Hopes and Dreams

Hopes and dreams are common in all of our childhoods. Unfortunately, adults seem to have forgotten that reality is the same as whatever we’re concentrating on, which is perhaps why children are a lot happier than adults.

Children concentrate on their hopes and dreams, giving great purpose to believing in themselves and all of the things they want to be when they grow up. Life is full of possibilities, and there are no ifs, ands, or buts about that. We, as adults, often find ourselves drifting in and out of nightmares, maybe, but rarely dreams. Why is this so?

A lot of it is trained in us by the previous generation of adults. At some point, they want us to be able to deal with “reality” and so they make some attempt at vanishing all of our hopes and dreams and putting some practical common sense in our heads. But children, despite being told that they can’t do stuff, steadfastly believe that they can.

That’s the great thing about kids. They know better.

Workplace drug testing is for adults who seek to return to that age, but who cannot seem to get there through any normal means. Listening to a child talk, you can see how personally you take things compared with them. You feel as if you take life way too seriously, when their biggest problems is …well, they just don’t seem to have any problems. Even if they do, they just kind of ignore them and keep going.

Drug abuse and alcoholism are both cries for help. They show the people around them that they are in psychological pain and that they need relief from this pain. Drug and alcohol testing measures how much your workers think like this. Obviously, it can never measure their thoughts, but it can measure how much they’ve been abusing substances, if they even have. Drug testing equipment is high quality, and Mediscreen is accredited by NATA to bring you high quality onsite drug & alcohol testing services, right in your own business. How cool is that? Drug and alcohol testing is about finding answers. Sometimes, these answers can help you guide your employees to better answers. Call Mediscreen today to ask us more about our drug screening services.

This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/hopes-and-dreams/

Dreading the Experience

Everyone knows that anticipation of something bad is often much worse than the thing we are anticipating. In fact, this is true on a lot of levels. By dreading something or someone, we are putting a scenario into our minds of things which may or may not occur, but our fear twists them into the worst possible scenarios. In fact, dreading the experience is not only likely to make it happen because we are putting our intention out there like that coupled with strong emotion, but it can also drain our bodies and our emotions of any strength with which we would normally face the problems when and if they occur.

Dreading things can really drain you, and not having these emotional resources available to you can be very bad. Now, when you are looking at implementing drug and alcohol testing in your business, you may have some misconceptions about the process. You may have expectations about the process involved, you may overestimate how much your employees will hate it, and you may not recognize when you are being stubborn about an aspect of the situation which everyone else takes for granted.

In truth, drug and alcohol testing is one of the easiest, simplest things to put into your business to give you more confidence in the responsibility and drug-free status of all of your employees. It gives you information and you need this info to be able to make qualified and evidence based hiring and firing decisions. This is one of those times when you do NOT want to rely upon subjective opinion.

Mediscreen makes the drug screening process even easier for your business than most businesses. We screen your employees at your workplace environment. Our onsite drug & alcohol testing services, coupled with our NATA accreditation for urine testing, make us one of the top competitors for drug & alcohol testing in Australia. We come to every business, no matter where they are. Now, don’t dread the experience of implementing screening in your own business. Instead, put all of the hard labor into our hands, let us handle everything, and you will have a huge load off of your shoulders.

This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/dreading-the-experience/

When Employers Look the Other Way

Some employers turn a blind eye to drugs and alcohol in the workplace and the substance abuse problem plaguing Australia. The fact this can have dire consequences on the health and safety of workers is well understood. However, the consequences of ignoring substance use or abuse in the workplace can also impact management personally by raising risks of lawsuits or even leading to loss of jobs when productivity declines or injury rates increase and harm the company’s brand as well as employee health. This perspective is not often discussed except amongst attorneys and policymakers. When employers look the other way when detecting signs of drugs or alcohol in the workplace, or when they neglect to develop policies and procedures, unexpected consequences can result.

