How Mandatory Drug Tests Can Make the Workplace Better
Workplace drug testing is slowly becoming an important part of an employer’s workplace drug policy, and for good reason: it carries with it a host of benefits for the workplace. Whether the people being tested are current employees or prospective ones, there is no question that the benefits far outweigh any of the negative issues those against workplace drug testing throw against it. Mandatory drug tests improve the workplace, and here’s how they do exactly that.
Police officers of Patong in Phuket, Thailand recently conducted random drug tests on the staff of two hotels in the area and discovered that some of them are actually drug users, says a report by Saran Mitarat for The Phuket News.
Many employers are now implementing drug testing programs in their respective businesses. They use a variety of methods, including hair drug testing. This method works by identifying the drug metabolites that enter the scalp’s blood vessels and are filtered by the hair. The metabolites stay in the hair as some sort of a permanent record of person’s drug use, and that’s why hair drug testing came to be one of the more common types of drug testing these days.
Employers have the right to implement their drug policy among their employees. If that drug policy includes a drug testing program, then an employer can ask employees to undergo drug tests. The question is, can employees refuse drug testing? An article by Mary Luros for the Napa Valley Register suggests that employees can’t, not when the employer has “reasonable suspicion” that the employee is on drugs.
The Fair Work Commission has effectively paved the way for companies to conduct confirmatory urine drug and alcohol tests on workers who fail saliva tests after quashing a previous decision by a Deputy President of the commission on the issue.
Drug policy has been in place for many years, but does it really work? Many British politicians are now saying that British drug policy has failed, but an article written by Prof. Paul Hayes for The Conversation says otherwise.
Practically everyone knows that using drugs like cocaine, heroin, ice, cannabis, and even alcohol have adverse effects on one’s health, among other things. Yet even with this knowledge, far too many people worldwide still abuse and overuse these substances. Why do people take drugs and alcohol?
What is the connection between drug policy and drug use? If an official study conducted by the UK government is to be believed, the answer is nothing.