Transcript Summary of Key Drug Testing Issues

Drug Testing --- Some Key Issues
1) Who get tested?
a) Applicants (Adverse impact issues, job relevancy)
b) Current employees (Wrongful discharge claims, union contract
limitations)
2) What types of testing procedures are used?
a) Random (possible 4th Amendment violation)
b) “For cause” testing (Method of establishing reasonable suspicion,
differential treatment concerns)
3) What type of organization is drug testing?
a) Public (4th Amendment concerns, right to privacy issues)
b) Private
Drug Testing --- Some Key Issues (cont.)
4)
What type of test is used?
a) Sensitivity, accuracy, reliability
b) Cross-reactivity concerns (Effects of other substances)
c) Confirmatory test used?
* Thin layer chromatography (TLC) [Relatively cheap, requires visual comparisons)
* Immunoassay Tests (EIA, RIA)
* Gas Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) [Most reliable and costly]
5) In what types of jobs are is drug testing being used?
a) Safety concerns (e.g., accidents)
b) Access to sensitive information
6) Legal liability
a) For not testing
b) Inform other companies of those scoring positive on drug tests in certain jobs
Cross-Reactivity Examples (The industry standard for drug
testing is the "NIDA Five", five chemical classes that include Amphetamines,
Cocaine, Marijuana, PCP and Morphine)
Pain killers with Ibuprofen (e.g., Advil, Nuprin): Marijuana
Cold medicines and decongestants (e.g., Contact, Sudafed) Amphetamines
Cough syrups: Opiates
Antibiotics: Cocaine
Poppy seed bagels: Marijuana
Codeine: Morphine, Heroin, Opium
Cost to U.S. Society by Drug Abuse = Estimated 50 billion (figure reported by J.
Michael Walsh former Director of Applied Research and the Office of Workplace
Initiatives at NIDA before a federal court)
President George Bush Sr. raised the estimate up to 60-100 billion
Where did this estimate originate?
RTI Report (1982): Survey completed by 3,700 households
• Those who had ever smoked marijuana daily (20/30 days) had household
income levels 28% less than those households that never smoked marijuana
daily (reduced productivity due to daily marijuana use)
• Extrapolated to the general population – total productivity “loss” = 26 billion
• Adding the estimated costs of other factors (drug-related crimes, accidents,
medical care) = 47 billion (Cost to society)
Other Related Issues
Number of tests performed
a) Human error (e.g., mislabeled, mixed samples)
b) Chain of command concerns
c) Equipment issues (e.g., calibration)
Standard for positive drug test scores: None exist
National certification of licensing and certification of drug testing labs