Drug & Alcohol Testing

California has implemented new requirements in the procedures for testing for THC among some employees. The law DOES NOT make it illegal to test for Marijuana. You CAN continue your drug free workplace program. Drug free workplace programs and testing for THC is still legal in California. The law creates a requirement of confirmation by a lab of a particular metabolite of THC prior to making any employment related decisions. This metabolite can be confirmed by utilizing saliva testing instead of urine.

Message from our Friends at SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana)

The marijuana industry is heavily lobbying Congress to pass H.R. 1595, the SAFE Banking Act to give the marijuana industry a massive infusion of money from Wall Street by granting access to the federal banking system.

California Marijuana Legislation Will Not Change Employer Drug & Alcohol Programs

The passage of recreational usage of marijuana by California voters on November 8, 2016 will not force employers to change there drug free testing programs. The new law specifically creates protection for employers to continue with or create new drug free workplace programs without having to accommodate for recreational or medical use of marijuana.

Effective Jan. 30, 2015, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued its final order to temporarily schedule three synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) into schedule I pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

The substances are:

The Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) recently published an article explaining the importance of confirming all testing with a laboratory. Mobile Occupational Services has always believed in LABORATORY TESTING ONLY. Other industry members use instant or point of collection testing kits (we call them quick kits or shake up kits). These instant kits provide an "instant" result without a laboratory.

Most reports of a negative-dilute specimen are nothing to be concerned with, however some situations can be a red flag and require further testing. The main thing to note is that a negative-dilute specimen is NOT the same as a positive result. A dilute specimen is just that....a dilute specimen. Dilute specimens that are positive are not reported as positive-dilute they are reported as a positive. The dilute status is not of concern. Whenever receiving a dilute specimen report, it is important to have an MRO involved in the review process, even if the test is a Non-DOT.

§40.87 What are the cutoff concentrations for drug tests?

(a) As a laboratory, you must use the cutoff concentrations displayed in the following

table for initial and confirmatory drug tests. All cutoff concentrations are expressed in

nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). The table follows:

DOT has recently published the Final Rule on changes to the Federal Drug and Alcohol testing regulations. Below is a summary of the Final Rule. Please note that these rules are effective October 1, 2010. Attached with this update is an update for your drivers / safety sensitive employees. We suggest posting a notice to inform your employees as soon as possible.