Alcohol & Drug Free Workplace Part 2

The worker’s blood test result (which is quiet comprehensive -Full Blood count, Kidney function,Liver function ec cetera) are all normal. The urine drug screens (UDSs) showed the following results:
Cannabinoids & Opiates Class were Negative & Coccaine/Metabolite was not detected. AMPHETAMINE was detected.
The other UDSs for Barbiturate Class and Benzodiazipine class will be performed in Australia together with confirmation test (GCMS) for the positive drugs.
Exactly one week later, the urine confirmation test (GCMS) done in Australia was ready and shows the following result:
UDSs (EMIT) for Benzodiazepine Class was detected.
Urine GCMS analysis identified both Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine and 7-1 amino-Clonazepam.
I consulted Prof. Dr Aishah Latiff of DOPING Centre USM Penang (one of resource persons during the MRO course in 2005) for advised. She agreed with me that the Test for Amphetamine is NEGATIVE and Benzodiazipine Class is POSITIVE.
This official result will be revealed to the management of the company. I called the worker for the last time to inform him about the official results.He denied taking any drug from benzodiazepine class. He sworn for only taking cough syrup. He strongly persuaded me to help him. Based on my strong ethical and religion belief I cannot act wrongly and I have to reveal the TRUTH. BUT I advised him to quit the job before his employer dismissed him. The rest of the story are history.
There are few lessons we can learned from this incidence. The most important lesson is to have a proper well designed policy and program for handling alcohol and drug abused case at your workplace.
I will discuss on the elements of proper Alcohol & Drug-Free Workplace in my next posting.
For this posting I want to discuss few terminologies which are commonly used in handling drug abused case.
1. Chain of Custody (COC) : the procedures used to document handling of urine specimen from the time donor gives it to the COLLECTOR until it is destroyed.
2. Collector is a person specially trained to collect the urine
3. Medical Review Officer (MRO) is a doctor with special training in interpreting and handling drug testing. This position is only available in US.
4. Urine drug Screens(UDSs) : the lab. test designed to detect the drug in the urine. It is of 2 types : Screening test normally using immunoassay such as enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique(EMIT) and confirmation test using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
5. POSITIVE RESULT : Screening and Confirmatory are Positive
6. NEGATIVE RESULT: Screening or/and Confirmatory is Negative
7. FALSE POSITIVE or EXCUSE POSITIVE : Screening and Confirmatory are positive but with legal/ authorised drug used
For the start, you can use Code of Practice on Prevention and Eradication of Drug, Alcohol and Substance abuse in the workplace, 2005 for reference (you can download a copy from DOSH website by clicking here)