Top 10 Mistakes Employers Make

March 6, 2014Jeff Hastings, President

#1: Policy Errors

Not having a policy

Inconsistent administration

Alcohol levels not defined (USDOT Example)

#2: Omitting Confirmation & MRO

Three stages of drug test

Discussing prescriptions

Adverse action law suits

#3: Not Testing Under Proper Circumstances

6 Reasons to Test:

Pre-Employment (After the offer is made) Post-Accident Reasonable Suspicion Random (For Safety-sensitive only) Return to Duty Follow Up

#4: Common Reasonable Suspicion Test Errors

Hearsay

Calling it a random test

Contemporaneous

Articulable

Test the entire department

#5: Choosing the Wrong TestGold Saliva Urine Hair

Expense Cheapest Highest

Efficacy Lowest Gold Standard

Newest

Time Frame Shortest Longest

Ease of Cheating Easiest Hardest

Federal Law Support No Yes No

Court Acceptance Some Broadest Some

Industry Standards No Yes Yes

Number of Drugs Tested Lowest Highest

Instant Results Yes Yes No

Confirmation / MRO None for Instant Yes Yes

#6: Choosing the Wrong Drugs

Drug Reason

PCP Faded away in 1970’s

Methaqualone / Quaaludes Discontinued in 1985

Propoxyphene / Darvon Banned in 2010

Synthetic Marijuana / K2 Sold legally as plant foodNot Marinol

Bath Salts / Vanilla Sky Cross between meth & LSD

MDMA / Ecstasy Promoted by users like Madonna as “Molly”

Test for “Everything” Impractical

#7: Allowing Cheating

Your drug testing company should be catching about 10%

Three ways to cheat Substitution Adulteration Dilution

Protocol / re-test

The silver bullet

#8: Training

Protocol / technology

Cheating

Reasonable suspicion…especially safety-sensitive

Lab tour

Periodic refreshers

#9: Common Malarkey from Drug Abusing Employees

I have a “medical” marijuana card

I only do drugs on my own time so it’s not your business

My roommate has a card (second hand smoke) Contact high

I cannot stay to give another sample. I’ll come back later or tomorrow

#10: Employers Not Testing

“I know my guys…”

“I can tell by looking…”

Q & A

Jeff Hastings, Presidentjeff@arcdrugtest.comhttp://arcpointlabs.com/sacramento/

1578 Howe AvenueSacramento, CA 95825(916) 565-0400 March 5, 2015

“Medical” Marijuana Overview

What Is It?

Who’s Using It?

What Does It Do? (Besides The Obvious)

Employer Options

Since it’s organic, pot is good for you.

It does not pose a threat to the user’s health or brain.

It is not addictive.

Pot cures diseases.

Companies must employ and accommodate pot smokers now that it is legal.

MYTHS

We Do Care While we oppose legalizing drugs……. We would never deny a seriously ill

patient.

In fact, THC is an FDA-approved medication!

MARINOL is a legitimate, prescription drug.

Relieves nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy and AIDS.

Why Isn’t Marijuana an FDA-Approved Medicine?

(Source: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine Revised July 2012)

MARINOL (Dronabinol)

Legal Prescription Safe Stimulates Appetite

Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the U.S.

It is made up of dried parts of the Cannabis sativa hemp plant

Street Names Pot Ganga Weed Grass 420

Over half comes from Mexico.

(Source: http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/marijuana; http://www.cnbc.com/id/36428970)

What is Marijuana?

What is Medical Marijuana?

California’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996, aka Proposition 215

Not a prescription; rather, a referral.

Fed laws trump State.

Intended to provide relief for seriously ill patients.

“Medical” Marijuana Card In Sacramento, It’s Easier to Obtain Than A

Library Card - 11/21/11 - Investigative Report

93 Seconds.... No Physician Exam Required

(Source: http://news.yahoo.com/video/sacramentokcra-28855299/medical-marijuana-with-little-or-no-medical-exam-28860661.html)

“Medical” Marijuana Card

Only 2% of Cardholders Qualify As Seriously Ill Most Cardholders Are Healthy Young Males Over 25% of Cardholders Are < 21 years old

(Source: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20080904/who-uses-and-abuses-drugs-and-alcohol?page=2Mental Health Center; Who Uses and Abuses Drugs and Alcohol?)

