tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700731838999469018.post1210700775299571123..comments2023-03-27T01:03:36.656-04:00Comments on James Gray Masons' Weblog: Drug Testing and PrivacyJames Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377209098354270038noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700731838999469018.post-87232723888196982352010-04-29T15:33:42.361-04:002010-04-29T15:33:42.361-04:00Victoria, Canada: Workplace urine testing programs...Victoria, Canada: Workplace urine testing programs are a poor method for identifying employees who are under the influence, and do not significantly reduce job accident rates, according to a study published in the scientific journal Addiction.<br><br>Investigators at the University of Victoria in British Columbia reviewed 20 years of published literature pertaining to the efficacy of workplace drug testing, with a special emphasis on marijuana – the most commonly detected drug.<br><br>Researchers found: "[I]t is not clear that heavy cannabis users represent a meaningful job safety risk unless using before work or on the job; urine tests have poor validity and low sensitivity to detect employees who represent a safety risk; drug testing is related to reductions in the prevalence of cannabis positive tests among employees, but this might not translate into fewer cannabis users; and urinalysis has not been shown to have a meaningful impact on job injury/accident rates."<br><br>Authors concluded, "Urinalysis testing is not recommended as a diagnostic tool to identify employees who represent a job safety risk from cannabis use."<br><br>Urinalysis detects the presence of inert, fat soluble byproducts of marijuana, the most common of which remains present in urine for days, weeks, or even months after past use – long after any psychoactive effects of the drug have worn off.James G. Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377209098354270038noreply@blogger.com