Lance Armstrong Proves Drug Testing Works

Reading brief news reports about the doping case involving Lance Armstrong, a world champion cyclist, has raised a lot of questions about drug testing. The reality is that the Armstrong situation proves that drug testing is highly effective. How can that be when he was using drugs, but passing drug tests? Armstrong went to almost unbelievable extremes to bypass testing procedures, proving that the accuracy of drug testing was something to fear for anyone intent on cheating the system. Once the full story was revealed, the incredible lengths that Armstrong had to go through to deceive the drug testing system proves to employers that current drug testing methods are highly accurate and bypassing them, especially for years, takes a level of extensive planning, effort and collusion that the vast majority of workers would not, or could not, pull off.

For anyone not familiar with the Armstrong situation, the story is disturbing and farcical at the same time. Armstrong was a hero to many as a seven time winner of the Tour de France and as a cancer survivor. However, his career and successes were dogged with rumours of performance-enhancing drugs. Accused a number of times of doping, he always protested his innocence and pointed out he passed drug tests. For ten years, Armstrong continued to compete whilst passing drug tests and winning cycling races. If that is all that is known about the situation, it would appear that drug testing is not successful. However, there is much more to the story.

Wrong Kind of Teamwork

In its final report, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said that Armstrong was, in effect, heading a sophisticated and professionalised doping program in the cycling sport. The extent to which Armstrong went to disguise his use of drugs is disturbing. However, even more disturbing is the fact his success was the result of the wrong kind of teamwork. It took a ‘code of silence’ and elaborate ruses to keep Armstrong’s drug use secret.

Lance Armstrong became an expert in evading drug testing, but the fact remains it took the cooperation of a lot of people to bypass the drug testing procedures. In fact, it is a sad story of deception and desperation.

It appears that Armstrong began the deception early in his successful career. In 1999, Armstrong’s gardener, a man known as “Motoman”, became the courier who delivered EPO (Erythropoietin) via motorcycle to the team, whilst the team was on tour buses. Armstrong’s teammates were participating in the deception and using drugs also. Syringes filled with EPO and dropped into soda cans were delivered to the bus, and the team doctor would then throw them out the bus windows after the syringes were removed. This practice was followed by taking a concoction of olive oil and testosterone called by the code name “the oil”.1

The story gets much worse. According to team members, Lance Armstrong went so far as to store blood transfusions obtained from a doctor who knew what he was doing and why he was doing it. Transfusions were taken on tour bus trips, with the bus sometimes stopping in the countryside so team members could carry out self-administered blood transfusions. The team members would complete a blood transfusion and then inject a saline solution to lower the hematocrit level.

A Culture of Drug Abuse

Armstrong claimed he had been tested hundreds of times for drugs and always passed. The truth was he was tested 60 times over his career for drugs, and there are questions about the interpretation of the blood tests. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) asked the head of physiology at the Australian Institute of Sport to re-analyse 38 Armstrong blood samples taken during his successful cycling Tours. The results clearly showed that blood doping was a high likelihood.2

There are many important lessons for employers in the Armstrong case. For example, one of the primary methods used to escape drug detection was to elude testing. Team members would refuse to answer the door when they thought the out-of-competition drug testers were knocking. Armstrong utilised other anti-detection strategies, like waiting to submit required travel plans until the last minute and staying in remote hotels where it was unlikely testers would show up. The cover-up strategies included backdated prescriptions to hide corticosteroid use, trainer supplied drugs, administered micro-doses of EPO under the skin at night, and a host of other activities designed to hide drug use.

Armstrong had a culture of drug abuse within his team, and they knew they had to conspire to past drug tests. It took doctors, team members, managers and personal deception to hide Armstrong’s drug use for so many years. Armstrong and his team were an anomaly, and people can have faith in the system of random drug testing using state-of-the art equipment. However, there are lessons Australian employers can take from this situation.