Many employers are reluctant to face the consequences of drugs, and as a result have never bothered to institute a drug and alcohol policy. The case of Doug Smith v BHP Billiton Pty Ltd [2010] FWA 3349 is a good example as to why this is a poor practice. An employee was expecting a substantial redundancy payment, but three days before payment the employee failed an alcohol breath test. As a result, he was dismissed. The employee then filed an unfair dismissal claim claiming the dismissal led to consequences that were “hard, unjust or unreasonable.” The employer defended itself by pointing out the employee had breached the Drug and Alcohol Policy which made it clear a positive test could lead to employment termination. Since the employer could prove the policy existed and the employee was aware of it, the case was dismissed. Practically speaking, businesses that fail to institute a Drug and Alcohol Policy are failing to comply with workplace health and safety standards. Fair Work ruled the employer had a right to take immediate action to protect workplace safety.¹

How to Ignore Substance Abuse and Increase Liability

There are hidden costs to ignoring drugs and alcohol. It is estimated that just alcohol misuse costs over $6 billion per year in lost productivity. ² However, there are other consequences that seldom come up in discussions. There is a concept called “derivative liability” in which staff actions lead to senior managers and board members having liability for those actions. Not developing policy and procedures is just one way employers create personal liability from lack of accountability. Others include:

• Refusing to recognise the high rates of drug and alcohol abuse in Australian society, so not using due diligence in hiring practices
• Ignoring common workplace talk about weekend binges or drug use, so failing to address safety issues as applicable to the workplace
• Not screening job applicants at the pre-employment stage
• Not offering safety training or not including discussions of workplace safety risks introduced with substance abuse
• Not administering a random drug and alcohol program or not rigidly following a testing procedure, sending a message that substance abuse is not a management concern
• Not training supervisors in administration of drug and alcohol procedures that do exist, nor training them in the detection of substances and appropriate responses to workers suspected to be under the influence
• Taking no action when workers test positive for drugs or alcohol, sending a message to workers that it is not important
• Ignoring indications of substance abuse, like drug paraphernalia
• Laughing along with workers discussing weekend parties where substances were used
• Attending after-work pub sessions with subordinates
• Providing free alcoholic drinks at work-related parties or allowing workers to bring their own (then laughing the next day with workers talking about how intoxicated John and Mary were at the party)

Workers will take their cues from management. If management does not enforce a substance free workplace, then there is a high probability that drugs and alcohol are present. If a worker is injured and can prove a co-worker’s drug or alcohol use was a factor, it is assured two things will occur. First, the employer will be held responsible for failing to maintain a safe workplace. Second, a terminated substance abuser will likely be reinstated after proving a workplace culture of tolerance exists. This means the employer is “stuck” with a worker known to be a substance abuser until some incidence happens again.

Running from the Statistics

Employers looking the other way when drugs or alcohol is involved are creating a liability for themselves. It is simply not a good way to run a business. Managers and supervisors can also expect that the statistics will one day catch up with them. As injury rates rise and productivity declines, the board of directors, management, and company brand and reputation are at stake.

With the availability of onsite drug and alcohol screening services available at any location through Mediscreen (mediscreen.net.au), all employers can enforce a substance free workplace policy. Mediscreen has taken the effort out of ensuring the testing process adheres to Australian law and standards and that appropriate documentation is maintained.

 This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/when-employers-look-the-other-way/

New Opiate Called Krokodil Goes Beyond Russian Borders

It is repeated over and over again that new illicit drugs enter the marketplace all the time, and each one seems to be more dangerous. There is simply no way to predict what the drug manufacturers will come up with as they attempt to develop more powerful and appealing drugs. In 2011, the Australian news centers began to report on a new street drug called Krokodil because it was so powerful and so physically damaging that they wanted to warn the public. However, until recently this new type of opioid has been confined to Russia so people did not pay a lot of attention to the report. Now the news is reporting that Krokodil has moved beyond Russia’s shores, and anyone who thinks that Australia will bypass this trend does not fully understand the powerful allure of illicit drugs.

Standard drug tests recognise opioids which means Krokodil is detectable. One of the important characteristics of most illicit drugs is that they rely on ingredients like opioids, cannabis, amphetamines or their derivatives, hallucinogens, cocaine, and others. Many of the new street drugs appearing are variations of currently used drugs, which means current alcohol testing will detect them. Though there are synthetic drugs able to pass drug detection, the reality is that the traditional ingredients of original street drugs are the most powerful and thus the most popular.

A New Devastating High

In September 2011 a video and transcript was posted on the ABC News–Australia website that addressed the staggering illegal drug use in Russia and the appearance of Krokodil. Sadly, it was reported that Russia had over two million drug addicts using a variety of illegal drugs and was now dealing with a very dangerous homemade drug called Krokodil. Not a lot of people were paying attention because the drug was confined to Russia. Krokodil is a cheap, homemade cooked drug called desomorphine. This dangerous injected drug creates serious skin problems that begin at the point of injection. Actually, using the word ‘serious’ understates the devastating consequences of Krokodil.

