The problem of drunk driving is increasingly becoming worse, as the streets of Australia continue to be traversed by alcohol-impaired drivers. In NSW alone, about 20 per cent of fatal accidents include drunk driving as a factor. Such tragedies could have been avoided if the drivers involved actually had to undergo a breath test before getting behind the wheel.
A new study has discovered that the pattern of activity in the brain during dreams and during a drug trip involving magic mushrooms are similar.
According to a report by Business Insider Australia, the study, which was published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, reached this conclusion after analysing data from the brain scans of volunteers who consented to be injected with psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms responsible for their psychedelic effects.
The researchers observed more pronounced activity after injecting psilocybin in the more primitive brain network linked to emotional thinking. What makes a psilocybin trip similar to dreaming, however, is when they noticed activity at the same time in the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex, a pattern usually associated with dreaming.
This clearly shows how dangerous such drugs are at the workplace, and Drug-Safe induction programs will tell you the same thing. Imagine a co-worker who uses magic mushrooms—and is therefore in a dreamlike state—drive a vehicle or operate machinery at work. That co-worker poses a danger not only to himself, but to other co-workers as well, and that is one of the primary reasons nobody wants a co-worker who is in a dreamlike state.
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Seeking welfare in Tennessee in the United States just got tougher. According to an article written by Bryce Covert for ThinkProgress.org, the state has begun implementing a new law that requires all welfare applicants to get tested for drugs before they can get benefits.
For all intents and purposes, workplace drug testing should always be a positive process. However, for one reason or another, many workers and even employers themselves focus only on the negative connotations of workplace drug testing.
By negative connotations, we’re referring to the “get tested or else” or “test negative or be punished” approach that many companies unfortunately use when implementing workplace drug testing. In many cases, workplace drug testing becomes some sort of a witch-hunt, with the end goal of “weeding out” drug users within the ranks. Perhaps giving more emphasis on the real benefits of workplace drug testing would help make everyone involved see the process in a more positive light than this one.
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People might think that one-off drug use doesn’t have consequences, but a NSW bus driver just learned the hard way that indeed, drug use has consequences, even if it was just a one-time incident.
A decision released by the Civil and Administrative Tribunal rejected the contention of the bus driver in question that her peremptory suspension is not proper, saying the suspension is legal because she did not give evidence that would counter the safety concerns aired by Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and Transport for NSW. (more…)
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The United Nations has released its 2014 World Drug Report, and Australia has emerged with the not-so envious distinction of having a higher proportion of drug users than any other country in the world.
9NewsNational reports that the UN report pegged Australians as the top users of ecstasy in the world. The country also came in second, third, fourth, and seventh for opioid, methamphetamine, cocaine, and cannabis use, respectively. Worse, the report says drug use in all categories is bound to increase, as there is “a wide range of drug analogues and new psychoactive substances currently available in the Australian illicit drug market.”
This is a major cause for concern, considering the likelihood that many of these drug users are actually employed in various organisations in Australia. If anything, that should give us all the more reason to be alert and on the lookout for drug use by employees and colleagues in the workplace through our drug testing efforts. We at Frontline Diagnostics can help in this regard. Please contact us for a confidential discussion.
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Drug users today are no longer your typical unemployed, living-in-the-streets type who do a wide range of deeds just to be able to score a fix. According to statistics, millions upon millions of any given country’s drug users these days are actually gainfully employed. Considering how dangerous and troublesome it would be for a workplace to have drug users in its ranks, it’s only but natural for many businesses—including Australian firms—to implement mandatory drug testing in the workplace.
The random nature of workplace drug testing definitely becomes a deterrent against drug use in the workplace and should keep any workforce on its toes. There are, however, far less intimidating ways to motivate your workforce to stay drug-safe.
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Despite the prohibition on the production, importation, and marketing of synthetic cannabis in Australia, the drug continues to make it into the country, according to a news release by the Western Australia Police.
The news release affirms the seizure of several kilograms of “Venom”, a type of synthetic cannabis which contains synthetic cannabinoids AM2201 and XLR-11 as its active ingredients. Both AM2201 and XLR-11 are Schedule 9 substances in the Poisons Act 1964, and their sale, possession, and supply are criminal offences.
Venom and other synthetic drugs like it belong to what is now referred to as new psychoactive substances or NPS, which are designed to mimic the effects of “regular” drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamines, and cocaine among others. These synthetic drugs, however, have unpredictable effects. There have been reports of elevated heart rate, blood pressure, anxiety, hallucinations, and even deaths after ingestion.
With the continued influx of such drugs into the country, employers, HR managers, and Health & Safety Officers must remain vigilant and alert to the continuing threat that substance abuse causes businesses in Australia, especially since these substance have yet to be detected by routine drug testing efforts.
Click here to read the news release in full.
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