AccuDiagnostics

Posts Tagged ‘Las Vegas’

The Nevada policy on drug and alcohol testing states that all city employees and safety sensitive workers must be tested. There must be a pre-employment test conducted on job applicants. Other times when testing is mandatory are when there is reasonable suspicion, when there needs to be a follow-up and after an accident. A city supervisor can request a Reasonable Suspicion Test based on any employee’s appearance and smell, motor skills and speech, physical inability to do the job assigned or if the facts after an accident require a drug or alcohol test. Follow-up testing maybe required for employees, who have been through a drug or alcohol program, their supervisor can request this type of testing. Post Accident Testing will be conducted eight hours within the time of the accident and is required when someone dies or is injured and in need of medical attention or if an employee is cited.

Drug and alcohol tests performed in Nevada will follow the guidelines of the Federal Department of Transportation and conducted by technicians, who are certified by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The personnel department will inform employees when they will be drug or alcohol tested.

For drug testing, a urine specimen will be collected and testing of the specimen will follow the guidelines stated in the 49 CFR 40. Employees will be taken to a testing facility to conduct this type of test. The urine samples will be separated into two samples, in case, a follow-up test needs to be conducted. Employees can request a follow-up test and this must be done within 72 hours of a positive test result. The urine sample testing will be performed by the enzyme immunochemical assay method.

Guidelines that determine a positive drug test:

Alcohol testing will be performed as a breath test and can be performed on site. Actions required if alcohol tests are at a certain level vary. With a reading of 0.02-.039% blood alcohol content requires that the employee will not be able to perform their work and can not return to work duties for at least eight hours. If the alcohol breath test is 0.04% or greater, the employee must report to a Substance Abuse Program (SAP) and SAP will recommend when the employee can return to work.

Confidentiality is enforced, but the City’s Medical Advisor, the test facility, the MRO, the SAP, and certain Department Supervisors could have knowledge of the results along with the employee. The tested employee can give written authorization to other parties to have access to their test results. The City can use the drug or alcohol test results to determine the disciplinary or other actions for the employee and they can be used in a court or administrative hearings.

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Information is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. AccuDiagnostics does not engage in the practice of medicine. The information provided should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Readers are urged to consult a licensed physician before starting or stopping any medical treatment. Any action by the reader in response to this information is at their discretion, and AccuDiagnostics can in no way be held liable for such action.

With the 2009-2010 school year starting up, families and students will be bustling around getting ready for school and attending sporting events. Drugs and sports seem to go hand-in- hand these days even in professional sports with Manny Ramirez, the left fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, being the latest player caught on the “juice.” Players using drugs to be the best, what kind of message are they sending kids, who want to be a pro player some day?

Random drug testing of teenage athletes is one way to lower the usage of drugs among students. The random drug testing worked for Green Valley High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. Last year, Green Valley started random drug testing among their athletes. The random drug testing began due to 8% of the athletes testing positive during the 2006-2007 academic year.

Since the random drug testing began, there were two students that tested positive at Green Valley High, which means that the number of athletes using drugs is down to half a percent. Testing randomly has been so successful that Green Valley has decided to expand the random testing to all students participating in extracurricular activities. Students not in extracurricular activities are, also, being tested with parental consent and there have been 100 of these students, who have been randomly tested.

Other Las Vegas high schools have joined in on the random drug testing. Coronado High School tested 224 students and five tested positive for a variety of drugs, which were marijuana, oxycodone (OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet), alcohol, and opiates (morphine, codeine, heroin, hydrocodone). Silverado High School tested 100 students and five tested positive for marijuana and cocaine.

What is involved in random drug testing, AccuDiagnostics in Las Vegas, Nevada will randomly pick names of those that need to be tested for a company, school, etc. By random name generation, this eliminates companies and schools from being accused of discrimination. The types of drug testing available through AccuDiagnostics are urine, hair follicle, saliva, fingernail, toenail, and skin patch.

AccuDiagnostics, also, offer Mobile and On Site drug testing where certified collectors come to your company or school to do the testing. This eliminates taking time off from work or missing a day of school. Results are in a matter of minutes and are as accurate as SAMHSA lab results. Contact your local AccuDiagnostics for a FREE consultation.

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Information is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. AccuDiagnostics does not engage in the practice of medicine. The information provided should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Readers are urged to consult a licensed physician before starting or stopping any medical treatment. Any action by the reader in response to this information is at their discretion, and AccuDiagnostics can in no way be held liable for such action.