The name ‘Krokodil’ is the Russian version of ‘crocodile.’ This drug is named after the reptile for a good reason. When krokodil is injected, it has a terrible impact on the skin. At the site of injection, the skin gets scaly and begins to rot. Addicts also say that whatever health condition already exist are made worse by the drug. Krokodile requires a drug cooking process that takes longer than preparing heroin. However, it uses codeine (an opiate) as its main ingredient which is readily available in pharmaceuticals. This makes the drug cheap and appealing to addicts. One of the problems with desomorphine is that people become drug-dependent much quicker than they did on traditional drugs like heroin. The other lure of this drug is the fact it is so much cheaper than heroin.¹

Cooking a Recipe for Death

The Krokodile drug cookers add a variety of ingredients like gasoline, iodine, alcohol, and oil. Chemical reactions needed to produce the drug are started by using ingredients like acid or the ingredients are boiled and filtered. The name ‘crocodile’ is due to the scaly, reptile-like flesh that develops beginning at the point of the injection and spreading around the body in reaction to the poisonous components of the drug. It is difficult to even look at a picture of someone who has been using Krokodile because their skin is literally rotting on the body.

Krokodile has been confined to Russia until recently. Crime commissions have been watching and waiting for Krokodile to show up in other countries. The United States is the first country to verify cases of Krokodile, which was in Arizona. When Krokodile is used over and over again, it causes blood vessels to burst, leading to gangrene.² The physical effects of this drug are almost too horrible to describe. In addition, the “high” only lasts about 90 minutes so drug users need to frequently repeat injections. Krokodile users have a very short lifespan of 2 to 3 years.

Urine and alcohol drug testing can detect opioids. Even if Krokodile is not in Australia (yet), employers may serve as interveners for drug users who are most likely to try the next “new thing.” Detecting drugs and alcohol via random testing programs will reveal who is using illicit substances, and employers can then direct the person to helpful resources. It is one of the best hopes Australia has for keeping this devastating drug from becoming an Australian nightmare.

Mediscreen (mediscreen.net.au) provides onsite drug & alcohol testing support services. Rigidly adhering to a drug and alcohol testing program is an important step in maintaining a safe and healthy workplace and could save one or more lives.

This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/new-opiate-called-krokodil-goes-beyond-russian-borders/

Educate...Don't Bombard...Workers with D&A Information

Way back in the 1960s, people use to say “turn on and tune out”, referring to using drugs and forgetting all the world’s cares. Taking that old expression and giving it a new twist produces, “bombard and tune out.” Bombarding people with the same message over and over again becomes an ineffective communication strategy in the workplace. Human nature is such that regularly hearing dire warnings offering no context on a routine basis turns important messages into ones that are tuned out. Drug and alcohol education programs in the workplace need to be structured to do exactly what the description implies – educate workers and in a way that makes sense to them.

Employers can learn a lot from studies conducted to determine the effects of media on listener attitudes towards illicit drugs. The public is bombarded on a daily basis with news media reports covering a range of topics. Though the message is often intended to produce positive results, the opposite can happen. For example, media reporting on violence that is meant to inform and warn people can desensitise them towards violence instead. The question is whether bombarding people with information about illicit drugs and drug activity desensitises them to the dangers of using the substances. Do people quit listening? Does information overload change attitudes towards illicit drugs as to their risks and acceptability? If so, is the change good or bad?

Framing a Relevant Message

A study conducted involving teenagers and young adults, many of whom are employed, indicated that how a message is framed influences decision making. Media messages influence the formation of opinions and reinforcement of concepts, partly because younger people do not have life experiences to provide personal context. However, all people are influenced by media to some degree. New information merges with people’s existing beliefs, and attitudes emerge from the mix. For young adults, the existing attitudes have developed mostly as a result of interactions with parents and peers.¹ Older adults have life experiences to fall back on and hear messages with more solidified beliefs and attitudes. Pre-existing beliefs play a large role in determining how someone interprets a message, which is why workplace drug and education programs get the message across more successfully with some people than others.