First, random drug testing policies must be diligently followed. Employees scheduled for testing should never be allowed to evade testing. Second, using reliable testing services and laboratories is critical. Third, a random drug test program must be truly random. As mentioned, Armstrong and his team would administer the EPO micro-doses in the middle of the night when drug testers were unlikely to conduct surprise tests. Employers who run 16 or 24 hours shifts need to include all workers in the random Alcohol Test program.

Employers can have faith in current reliable drug testing equipment like that provided by CMM Technology (cmm.com.au/). However, the reliable equipment must be combined with well developed and strictly enforced drug and alcohol testing policies and procedures to achieve a substance free workplace.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3083

Legalising Marijuana Does Not Change Its Effects

The discussion rages on: Should marijuana be legalized and not just decriminalised? Though a topic of discussion for many years now, the debated heated up when the Global Commission on Drug Policy issued the report War on Drugs in June 2011. The Commission recommends the decriminalisation and government regulation of cannabis and possibly other drugs. The report was greeted with applause by those who support the legalisation of marijuana and with alarm by those who do not. Among those who generally do not buy-in to the argument are employers.

For employers, two considerations are embedded in this debate. First, will legalisation make it more difficult to control cannabis use in the workplace? Second, in terms of the effects of cannabis on workers, it should not make any difference if marijuana is legalised or not because of the known side effects of cannabis use.

The discussion on the legalisation of cannabis is similar to the discussions concerning prescription drugs. Though prescription drugs are legal, many of them present the same kind of problems as illegal drugs. Another way to look at the issue is that it really does not matter if a substance is legal or illegal, if the worker is disoriented, has memory problems, and experiences dizziness or anxiety as a result of a drug’s use. The safety of the worker and co-workers is jeopardised. In fact, cannabis use can lead to a number of immediate effects and each one can make it difficult for a worker complete tasks. Besides the ones mentioned, immediate effects include affected perception, altered vision, sleepiness, reduced coordination and loss of balance. Long-term use of cannabis can lead to impaired concentration and a greater likelihood of experiencing psychotic episodes. The importance of having a strong workplace drug and alcohol policy in place, and of following a random employee Alcohol Test schedule, cannot be overstated.1

An Issue of Doing Harm to Others

Supporters of cannabis legalisation tend to pick and choose the words they quote from the War on Drugs Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. Whilst the report does support the decriminalisation of cannabis, it also states as its first principle and recommendation, “End the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but who do no harm to others.” Clearly, the Global Commission is not recommending drug use by workers because cannabis use in the workplace certainly can lead to harm coming to others.2

The question also remains as to whether cannabis legalisation makes the drug more available or more restricted and whether it increases drug use or encourages people to use cannabis more responsibly. Right now employers struggle with managing worker use of prescription drugs, which are legal but often contain ingredients like opioids. Another workplace issue is whether drug legalisation will increase drug activity in the workplace because the fear of legal repercussions is removed.

It does not matter whether currently illicit drugs are legalised. Legal or not, cannabis and other drugs will impact workers the same way before or after legalisation. Maintaining a drug free workplace is the right policy for promoting workplace safety and productivity, and that does not change just because the laws change.

It is important to use high quality Drug Testing kits meeting Australian standards. CMM Technology (cmm.com.au/) works closely with employers who are interested in selecting reliable and accurate workplace drug testing equipment. 

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3074

What’s New on the Streets of Australia?

Illicit drug manufacturers are innovative, productive and working diligently to stay one step ahead of the government’s efforts to identify designer drugs. By the time a drug is added to the Schedule 8 – Controlled Drug or Schedule 9 – Prohibited Substance lists, a new drug like MDPV or “Smiles” appears. It is difficult for employers to stay current on the newest substances to hit the streets. That is precisely why it is important to use a high quality workplace drug testing company that has access to the latest research and produces state-of-the-art drug testing kits.

In January 2012, it was reported that some drug users in Adelaide were experiencing severe psychotic episodes due to a new street drug commonly referred to as Scat Cat, Meow-Meow and 666. Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) is extremely potent and similar to MDMA. The drug produces a number of serious side effects that include rapid heartbeat, dizziness, nausea, paranoia, delusions and violent behaviour, among many others. Though MDPV has been on the federal controlled drug list since 2010, after numerous overdoses and several deaths, the drug was added to Schedule 9 effective May 1, 2012, thus banning it.