Baby boomers aged 55 to 59 more than doubled their use of illicit drugs since 2002

1.90%

4.10%

Baby Boomers Aged 55-59

2002 2008

And….

There is no difference!

The marijuana sold in dispensaries as medicine is the same quality and carries the same health risks as marijuana sold on the street.

What’s the Difference Between Medical & “Street” Marijuana?

(Source: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine Revised July 2012)

No Product Integrity

The FDA does not inspect “medical” marijuana.

No State or local government inspection.

December 3, 2012, USDOT affirms…. “Medical” pot still illegal. “Recreational” pot still illegal.

- Jim L. Swart, Director

Office of the Secretary of Transportation

Federal Law Trumps State

(Source: http://www.dot.gov/odapc/dot-recreational-marijuana-notice)

Who Uses Pot?

Pot is the # 1 drug of abuse.

Remember, Full-time employees……75% of all drug users.

Teen Pot Use Surges With De-Criminalization

30% of today's teenagers are smoking marijuana.

(Source: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/marijuana-use-and-its-effects)

Physiological Effects

Smoking marijuana leads to actual physical changes in the brain

similar to those caused by the use of cocaine and heroin.

(http://www.drugfreecalifornia.org/index.html)

Cannabis reduces blood flow, leading to brain cell damage and brain cell death.

Particularly affects the temporal lobes. This area is responsible for memory.

But Does it REALLY Impact the Brain?

The Damage Done…

Smoking marijuana leads to changes in the brain similar to those caused by the use of cocaine and heroin.

More young people are now in treatment for marijuana dependency than for alcohol or for all other illegal drugs combined.

(http://www.drugfreecalifornia.org/index.html)

(http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drug-related-hospital-emergency-room-visits)

422,896 376,467213,118

93,562

2009 Illicit Drugs Emergency Room Visits

Cocaine Marijuana Heroin Amp/mAmp

Study Shows Toxins in Marijuana Smoke

Source: http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20071214/study-shows-toxins-in-marijuana-smoke; Dec. 14, 2007 -- New research from Canada - The researchers burned 30 marijuana cigarettes and 30 tobacco cigarettes on a machine in their lab, measuring levels of chemicals in the smoke.

Tobacco Marijuana

Ammonia levels •up to 20 times higherHydrogen cyanide•3-5 times higher

Effects on the Lungs Marijuana smoke contains carcinogens, irritants

to the lungs; 50-70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke.

One to three joints contain as much carcinogens as 5 to 15 tobacco cigarettes. (UCLA)

Marijuana remains in your system as long as a month. Impairment lasts for several days to weeks after the high wears

off.

(Source: http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000233 - US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) publication "Exposing the Myth of Medical Marijuana," (Dec. 19, 2005):

Short-Term Medical Effects

"Marijuana affects many skills required for safe driving: alertness, the ability to concentrate, coordination, and reaction time. These effects can last up to 24 hours after smoking marijuana.”

Pot Impacts Heart The Woodstock generation is getting some very

bad news:

Marijuana smokers increase their risk of having a heart attack almost five times within one hour of lighting up, according to a study presented here at an American Heart Association (AHA) meeting.

Those who had smoked marijuana prior to having a heart attack were much younger, with an average age of 44 compared to 62 in the nonsmokers.

(Source: http://www.webmd.com/news/20000302/

Weakens The Immune System

Marijuana affects the body's ability to resist viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa, and decreases the body's anti-tumor activities.

SOURCE: (Dr. Guy A. Cabral, Professor, Medical College of Virginia, speaking at NlDA's National Conference on Marijuana Use: Prevention, Treatment and Research.)

Psychological Impairment Can Last Longer Than 24 Hours

Attention, memory and learning are impaired even after users discontinued marijuana use for at least 24 hours.

