Last updated : December 23, 2024
Substance abuse, also referred to as drug abuse, is when a patient consumes or administers a drug in amounts or methods not approved by a healthcare professional. For the most part, substance abuse pertains to psychoactive, or mood altering, drugs, but it is not limited to them. Additionally, substance abuse is usually characterized with shortcomings in self-control and impulsive behavior.
Moreover, substance abuse has been known to lead to substance dependence, which happens when the user is unable to perform normal functions without ingesting a certain amount of their drug of choice. Substance dependence usually results from tolerance to a specific drug, which can be defined by when a user needs higher doses of the drug to achieve the original effect. Dependence can lead to withdrawal symptoms, which are physical and psychological reactions to quitting or reducing intake of the drug.
Prescription Drug Abuse
Many drugs that are abused are not not illegal. Instead, they are prescribed by doctors for a number of disparate conditions. Legal opioids like OxyContin are regularly prescribed to treat acute to chronic pain. Because opioids have a very high potential for abuse, many users end up taking much more than is recommended by their doctors. Stimulants like Concerta, Adderall and Ritalin are commonly prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD and ADHD). Like cocaine, prescription stimulants have a high potential for abuse.
Hypnotics like Ambien are prescribed to treat insomnia, but they can also have a sedative effect on the user. Other benzodiazepines are prescribed for the same reason, but they are also prescribed for anxiety. Hypnotics and benzos are both classified as depressants, which is the same class that alcohol belongs to. Thus, they can have drastic mood and perception-altering effects that may make the user seem drunk. Finally, antidepressants like Zoloft have a potential for abuse, although they are much less likely to be abused than the aforementioned prescription drugs.
Drug Abuse’s Affect On Productivity
Depending on the type of drug that is being abused, they can have varied effects on the productivity of an employee. Opioids may be hard to spot in the workplace, because regular opioid users take the drug to achieve normal functionality. In some cases, opioids can have effects that slow reaction time. Thus, if the employee is working with heavy machinery, they may be prone to accidents that could severely injure themselves or another employee.
If hypnotics and benzodiazepines are abused, they are much more noticeable. An employee abusing these types of prescription drugs will appear drowsy, drunk and, sometimes, utterly incoherent. This is dependent on whether the employee has a tolerance to the drug, though, because they might seem normal if they are used to the effects.
Stimulants might actually enhance the employee’s productivity, much like coffee. When stimulants are abused, though, they can have extremely detrimental effects on the user’s focus. If they are being used properly to treat ADD or ADHD, then it is well within their right to continue using them for the benefit of themselves and the company.
Finally, employee’s abusing antidepressants will not show many signs of substance abuse. Antidepressants in high amounts can cause drowsiness, which may be bad for employees operating machinery. For the most part, antidepressants do not cause drastic mood-altering effects.
Drug Testing In The Workplace
One way to be completely sure that drugs are not being abused in the workplace is to conduct random drug tests from Denver South’s mobile drug testing. The prospect of being randomly drug tested could act as a strong deterrent from drug abuse, especially if the employee’s job is on the line.
At Denver South, it is possible to bring professional drug testing to the location of any enterprise. On-site drug testing is beneficial, because it leaves the employee little excuse to be absent from taking the drug-test. On-site testing is also beneficial, because employees do not have to drive to a testing facility on company time. In the end, mobile drug testing serves to save time and money for any corporation.