In some ways, MDPV is old news because it has been identified and a controlled drug for six months. However, there are other new street drugs that have recently made appearances. One of them has a street name that belies the danger it presents to users – “Smiles”.

No Smiling when Using Smiles

Smiles is a derivative member of a set of drugs the chemists refer to as 2C-I. Its chemical name is 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine and is fortunately not yet commonly used by substance abusers. An obscure synthetic drug, it has been used mostly by clubbers who are looking for a cheap high. However, what the users are experiencing are severe hallucinations, bizarre behaviour, seizures and fatally high blood pressure. Smiles bind to serotonin receptors at a far higher rate than other drugs and alter the balance of serotonin and dopamine. The drug causes muscles to contract and get “locked” leading to rigidity, rising temperature and death.

Smiles recently came to the forefront of the Australian discussions on drugs when a young man in Perth continually slammed his body into trees, poles and other fixed items while high on 25B-NBOMe. A tablet form of 2C-I, the new version has been linked to numerous overdoses in Perth.1

A worker who decides to use Smiles will often begin showing signs of extreme distress within an hour of use. If this happens, emergency personnel should be called immediately for aggressive treatment. It is impossible for any drug testing company to rapidly develop test kits that will detect the newest synthetic street drugs made with unpredictable and unknown ingredients, but there is a good chance a drug user will test positive for some other type of substance. Numerous statistics show that most substance abusers are poly users, meaning they are using multiple drugs or drugs and alcohol. For example, the Australian Institute of Criminology released a report involving interviews of almost four thousand detainees. Of the people interviewed by the Drug Use Monitoring program, 44 percent were poly drug users.2 When it does not appear an emergency exists as an employee begins to behave irrationally for some reason, a workplace drug test should immediately be performed for cause. This establishes a workplace record of illicit substance use when the worker tests positive for an illicit substance.

WHO are These People?

One person reading a news report concerning 2C-I asked WHO are these people mixing synthetic drugs and why is it that humans will snort, inject, drink, inhale and consumer anything? It is an excellent question. Though it is not the duty of employers to psychoanalyse workers, they do need to understand that easy drug availability makes random drug and alcohol testing an imperative. Synthetic drugs may change formulas, but poly users seem to have no compunction about mixing legal and illegal drugs or mixing multiple illicit drugs and alcohol.

No one can predict the next new street drug, but there will be one. It is critical that employers diligently adhere to a random drug and alcohol testing program and not be discouraged by the appearance of synthetic street drugs. The habits of drug users are such that current drug screening tests will identify workers using the newest drugs, simply because drug users cannot seem to stop at using a single drug and will rely on the popular drugs also to ensure they experience a ‘high’. In the meantime, laboratories are very close to developing drug tests that detect similar chemical compositions as opposed to identical. That is precisely why employers need to use an experienced drug testing company for supplies and testing services.

CMM Technology offers state-of-the-art drug test equipment that include both urine and saliva products. Using the Alcohol Test kits found at cmm.com.au/index.php ensure that employers are testing based on the latest medical research. 

This article has been taken from http://www.amazines.com/article_detail.cfm/5239867?articleid=5239867

Understanding Psychological Pain

Those of us, and the author includes herself in this, who have been repeatedly hurt by addicts often find it difficult to forgive them. However, it will help you to understand something about the psychological pain that they are going through. Note: Even though this about understands their pain, there is nothing you can do to help them except to protect yourself and your personal boundaries from them. In no way is this article a solution to helping addicts. That is a problem which can only be fixed by them, and only they can start, continue, and finish helping themselves.

When you suffer from low emotional intelligence, you are not just incompetent in many parts of your life and relationships. You still have full mental capacity and ability to think. You are still able to dream and think about all of the goals which you someday hope to achieve. You are aware that you can mentally and physically accomplish all of your goals.

