 | Drug Testing: DRUG TESTING: Care to take a wee? |
 HAVE YOU ALREADY experienced the delight of peeing in a jar for the scrutiny of white coats? Perhaps you have successfully beaten a urine test with the help of a lucky rabbits foot or cunning chemical masker. Maybe you have never been tested but had to turn down the perfect job when asked for the pre-employment pee.
With the current climate of health and safety regulations breathing down the necks of employers, and drug laboratories plying for trade, workplace testing is becoming more commonplace.
ESR (Environmental and Scientific Research) tests around 200,000 samples a year, up from under 40,000 in the late 1990s. These days over 16% of collective employment agreements filed with the Department of Labour contain clauses dealing with medical examination and/or alcohol and drug testing.
How does drug testing work?
Urine Testing or urinalysis, involves the detection of cannabinoid metabolites (e.g. 11-nor-D9-THC-9-COOH), which are the chemicals left from breaking down the active ingredients in cannabis as it passes through your body system. Unlike a blood test which can detect THC levels, urine analysis cannot measure the level of THC in your body and thus does not indicate when cannabis was inhaled or ingested.
So, because urinalysis cannot show when cannabis has been taken, it is not an accurate measure of impairment. Legally it is not proof of impairment at work. However, a positive result does add significant weight to an argument of employee misconduct.
When is testing used?
> Pre-employment
> Post accident/incident
> Just ‘cause’
> Follow-up (after a positive test)
> Random or periodic testing for safety-sensitive positions.
Recent cases
The big issue for employers is minimising harm at work in accordance with the Health and Safety Act. This includes ensuring that employees are not impaired by drugs or alcohol on the job as they could be a risk to both themselves and other workers.
In April of this year the EPMU (Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union) and Air New Zealand battled workplace drug testing issues in the courts. The decision found that Air New Zealand could conduct random drug tests in safety sensitive positions only.
In 2003 Fletcher Construction was considering introducing mandatory drug testing for its workers. In 2004 the company instead adopted a peer-based policy following lobbying from the Northern Amalgamated Workers Union.
The policy focuses on education and rehabilitation, rather than taking punitive measures against workers with drug or alcohol problems. Workers report other impaired workers, who are sent home on a sick day. Disciplinary action may be taken after three times.
What can you do ?
Workplace drug testing must take into account a number of New Zealand’s laws including the Privacy Act 1993, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, the Human Rights Act 1993 and the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
Firstly, Check your employment contract
If your contract does not specifically include an agreement to drug testing you can refuse comply. Perhaps you may like to try out this line: “I refuse to take the test because I am not contractually obliged”. In this case the employer cannot take disciplinary action, fire you, dock pay, or force you in any way to wee in that jar. Remember that if anything does happen you have 90 days to raise a personal grievance and 3 years to file it .
Beat the test!
There is a lot of debate as to what actually works. Drinking lots of water and taking exercise is a simple method that some sources recommend, or you could try substituting with the urine of a clean friend. Chemical masking products include the UrineLuck and Test Pure ranges. Advice on which products are successful and possible techniques to can be found at various websites. The Hempstore says it has sold more then 2,000 units of “Test Pure” and has only had three people ask for their money back.
False Positives
Several factors have been reported as causing false positives, however research is scarce and conflicting, so these are definitely a last resort!
> Hemp seed oil, although there is conflicting research;
> Passive smoking - up to certain cut off levels and in enclosed spaces e.g cars; and...
> Black skin - due to the melanin pigment which approximates the molecular structure of the THC metabolite.
The best of the bunch is definitely passive smoking if you are in an small enclosed space with heavy smokers. For instance in a car is generally thought plausible to get results up to 15ng and there is a grey area between 15-50ng/ml.
Cut off levels
In order to prevent “false positives”, NIDA-certified labs in America define a “presumptive positive” as 50 nanograms of THC metabolites per millilitre.
The New Zealand and Australian protocol standard AS/NZS 4308:2001 also sets the positive result cut off level at 50ng.
However companies or labs may not always keep to these standards and so could be challenged.
Credibility of the testing Laboratory
As stated in the ESR pamphlet on workplace testing: “There are only three laboratories in New Zealand who can carry out testing to meet the requirements of international standards (i.e. who are able to offer GCMS or LCMS services for confirmation).”
It is important to be aware that there are now alternative tests available in New Zealand that do not comply with the Australian/New Zealand Standard. Such tests include “On site” tests and laboratories conducting the “Screen only” tests. These options can give the wrong results and the tests would not withstand legal challenge.
However, it is better to avoid being tested at all, rather than having to fight to keep your job. To avoid being in this position, take a stand and defend your right to have a private life outside work!
Consider this if asked for pre-employment test - is it really a company you want to work for?
> Check if your employment contract includes workplace testing.
> Support and get in contact with Unions that advocate Peer support systems.
> Check the laboratory being used
For further information
> Privacy Commissioner site - Privacy Word April- June 2004: www.privacy.govt.nz
> Australian Institute of Criminology - http://www.aic.gov.au
> OSH October 2004 conference notes at www.conference.co.nz
> www.union.org.nz
> www.alwaystestclean.com
> www.cannabisculture.com
>www.esr.co.nz
> www.hempstore.co.nz
Note: NORML News, Summer 2005
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