Non-users of illicit drugs rely on news media, or other sources like employer education programs, for their information, and these sessions have a great influence on shaping attitudes about risks of drug use. On the other hand, those who have previously tried illicit drugs are likely to be more intrigued by news media reports about a new illicit drug hitting the streets. Therefore, how a message is composed will influence its final impact. For example, people who are regular weekend partiers and regularly mix drugs and alcohol will tune out an education program if it appears to be out of touch with the reality of polydrug use and talks about binge drinking and illicit drug taking as separate events to be treated separately. Credibility of information is critical. Studies have also indicated that many younger people will take media messages at face value, whilst older people need hard facts and research to change their attitudes or beliefs. This harkens back to the previous point noted that people’s attitudes are formed through life experiences, and it is difficult to overcome what people have witnessed, experienced, read and watched for years.²

Talking About the Right Things

Telling workers over and over again that “thou shall not take drugs or drink alcohol at work” is not an effective education program. One of the conclusions reached is that there is a greater chance of deterring teenagers and young adults from workplace drug use by including the impact of drug use in messaging. Instead of just talking about the legal issues or the possibility of job termination if caught using drugs, the employer can include information about cannabis psychosis and how that effect risks workplace safety. However, for workers of any age, changing existing behaviours and attitudes relies on a regular education program that explains how drugs (and alcohol) impact the health and welfare of employees and the workplace, and how substance abuse increases the risk of harm.³

Regular education does not mean bombarding people with messages, hanging anti-drug posters all over the place, or sending emails every day that end up getting deleted. It means consistent delivery of useful, relevant, and realistic information that workers can contextualise and internalise. Each workplace is different, and employers need to adapt their messages to the audience.

Mediscreen (mediscreen.net.au) works with employers to ensure they understand drug and alcohol testing procedures, the substances that can be tested, and documentation requirements. The first step in educating employees is educating the management and supervisory staff.

This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/educate-dont-bombard-workers-with-da-information/

What Drives Workers to Keep Using Drugs…Even When it Means Loss of Livelihood

Illicit drug use is isolating, which is one reason why the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL) was formed. The peer-based organisation has a message that it does not matter what opinion people have about those who use drugs; they just need to accept the reality that a large number of Australians are drug users. The reason the organisation takes that stand is because it believes people are driven away from seeking help due to societal shame.¹ In the workplace, the shame of addiction stops people from asking for access to resources like Employee Assistance Programs. Instead, they wait until a random drug or alcohol testing returns a positive result and then either ask for help or deny there is a problem.

The statistics support the AIVL’s premise concerning the number of drug users, and the problem is not confined to Australia. A report issued by the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy says that, “In countries like Australia, the UK and the USA, a significant proportion of the population develop an addiction to alcohol (8-15 percent) and illicit drugs (4-6 percent).”² The report also points out that addiction is a pattern of behaviour marked by a person using drugs despite knowing the harm it can cause. In fact, some drug users do express a desire to quit using drugs, but they cannot seem to help themselves. In many cases, continued drug use leads to the loss of a job.

Expanding List of Addiction Theories

What drives workers to follow a pattern of behaviour that is likely to lead to job loss and thus their ability to support their family or themselves? There are people who just simply do not care about consequences and act in a reckless manner, but that is generally not true for people with a drug dependency. Drug dependence is defined by the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association as a situation in which taking drugs is compulsive behaviour and requires a lot of a person’s time to the detriment of their other roles as parents or workers. Drug abuse leads to loss of employment, creates a burden on society, and negatively impacts relationships. So the question remains: Why are more and more people using illicit drugs and jeopardising their livelihoods?

There have been a number of theories advanced as to why people continue using drugs despite knowing it could cost them their jobs and that they are putting co-workers in harm’s way. Briefly, they include the following:³

• Hedonic – the pleasurable effects of using drugs serves as positive reinforcement for continuing their use

• Withdrawal – people continue using drugs to avoid experiencing withdrawal symptoms

• Self-medication – drugs are used to deal with negative emotions like depression or anxiety

• Self-control – addiction results from a failure to self-regulate which can be due to deficits in reasoning, attention, information processing, and so on

• Associative learning and habit – positive reinforcement from drugs leads to learning ingrained habits; presentation of drugs eventually elicits strong emotional cravings

• Incentive sensitisation – drugs produce changes in the motivation and reward systems in the brain, making the regions hypersensitive to drug use; continue drug use leads to a heightened value of the drug use and cravings are produced (shift from drug-liking to drug craving takes place)

• Allostasis – opposing brain systems try to stay in equilibrium and continued drug use produces a pathological shift in the hedonic set point and causes dysregulation of the brain reward system; leads to loss of control over drug use and compulsion to use drugs

• Executive control dysregulation - chronic drug use dysregulates active in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, leading to deficits in decision-making and a reduced ability to control desire for drugs and to control behaviour

Books have been written on each one of these theories. The list of theories gives only the briefest explanations, but it shows that even medical researchers continue to struggle with explaining drug dependency.