There is a glass wall between what you can do and what you are technically capable of doing. You are not fully grown up on the inside, so you cannot handle the burden of responsibility of the lifestyle of someone who is your age. If you are emotionally twelve years old on the inside, you will not be able to emotionally handle the responsibilities of an eighteen year old, and so on. As you grow older, and the burdens of your age increase against your internal age, you’re suffering and misery increases. You know that something is wrong, and that something is holding you back, but you simply cannot figure out what to do about the problem.

This is why businesses implement Workplace Drug Testing , Urine Drug Test and oral fluid drug tests are tools at your disposal that assist you to ascertain if there are any drugs in their system. As a leader in your business, it is your responsibility to make sure that your employees are kept safe, even from each other. For more information about Drug test Kits in Western Australia, call CMM Technology today.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3037

Drug Testing is a Core Requirement

For some inexperienced business owners, employee drug testing may seem a little unnecessary. If you have the expenses to cover it, then yeah, sure, it might be a good idea, but it is really no big deal.
Drug testing is such a big deal that we at CMM Technology cannot stress it enough. One of the core requirements of business operation is the need to have someone and something to protect your company assets. We do this by locking the doors, installing security systems, and vetting new employees and only promoting them to further access to our assets when they prove their trustworthiness. However, there is another aspect of this.

What happens when you are attacked from the inside? What happens when one of your employees puts your company assets and your employees in jeopardy? You need physical evidence that they are a danger to others on the jobsite. One of the most-touted arguments against employee drug testing has been that it is a violation of your privacy. Some people may even say that your character is not being judged, but your urine.
However, the law is a defined and finite power. The law regulates appropriate conduct to be demonstrated in civilised society. These laws protect the citizens of our country. Without them, personal interpretations, which can go to any extreme imaginable, would be open to the public. Innocent people can get hurt. Companies can be sued for things which they did not have a part of.

Breathalyser tests, drug tests, and any other type of employee drug testing helps to record data about whether or not an employee is engaging in abusive behavior while on the jobsite. This recorded data is physical evidence which can be presented in court should the company find itself sued or in any way liable for the irresponsible and dangerous actions of an employee who is under the influence. For this reason, CMM Technology not only distributes equipment for drug test in Western Australia, but we also offer recalibration service for any devices which you are already using. Our goal is to increase the safety of company assets. Call CMM Technology today to order your drug testing products.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=3025

Drifting in a Sea of Fog

Alcohol Test

                Alcohol Test

If you have ever driven in fog, then you know how much fear that it can induce in someone. The fear is not so much in getting lost or a fear of the hazy gray smokiness of the air around you. It is a fear of blindly being led off of the road which you are on…a road which ensures your safety and wellbeing. Without this path ahead of you, you could drive into oncoming traffic, fall into a ditch or over a cliff, and you can get your vehicle stuck in areas which you would need a tow truck to pull you out of. This slipping off the road business is a dangerous thing to encounter.

Drifting in a sea of fog is a phrase that is also used to describe being without motivation, goals or direction. When people use it in this manner, they intend to convey a feeling of almost not being human anymore, since most of their humanity is based upon clear cut feelings and memories and visual impressions of people and objects and life experiences.

When you indulge in drug abuse or alcohol abuse, your mind is drifting in a sea of fog. This is no directionless phase, since most people on this path slip toward a very definite end of broken relationships, lowered standards of living, and repeated and chronic self abuse. In order to understand why businesses implement employee drug testing, you may wish to consider that a company is like a living organism which must grow and thrive in order to stay healthy. When the organism is dysfunctional, money leaves rather than coming in.

Money is very good about going where it is safe.

Adulterant tests and all types of breathalyser devices and drug testing reveal the inner workings of employee behavior toward themselves. If they engage in rampant self abuse, it shows. To have workers who are fit for duty is to have a healthy organism which produces products and services for your community. Order your drug test equipment from CMM Technology today. Drug testing in Western Australia has never been so easy.

This article has been taken from http://cmm.com.au/articles/?p=2986