As an enterprising entrepreneur you need to have the ability to spot people subtly. At times you find people present a chaotic mix up. I’m afraid you would find it hard to know something going amiss in your employee because of your everyday chores. Or it might be too late. Let’s be positive and make a clear thinking. If you ever suspect employees of substance abuse, find out what led you to such a notion? On close observation, you may find fall in performance, absenteeism, risky behavior, unusual physical signs, etc.

Declining work performance
Bodily and mentally fit employees are a boon to your organization because of their productivity. A healthy worker abides by the employee code of behavior set by the organization. However, everything goes awry once your employee’s overall performance declines. You might be shocked at such a drop in performance and would be prompted to take it seriously. The employee who was punctual is now a late-comer, and leaves earlier or remains absent for many days, takes long breaks for taking food, likes staying alone, cannot concentrate on work, makes wrong judgments. All this leads to severe drop in performance – a warning sign of substance abuse.

Increased and unexplained absenteeism
An employee stays absent from workplace in a day or during a shift and you do not get a convincing explanation for it. The employee fails to account for because his general disposition becomes unpredictable; may lie to the managers/supervisors and reply awkwardly; finds fault with others including spouse. Such unusual behavior should lead you to suspicion of drug abuse.

Engaged in risky behavior
Another sign is that the employee becomes highly irritable, disregards social manners in the amity of co-workers as well as at work; ignores safety norms; tends to be risky being reckless while at work and thus endangering life of all. He accuses coworkers and superiors for failure or difficulties at workplace.

Avoidance of co-workers
A substance abusing employee shuns co-workers. Puts excuses in case of failure on any count – be it work or home. This is because of the fact that the unusual changes might be noticed by others for which he feels embarrassed. General personal character becomes clumsy. It is a warning sign of substance abuse on the first sight as you find it completely different from what you had seen earlier.

Certain physical signs
Substance abusing employee suddenly starts quarreling, scolding and shouting at others. He ignores personal hygiene, dress code at workplace. There is drastic drop in body weight because of loss of appetite. There is change in the pupils – if the substance is an opiate (heroin, cocaine), the pupils shrink and if it were amphetamine they are dilated. Personal grooming is poor. He becomes tired as the effect of drug ceases.

Necessity of drug testing at workplace
You can’t afford to take it for granted if you notice these symptom(s). If you ignore, you expose the health of other employees as well as your business to great risk. It affects their work ethic and ultimately leads to decline in profitability of your enterprise. Strictly and constantly monitor your employees’ general and working behavior. As a matter of policy of the organization, make periodic substance check-up mandatory. This is a preventive step.

When you mark these sign(s), you need to be proactive. Consult your human resources managers and take the necessary steps immediately. This is critical as apart from impacting the performance of the individual employees; it is likely to bring out in its wake several legal, health, financial implications and a drop in the profitability and repute of your organization in the corporate world.

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Urine drug test kits are user-friendly and reliable drug testing kits that give accurate results. Higher concentrations of various drugs and their metabolites in a urine sample make these kits highly preferable compared to other test kits (saliva, blood and hair). Hence, urine test kits are popular for on-site and off-site drug tests.

In this article, we will discuss about some commonly abused drugs. We will also learn about the substances urine test kits detect in urine sample to confirm the drug abuse.

Common drugs of abuse:
Despite the severe restrictions posed by the federal agencies to curb the sale, usage and trade of illicit drugs, some of the drugs are available. Among them NIDA and SAMHSA has identified 5 drugs which are highly abused. These are called as NIDA 5 or SAMHSA 5 drugs consisting of marijuana, cocaine, amphetamine, opiates and phencyclidine. Apart from these drugs, nicotine, which is usually smoked in the form of cigarettes, is also found to be the most commonly abused drug.

Common drug testing method:
Urine drug testing is the easiest and commonly used method to detect all the above mentioned drugs. This method is highly preferred for conducting drug testing at schools, workplaces, homes and other institutions and places where drug testing is mandated by law. Urine test kits are commonly preferred by people because they are inexpensive, easy to use, accurate, and reliable. They also give results in minutes.

As most of the drugs that enter into the body are metabolized and are expelled out through urine, urine becomes the most preferred sample for conducting drug tests. Urine drug test kits (available in the form of cups and strips) can detect the drugs and their metabolites by the principle called ‘immunochromatographic drug testing assay’.

Let us now see how urine drug testing method identifies the commonly abused drugs (NIDA-5 drugs) and nicotine using this principle.

