretty universal, occurring in most addicts, such as an increased tolerance for the drug, and physical dependence on the drug. Treatment can begin once the symptoms are...