Karen Kitchen

Supporters of legalizing marijuana in the state of Ohio will have to wait a little bit longer to put their concerns to the voters, following the failure of a state-wide petition to gain enough signatures for the measure to appear on the state’s ballot this November. The effort was backed by Responsible Ohio, a political Read more »

Educating employers about the dangers of drug use is still a big problem in many workplaces. Consider the fact that construction workers, sales personnel and restaurant employees have the highest rates of illicit drug use. Machine operators and inspectors also reported rates of alcohol use above the national average. Drug use has serious consequences for the workplace Read more »

Normally considered a drug for poverty stricken and working class males, heroin is now a drug for people of greater means, according to recent studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other reputable sources. What’s happening in Ohio suburbs is a representation of a growing trend across the United States. More and more, Read more »

Maybe you heard stories about drinking lots of water, exercising, adding chemicals to the sample, or trying to “detox” yourself to cheat a drug test. Drug testing, fortunately, has advanced quite a bit and none of those techniques will help someone beat a test. Here are a few myths that persist, but rest assured, none Read more »

According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependance (NCADD), of the estimated 14.8 million drug users in America, 70% are employed and probably cost employers $81 billion dollars a year. Drug use can cause inconsistent work quality, absenteeism, and poor concentration. Testing has been found to reduce drug abuse but it’s important to ensure the Read more »

New designer drugs, created to give users a cheap and intense high, are popping up across the country. Often combining household products, designer drugs claim to provide a “legal” high as law enforcement can’t keep up with the creation of dangerous new synthetics. These new synthetic drugs have deadly results; the extreme high craved by Read more »

Millions of people rely on prescriptions to maintain health, but that’s not the whole story. Just like illicit drugs, prescribed medication can be hazardous to your health. Research by the Mayo Clinic shows that about 70 percent of Americans take at least one prescription medication regularly. In 2011, the top five most common prescriptions added up Read more »

Almost everyone has at least a nodding acquaintance with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, right? The one that prohibits unreasonable search and seizure? More than likely, that amendment is the ace you may be tempted to pull out of your sleeve if and when you object to drug testing for employment. Ah, but here’s Read more »