Reasons to test

Substance misuse testing is a very emotive subject and rightly so. You should not consider screening or testing for drugs and alcohol unless you have decided exactly what you will do with the result.

As an employer, even the use of vehicles by the sales team and management can cause sufficient liability under the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2008 or the Health and Safety (Offenses) Act, not just the obvious bus, truck or fork lift drivers. So drug screening must be covered in the Drug and Alcohol Policy, the Terms and Conditions of Employment and the Health and Safety Policy with which Dtec can help.

To put it simply, you should only consider screening as a control to check that all the other discussion, education and training the company has done has been effective. It seems a complex task, but we having been doing this since 1996, so Dtec can make it simple yet water tight.

As a parent, this is possibly the last resort and as a teacher this must be the final part of an education programme. Probation, rehabilitation and offender management should see screening as both a control and a deterrent.

Police, Border control and Customs have many reasons and powers to screen for drugs. These include Drug Driver screening where DrugWipe is the global market leader, and using the Home Office approved EDIT DrugID to confirm drug finds and the personal use of cocaine before charge and magistrates court.

Stimulants and Depressants

The word “drug” can encompass many substances from coffee and alcohol through to the badly chosen classifications of recreational and hard drugs. All of these drugs can either stimulate you or depress you. If drugs did not have a profound effect on the body or mind, then people would not take them.

Dtec do not promote an argument for taking or not taking drugs, or whether or not certain drugs are harmful to you. That is a matter for individual choice, hopefully after education on the pros and cons and being able to make an informed decision.

Dtec do however highlight the point that taking drugs, then doing other things such as driving or operating machinery, is either illegal or can be extremely dangerous. These can not only put the user’s own life in danger but also, more importantly, the health and safety or even potentially the lives of others.

Overview of drug screening methods

There are many methods to screen for illegal drugs depending on what you are looking to find or to prove. It is critical that when testing people, the screening method must also be chosen for time frame, whether hours, days or months, as must a suitable matching confirmation method.