Workplace Drug Testing is About Improving Health and Harm Reduction

Some say psychoactive drug use should be treated as a health and social issue instead of a criminal justice issue. 

These supporters believe that taking a health- and social-based approach to drug use, so people are no longer prosecuted for low-level drug offences, would reduce harm. Is a punitive approach a ‘deterrent’ for would-be drug users, or do we acknowledge that while knowing the risks, people will use drugs regardless—as we see with drink driving on our roads? 

If people working in safety-sensitive industries accept a health and social approach to drugs and alcohol, and there turns out to be insufficient payoffs to this approach, we will see an increase in drug use and more accidents on our roads and in our workplaces. This is the dilemma we face. The solution, I believe, sits as a hybrid approach to the wider issue—through combining strong consequences with health and social support. Without significant consequences for bad behaviour, motivating change and stopping the behaviour is almost impossible. 

As a manager or supervisor of a safety sensitive workplace, I’m sure you know alcohol and drugs aren’t a black-and-white issue. I’m also sure you know the injury or death of an employee is a clear-cut one.   

I believe a harm reduction and safety-first approach to drugs and alcohol in the workplace is both possible. The way this happens is by more businesses understanding that rehabilitating an employee can lead to better outcomes than letting them go.  

Why dismiss a team member if they can turn their life around? You can either send their credentials and certifications, their institutional knowledge of your company, and their relationships with your clients packing – or – you can help the person get the support they need and to get their life back on track, positively impacting work and family. 

Dismissing a team member is expensive, and hiring and training new replacements takes time and money too. Weigh that against the latter tactic where you build trust, loyalty and livelihoods. When rehabilitation is an option, businesses need to consider it.  

At the same time, understand that my goal at The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA) is to help employers keep their people safe. Usually, they are in industries like trucking, forestry, manufacturing and agriculture — and we reduce their risks by using three tactics. 

First, we start by helping companies design and implement a fair and effective drug and alcohol policy that applies to everyone. Secondly, with proper training and education, teams ’buy-in’ to policies. It happens when you educate your team and tell them about their rights as well as the dangers and consequences of being at risk of impairment in the workplace. And thirdly, where the rubber meets the road is drug and alcohol testing—mobile, reasonable cause, post-incident, random and pre-employment testing. Drug testing not only identifies a potential ‘accident waiting to happen’ but also doubles down as the ‘deterrent’ factor. 

Testing is important, we all know there’s no place for drug or alcohol use in New Zealand and Australian worksites or on the roads.  

Testing is where we identify at-risk people and where employers can offer rehabilitation options when it’s possible. There’re skills shortages on both sides of the Tasman, anyone in the building or trucking industry doesn’t need reminding of the scarcity in drivers and those willing to work in building trades. And those are just two examples.  

While I believe a health and prevention-based approach is important, TDDA is also a science-based company, and evidence (not that you need it) shows that drug users are a serious risk to themselves and their colleagues. Every worker has a right to safety, and when it comes to drugs in the workplace, a line has to be drawn. 

You can’t be affected by drugs and alcohol or suffer their carryover effects while using dangerous machinery. For instance, THC, the psychoactive substance in cannabis, has a hangover effect that applies even for a moderate social dose. A 1985 study found that a social dose of marijuana has carryover effects even 24 hours afterwards. Cannabis affects psychomotor performance (your coordination and dexterity) and cognition, and a while a user might not be high, he can still be fatigued, impatient, inattentive, clumsy, or have slow reaction times, I think we can all agree that cannabis is a lot more potent now than it was in 1985. The NZ Drug foundation also concedes that chronic users of cannabis may be constantly impaired – even for some weeks after ceasing altogether. 

Both health and justice are needed to reduce harm at work, and elements of each are required for any approach to drug law. TDDA is here to help businesses reduce the harmful effects of drug and alcohol use in the workplace. What I want safety-sensitive companies to understand, are the choices you can make to achieve a safe workplace—and that policies, testing techniques, proper training and rehabilitation are all tools in your toolbox. But as we all know too well, you also can’t lead a horse to water if it doesn’t want to drink.

Editors note: TDDA is a leader in the field and has ISO15189:2012 cross Tasman accreditation for workplace drug testing. The certification denotes TDDA's offices and mobile clinics meets rigorous international standards in quality management and competence. (see NATA and IANZ websites for further detail).

About The Drug Detection Agency 

TDDA was established in 2005 and provides Australasia with end to end workplace drug testing, education and policy services and solutions. Its process and technologies provide clients with safer workplaces. TDDA is a leader in workplace drug and alcohol testing with more than 50 locations and a fleet of over 100 mobile health clinics throughout Australasia.