Knowledge Leads to Better Program Management

Employers administering random drug and alcohol tests are concerned with the safety and health of the workforce. They are usually not thinking about research theories. However, the more employers know about drug addiction, the more equipped they are to manage an effective drug and alcohol program. The scientists are getting closer to pinpointing the specific biological changes that lead to addiction, but clearly some theories believe there are people who simply choose to use drugs because they like the effects. Whatever the motivation for abusing substances, illicit drugs and alcohol have no place in the workplace.

Mediscreen at mediscreen.net.au offers a NATA accredited national onsite drug and alcohol screening service. Every workplace location should be kept substance free, and Mediscreen’s quality services help employers across industries achieve that goal.

This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/what-drives-workers-to-keep-using-drugseven-when-it-means-loss-of-livelihood/

Using Social Media to Reinforce Drug Policy & Procedures

The workplace is an ideal place for sending a drug free message because employees are a captive audience, so to speak. Today’s workforce is multi-generational, so employer messages reach all age groups. One of the most important messages an employer delivers is the drug and alcohol policy and the procedures for policy enforcement. In the past, employers had to print and distribute documents and then hold periodic workshops to train and develop employees. Now there is increasing use of social media in the workplace for worker training and development, and that is just as applicable to the drug and alcohol policy and procedures. However, social media takes policy integration and reinforcement to a higher level.

Broadcasting the Right Message

Social media networks that are internal and external to the business become integral to operations. They are used to promote a business brand, build a reputation, and communicate with stakeholders. However, they can also be used as a means of communication between employers and employees, and between co-workers. This makes social media a powerful tool for promoting a substance free workplace. A drug free workplace then contributes to brand quality by reducing worker error rates and increasing productivity. There are now many ways to use social media to deliver the right message on drugs and alcohol:

• Producing short YouTube videos in which senior level managers talk about the importance of keeping drugs and alcohol out of the workplace
• Posting online videos discussing the drug and alcohol policy and procedures and documenting when each employee views them to ensure all workers are participating in training
• Posting reminders on intranets that workers must accept responsibility for safe behaviours in the workplace
• Developing an Employee Resource Group that addresses drugs and alcohol and allows members to communicate via an internal social media network
• Posting policy and procedure updates on the company-wide social media networks that are used by workers as a source of information
• Using sites like Facebook to reinforce the company’s commitment to maintaining a substance free workplace, thus promoting positive public relations
• Starting a discussion forum to encourage workers to discuss methods for improving workplace safety and to ask questions concerning drug and alcohol related health and safety issues
• Developing an online workshop all employees can access to share information about healthy lifestyles in and out of the workplace
• Holding online celebration events where people can affirm their commitment to living a substance free life
• Tweeting links to updated health and safety information related to drugs and alcohol

Reinforcing the Right Message

These are just a few ways a business can use social media networks to strengthen its drug and alcohol program. Training workers once a year is not adequate anymore given the pervasiveness of substance abuse. The random drug and alcohol testing done throughout the year is a critical component of maintaining a substance free workplace. However, regular reinforcement of the policies, procedures and benefits that testing brings to all workers is an important step in the success of the overall program.²

Drug alcohol testing can end up being viewed as a management punishment tool rather than a means of protecting worker safety and health. Social media makes it easy to send out regular top-down messages that inform people of the current policy and procedures, update employees on the hazards of substance abuse, congratulate the workforce on supporting a drug-free environment, and so on. In other words, social media can help management send a positive rather than negative message about drug and alcohol programs. It serves as an employee engagement tool when structured appropriately.

Drug & alcohol testing programs do not have to be viewed as a disciplinary tool by employees, and effective use of social media can be an important strategy in creating the right workplace mindset. The reinforcement strategies can be combined with Mediscreen’s (mediscreen.net.au) efficient drug and alcohol screening services to promote a substance free workplace. Mediscreen are a NATA accredited company offering the highest levels of testing and service.

This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/using-social-media-to-reinforce-drug-policy-procedures/