In this case, a drug masking product refers to synthetic urine or any substance designed to be added to human urine or hair for the purpose of defrauding a drug or alcohol test.

California and Delaware join eighteen other states that have outlawed synthetic urine to falsify drug tests. And many expect that some remaining states will soon follow suit.

As employment drug testing has becoming increasingly popular, so has the sale of drug masking products. ‘Booming’ fake urine sales have been attracting the attention of state lawmakers for quite some time now.

Yet companies that manufacture and sell urine are often able to operate as legal businesses by claiming that their product isn’t meant to be used to falsify drug tests. For example, one fake urine manufacturer, Quick Fix, states that their products are “to be used in accordance with all local state and federal laws and [are] not to be used for lawful administered drug tests.”

However, their testimonial page implies that they are aware customers are using the product to pass drug tests

“Got the job! -Vanessa, CA.”
“I passed my 10 panel test, it was easy to use. -Greg, AK.”

With increasing awareness surrounding new drug masking methods, cheating has becoming increasingly difficult. However you should ensure that your drug test administrators are trained on how to prevent or detect the use of drug masking or fake urine products.

The post Drug Masking Laws Updated In California and Delaware appeared first on Blueline.

We thought that these statistics might be useful to consider as you strive to make or update your own workplace drug policies.

This NSC survey was taken by over 500 individuals that make decisions about workplace drug and alcohol programs for their companies. While 86% of the respondents agreed that opioids (even while taken as prescribed) impact job performance, only half (50%) of respondents felt confident about their company’s substance abuse policies and procedures.

Some other interesting statistics from the survey included:

-75% of employers have been directly affected by opioid use
-79% of employers are not very confident that individual employees can spot warning signs of opioid misuse
-One-third of employers have experienced an overdose, arrest, or injury/near-miss
-38% of employers have experienced absenteeism or impaired worker performance
–Despite widespread impact, only 17% of employers feel extremely well prepared to deal with this issue

Nick Smith, interim president and CEO of NSC said, “The opioid crisis is truly encompassing nearly every aspect of American lives. Today’s survey confirms that the No. 1 cause of preventable death is not just taking its toll on our home lives but companies across the country are also grappling with the impact of this epidemic.”

If you have questions about reasonable suspicion training or how you can help get your supervisors trained to handle drug and alcohol abuse within the workplace, please contact us! We’ll help you get it figured out. All Blueline Service clients have access to our FREE reasonable suspicion training materials.

You can contact our drug testing department at mail@blueline-services.com. Please feel free to take a look at NSC’s drug use guide as well here.

The post Employers Speak Up About Illicit Opioid Use At Work appeared first on Blueline.