Employee Wellness Programs: Smoking Cessation Health and medical spending costs for employers are on the rise and more companies are looking to employee wellness programs and smoking cessation programs to help curb some of those costs and promote better employee health. According to a 2015 “Cancer and the Workplace” report, published by Northeast Business Group, […]

Biological Markers: Not Just for Drug Testing! You may have seen a story that’s been circulating for the past few months that questions the cleanliness of swimming pools, and makes you think twice about swimming in a public pool.  But aside from the conclusions the story made that swimming pools are dirtier than we would […]

No Such Thing as a Safe Opioid. Don’t ask me how I did it, but I awoke on an early June morning with the most intense pain in my neck and stiffness that would last for several days.  The pain surged across my left shoulder and down my arm, ending in my palm and fingers.  […]

U.S. Coast Guard and DOT: Is they is, or is they ain’t? On July 13, 2017 the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy Compliance (ODAPC) published a new Part 40 Question and Answer regarding the United States Coast Guard.  With apologies to the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou, the Q&A answered the question “Is […]

How Do You Say What You Do? A few years ago I was on a golf trip with a group of guys from different parts of the country.  One of the guys was the manager of a beer distributorship.  When my friend learned what he did, he said “You need to meet Jack.  He sells […]

What are DOT Violations for Alcohol Testing? Companies required to perform DOT alcohol testing on their safety-sensitive employees must have a substance abuse policy and that substance abuse policy must list, at a minimum, the DOT violations for alcohol testing. But what are the minimum DOT violations for alcohol testing? The DOT regulations apply to employees who perform […]

Medication Assisted Treatment for Opiate Addiction. We were chatting with a long-time friend, a well-respected psychologist who consults with a drug court, about medication assisted treatment for opiate addiction, specifically the use of buprenorphine to assist individuals with their drug addiction.  We were surprised to learn that the drug court he works with is opposed […]

What Can Interfere with a Breath Alcohol Test? There are a few websites and articles that advise readers on what can interfere with a breath alcohol test result. Many of these sites and articles are misinformed, lacking any knowledge on the technology commonly used or proper protocols for using the devices.  However, recently we came […]