(Source: The Residual Cognitive Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use in College Students," Pope, HG Jr., Yurgelun-Todd, D., Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, JAMA February 21, 1996.)

129 7

Task: Remember 15 Words

Not Current Users 5+ Yr Heavy Users 10+ Yr Heavy Users

(Source: http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20060313/smoking-marijuana-may-dim-memory; March 13, 2006 -- Smoking marijuana may gradually fade verbal memory and other mental skills, according to a study in Neurology.)

After abstaining from pot for at least 24 hours (providing a urine sample confirming no other drug use)

Participants heard two lists of 15 words and tried to recall which words had been on the first list. Other tests checked attention and reaction times.

Mental Skills Tested

(Source: http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20060313/smoking-marijuana-may-dim-memory; March 13, 2006 -- Smoking marijuana may gradually fade verbal memory and other mental skills, according to a study in Neurology.)

On a test measuring executive functions that are important in making decisions, long-term users had 70% impaired performance, compared with 55% impaired performance for shorter-term users and 8% impaired performance for nonusers.

Mental Skills Tested – Executive Function

70%55%

8%

Long-Term Users Short-Term Users Non-Users

Participants who used cannabis heavily in their teens and continued through adulthood (between the ages of 13 and 38) dropped an average of 8 points.

For context, a loss of 8 IQ points could drop a person of average intelligence into the lowest third of the intelligence range.

Strikingly, those who used marijuana heavily before age 18 showed mental decline even after they quit taking the drug.

Mental impairment was evident not just in test scores but in users’ daily functioning.

People who knew the study participants (e.g., friends and relatives) filled out questionnaires and reported that persistent cannabis users had significantly more memory and attention problems: easily getting distracted, misplacing things, forgetting to keep appointments or return calls, and so on.

(Source: Brain Magazine, a New Zealand study

SIGNIFICANT DROP IN IQ

Internet Coaching Your Employees To Not Get Caught

How to Survive Being High While at Work

“This guide isn't just for office workers. No, this is for every worker. From baristas to garbage collectors.”

http://www.bakedlife.com/2010/07/marijuana-detox.html

Pot Smokers Tend To Avoid Dealing With Problems

(Case studies by research team from Center for Psychosocial Studies in New York.)

“Amotivational Syndrome” Decreased drive and ambition. Shortened attention span. Poor judgment, high distractibility, impaired

communication skills, and diminished effectiveness in interpersonal situations.

(National Institute of Drug Abuse)

People who drive after using marijuana are nearly twice as likely to be involved in a fatal car crash.

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20051201/marijuana-raises-risk-of-fatal-car-crashFrench Study Shows Pot Smokers More Likely to Be Responsible for Deadly Accident; Dec. 1, 2005

Marijuana Raises Risk of Fatal Car Crash

Stoned Driving

A study of reckless drivers (not impaired by alcohol), showed 45% tested positive for marijuana.

(Dr. Dan Brookoff, published in the New England Journal of Medicine)

But What if They Have a Marijuana Prescription? Prescriptions for drugs are under the authority of

the federal government, which trumps local government.

There’s no such thing as a pot Rx.

All the pot card does is protect the carrier from arrest for small, personal quantities.

You are not obligated to employ that person.

In fact, you expose yourself to liability if you knowingly employ a pot smoker with or without a pot card.

The Choice Is Yours

What if You Say “It’s OK for My Employees to Smoke Pot?”

Mr. Employer, did you know that your employee, Opey Dopey, smokes pot and yet you knowingly allowed him to operate the motor vehicle that ran over my client’s baby?

Know Your Employer Rights

You need not hire a person with a “medical” marijuana card.

You need not retain an employee with a “medical” marijuana card.

Ross vs. Raging Wire…California Supreme Court upheld employers rights to deny employment to card-carrying pot smokers.