THC in marijuana test: THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the active ingredient of marijuana is detected by the urine drug test kits. THC is stored in lipid tissues of the body for longer time and is eliminated through urine slowly, which increases its detection period in urine. In case of a casual use, THC can remain in body from 1 to 7 days of abuse, whereas in case of chronic use, it can be detected up to 4 weeks in urine. The cut-off level of THC/marijuana in urine is 50ng/ml (suggested by SAMHSA).

Benzoylecgonine in cocaine test: Cocaine is a highly addictive substance. It is metabolized into benzoylecgonine in the body and is excreted through urine. This metabolite can be generally detected from 1 to 5 days of abuse for a casual use. The cut-off level for cocaine in the urine sample, as recommended by SAMHSA is 300ng/ml.

Opiate metabolites in opiate test: Opiates are a group of drugs – opium, morphine, heroin and codeine. All these forms when abused are converted in to the major metabolite called morphine (morphine taken directly stays unmetabolized in the body), which is then excreted through urine. The SAMHSA suggested cut-off level for morphine in urine is 2000ng/ml and it can be detected up to 1 to 5 days of abuse.

Amphetamine in amphetamine test: Amphetamine, the deadly drug, when administered is eliminated through the body in the unchanged form. The detection period for amphetamines in urine is 2 – 4 hours in case of causal use and may vary from 1 to 4 days, based on the amount and frequency of usage. The SAMHSA cut-off level for amphetamines in urine is 1000ng/ml.

Phencyclidine in PCP test: PCP (phencyclidine) when abused is excreted in from the urine in the form of unchanged PCP and other conjugated metabolites. PCP can be detected in urine within 4 to 6 hours of drug abuse and can be detected till 7 to 14 days depending on various factors. The cut-off level for PCP in urine as suggested by SAMHSA is 25ng/ml.

Cotinine in nicotine test: The tobacco or the nicotine usage can be detected through its metabolite, cotinine. Cotinine is one of the various metabolites of nicotine. Cotinine test is mostly preferred to detect the presence of nicotine because cotinine is continuously eliminated from the urine. The SAMHSA cut-off level for cotinine in urine is 200ng/ml and can be detected up to 2 to 4 days on normal usage.

All the above tests are beneficial only for preliminary confirmation. The results obtained from these tests can be further confirmed by the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) chemical methods.

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Bob has a cigarette and a cup of coffee the first fifteen minutes of waking up each morning. The same behavior continues through his day. Bob does not consider himself a drug addict. The same behavior continues through his day. Bob does not consider himself a drug addict. Caffeine is the most popular stimulant in the world and the world’s most popular mood altering and habit-forming drug. Nicotine is both a stimulant and a sedative. Caffeine is used in soft drinks, and over the counter medications. Even with well-known side effects, nicotine has redeeming factors. Nicotine may help treating cognitive impairments, Alzheimer’s, and treating ADHD.

Nicotine acts in the brain through the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Acetylcholine is accountable for attention, language comprehension and intelligence. When inhaled burning tobacco 90% of the available nicotine is absorbed into the body. Introducing nicotine to our body causes an increased heart rate and increased blood pressure, raising oxygen need but not levels present.

Direct effects of smoking are positive mood changes, alertness, and an ability to give more attention to activities. Nicotine activates the brain circuitry regulating feelings of pleasure. The effects go away in a few minutes, causing smokers to use frequently throughout the day to maintain pleasurable effects caused by nicotine. Short term effects are the primary reasons why so many smokers continue to smoke. Fast to act and fast to dissipate. First an upper causing alertness, then a downer when withdraw begins ten to twenty minutes after the last dose.

Coffee may help reduce the risk of a number of diseases and conditions; the best kept secret about coffee is that it delivers more antioxidants than green tea. Roasting creates beneficial compounds which are unique to coffee. Published studies found the caffeine in coffee improves performance and endurance. It also boosts concentration, reduces fatigue and heightens alertness. The reason is caffeine’s effect on brain receptors, enabling better energy uptake. Coffee cuts the risks of liver cirrhosis by 80%, is helpful in managing asthma Coffee also can help stop headaches, and offsets damage of smoking and alcohol use (Inaba & Cohen, 2005).

Conclusion

Bob is on an elevator starting in the basement each morning. When Bob does not stick to his routine of drinking and smoking signs of withdrawal will intensify, repair will begin as will cravings. Smoking has increased the amount of Acetylcholine receptors throughout his body. By drinking coffee Bob is stimulating his concentration, reducing fatigue and improving his alertness. Bob’s brain receptors are working better than they were before his coffee and smoke. His elevator is on a much higher floor than fifteen minutes ago; regardless of the negative effect nicotine is having on every organ of his body (Inaba & Cohen, 2005, p. 147).

Bob’s nicotine habit compromises his health and lifespan. His coffee drinking may offset health risks. The question we need to ask is: whose decision is it to live this way?