Last updated : December 23, 2024
In the past decade, workplace safety has been a major concern. It costs companies millions of dollars to pay claims and workman’s compensation insurance. The key factor in reducing that cost is prevention. One way we have tried to prevent these claims is by encouraging the employees to refrain from not just unsafe habits, but also refraining from using illegal drugs. We then broadened our testing to include prescription medicines.
Many studies have shown that reduction in accident claims is prevalent when a drug testing program is enforced. Employees are heavily discouraged from using illegal drugs, but not much is being said or done about the prescription drug abuse problem that has risen from the 90’s. More each year, reports are finding that prescription medicines are showing up in drug test results at an alarming rate. The ability to obtain these drugs has become easier and with the development of pain clinics in recent years, it seems to be that the Doctors are quicker to write a prescription than they were in years past.
To illustrate the severity of the problem with prescription drugs, a major study has found that there is a thorn above all others, and that is the dangers of combining opioids, or pain pills with benzodiazepines Drug overdose used to be methamphetamines, hallucinogens and crack cocaine. The hard illegal drugs that were sold behind buildings and in alleys. But according to this recent study we are now seeing that over 57% of drug overdoses were from prescription medications.
Silently, opioids have climbed the ladder of drug overdose deaths. A recent count found 75% of drug overdose deaths included opioid analgesics; a significant amount over benzodiazepines and antidepressants. Even though society might think prescription overdose is mostly intentional, as in suicide; it was actually found that only about 17% were suicides. More data shows that combining the pain pills in the opioids class with benzos have the highest result of death compared to other drug classes. While taking opioids, 30% of deaths were when the victims took benzodiazepines at the same time, about 13% taking antidepressants, and almost 7% were taking anti epileptic and anti parkinson agents.
So the message that we see is clear. Drug dangers do not reside just with illegal substances anymore. They reside in our medicine cabinets. They are at home, obtained legally by loved ones but sometimes used by a son, daughter, husband, or wife. They are in a friend’s house, where a person may be offered a pill to get relief from a backache or a shoulder pain. But the user does not realize that the pill they are about to take is just as dangerous, if not more, than the crystal meth that the addict down the street is using. These people may not realize what they are taking may affect theirs or someone else’s life for a very long time. This is where drug testing comes in. Not just revealing the problems an addict might have with the substance, but also educates and brings to light the severity of using prescription drugs without Dr.’s consent.
Here at USA Mobile Drug Testing, locally Denver South, we make it easy to comply with regulation and test for those employees that may not be forthcoming about their prescription drug use. Even if prescribed, the use of many prescription drugs can be a workplace safety hazard. We believe that it’s best to prevent an accident than paying the claim or insurance rate hike if or when an accident might occur. We come to your business and perform these tests, where you’ll get the peace of mind of knowing your crew is safe while becoming aware of potential problems that will need to be addressed based on our accurate results.