Policy

Written, not verbal Consistent Complete Legal Keep alive

Training / Education

ManagersSupervisorsEmployees

Testing

Pre-Employment Random (Safety-Sensitive) Post-Accident Reasonable Suspicion Return To Duty Follow-Up

Top 10 Marijuana

Myths

Myth #1: Marijuana Is Harmless

Facts: Heightened risks of:

• Mental Illness (Burns 2013)

• Heart Disease (Montecucco 2012)

• Cancer (Marks 2013)

• Lung Disease (Mehra 2006)

• Stroke (Wolfe 2013)

Myth #1: Marijuana Is Harmless

Facts: Adolescent and young adult smokers

permanently lose IQ points (Meir M., 2012)

Exposure to “edibles” has led to an increase is child poisonings (Wang 2014)

Marijuana now causes more emergency room visits than all other drugs of abuse combined (SAMSHA 2013)

Myth #2: Marijuana is medicine. Facts:

Medical marijuana use has been rejected by:

The average California cardholder is a 32 year old male with no history of chronic illness and a history of substance abuse (O’Connell 2007)

• FDA• American Academy of

Ophthalmology

• American Medical Association

• American Cancer Society

• National Multiple Sclerosis Society

• National Institute for Neurological Disorders

• American Glaucoma Society • The National Eye Institute

Myth #3: Marijuana Intoxication Only Lasts A Few Hours

Facts: A flight simulator study showed effects

lasting 24 hours after pilots smoked one joint of low-strength marijuana Participants were unaware of their continued intoxication. (Yesavage, Leiner, Denari &Hollister 1985)

Today’s stronger marijuana yields anecdotal reports of effects lasting for days.

Myth 4: Presence-In-System Does Not Measure Impairment

Facts: As little as 2 to 5 ng/ml has shown substantial

impairment (Hartman & Huestis, 2012). Drug test cutoff levels are 15 ng/ml for screens and 50 ng/nl for GC/MS confirmations.

Presence-In-System tests have been the gold standard in decades of court decisions and provide the only practical way to maintain safe, drug-free workplaces.

Myth #5: Marijuana Is Not Addictive

Facts: One in six adolescents become addicted as

do one in ten adults (Gledd 2004).

When chronic marijuana smokers attempt to quit cold turkey, they exhibit all the classic symptoms of withdrawal (NHTSA 2014).

Myth #6: Marijuana Can Be Regulated Like Alcohol

Facts: The social costs of alcohol abuse are

estimated at $185 billion / year (NIDA 2000)

Physical characteristics (absorption, metabolism) of marijuana and alcohol are completely different.

There is no testing technology for marijuana intoxication that is comparable to Breath Alcohol Testing .

Myth #7: Marijuana Is Not A Gateway Drug

Facts: A 25-year long longitudinal study showed pot

use to correlate significantly with that of other illicit drugs; especially so among adolescents.

Two independent tests among twins showed two to five times greater risk among marijuana smokers (Lynskey 2003 and Agrawal, Neale, Prescott & Kendler 2004)

Myth #8: Marijuana Is Safer Than Alcohol Or Tobacco

Facts: It may take years before we know exactly how

much damage will have been done by the new, more potent marijuana.

Addiction, psychosis, and cognitive function loss are never “safer” (Gitlow 2014)

Myth #9: There Are No Long-Term Effects From Marijuana Facts:

A long term study of 1000 candidates showed lasting cognitive decline that did not resolve with abstinence (Meier 2012).

Marijuana increases depression risk 17% across all users and 62% among weekly users (Lev-Ran 2014).

Young adult cannabis use increases risk of schizophrenia 2 to 3 times (Zammit 2002).

Marijuana use increases risk of psychotic disorders 40% (Moore 2007 and a dozen other studies).

Myth #10: It Is Safer To Drive With Marijuana

Facts: Marijuana smokers are twice as likely to

be involved in a crash (Mu-Chen 2012)

Marijuana smokers’ driving suffers from:• Reduced attention to surroundings• Slower information processing• Slower response time (Harman and Huestis 2013).

ARCpoint Labs

1578 Howe Avenue

Sacramento, CA 95825

(916) 565-0400

Fax: (916) 473-7158

http://arcpointus.com/sacramento/

Jeff Hastings

Jeff@ARCdrugtest.com