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.

Although, if we were to rewind time back to the early 1990’s, opioids likely wouldn’t be at the forefront of the public’s mind. And nobody would have anticipated the magnitude of the opioid crisis we face today.

We are currently standing a similar precipice with benzodiazepines—or at least many would argue this fact. A recent essay was published in the New England Journal of Medicine that highlighted this thought, titled “Our Other Prescription Drug Problem”.

What are benzodiazepines?

More commonly known by their brand names such as Xanax, Valium and Klonopin, benzodiazephines are tranquilizers that are used to treat anxiety and insomnia. They have a high potential to become extremely addictive and are especially dangerous when mixed with other drugs.

There has been massive growth in use and abuse of benzodiazephines or “benzos” in the U.S.. The number of deaths attributed to the drug has risen sevenfold over the past two decades, which isn’t surprising when you take into account that the number of benzodiazephine prescriptions have increased 67% to 13.5 million from 8.1 million in 1999. However, unlike opioid prescriptions, which peaked in 2012 and have decreased nearly 20 percent since then, benzo prescriptions are continuing to rise.

Like opioids, benzodiazepines increase a user’s feeling of stupor or drunkenness. Opioids and benzos are often taken together to increase an opioid high. In fact, in 2013, 23% of people who died of an opioid overdose also tested positive for benzos. This is extremely dangerous as benzodiazepines can increase an opioid’s power to slow breathing to a stop.And previous research has also suggested that patients who are prescribed benzos and opioids are four to ten times more likely to overdose than those who are prescribed opioids alone.

The amount of opioid users who also take benzodiazepines has doubled since 2001, which led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a strong warning against co-prescribing the two drugs in 2016.

Preventing another epidemic

With the FDA strongly warning against co-prescribing and “black box warnings” being printed, it is hopefully that we can slow benzodiazepine abuse before it gets out of hand.

Other ways we can help prevent another epidemic from breaking out and slow our current prescription drug abuse problems include:

• Try using a safer alternatives for anxiety and insomnia first like behavioral interventions or long-term medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
• Raise awareness about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs and mixing prescriptions. Some individuals may not understand the serious consequences that can be involved with prescription drug abuse, help raise awareness by talking about this sometimes sensitive subject.
• If you are struggling, be open. If you have a problem with prescription abuse, tell your doctor and they can help you find a safe way to stop or limit your abuse. Abrupt withdrawal from prescription drugs can lead to serious side effects such as extreme anxiety, sleep disturbance, convulsions, and other serious problems.
• Address other problems before they lead to addictions. Leo Beletsky, a professor of law and health sciences at Northeastern University, spoke out about stopping the opioid crisis and other prescription abuse. “We have a lot of complex problems in this country. Without really addressing all of those physical, emotional, and mental health problems, just focusing on the [prescription drug] supply makes no sense — because people still have those problems.

The post America’s Next Big Drug Problem – Benzodiazepines appeared first on Blueline.

Hydromorphone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone and oxycodone are all being added to the new drug-testing panel.

This means that beginning in 2018, all drivers will now be tested for these four commonly abused opioids. Opioid abuse has risen dramatically in recent years, with drug overdose deaths nearly tripling—a large percentage being attributed to opioids, according to CDC statistics.

“Inclusion of these four semi-synthetic opioids is intended to help address the nationwide epidemic of opioid abuse,” the DOT said in its rulemaking notice which will be officially published in the Federal Register on Monday (11/13).

In addition to these four opioids, the DOT will also remove methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) from the existing drug testing panel and add methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA).

“The opioid crisis is a threat to public safety when it involves safety-sensitive employees involved in the operation of any kind of vehicle or transport,” said Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “The ability to test for a broader range of opioids will advance transportation safety significantly and provide another deterrence to opioid abuse, which will better protect the public and ultimately save lives.”

This ruling will be effective starting January 1, 2018. 

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