The uses of drug testing

If there's one thing I have noticed from the Northern Rivers, a fairly pro drug place having the highest drug driving rates in New South Wales, it is that there are misunderstandings on drug testing, its uses and timeframes. So let's clear them up.

Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing

This is a measure that employers use to determine if you are fit for work. Depending on your industry, you may have to be completely free of drugs at all times, not use drugs on work nights or simply be free from drugs during work days - so how do we determine this? Hair, urine or oral fluid.

If you are in a position of trust (i.e. Healthcare, Treasurer etc.) or are tasked with upholding and/or enforcing the law (i.e. Policing, Solicitor or Justice) then it would likely be reasonable for an employer to see if you are using illicit drugs, even outside of work. This is an invasion of privacy and not one that all employers could engage in, that is why it would likely only be applicable to positions of trust and law. In this case, an employer could ask for a hair follicle test which would show the past 3 months of drug use.

Police regularly do these checks and barring the controversial case of Sergeant Zisopoulos in Sydney - police generally get sacked if they have used ANY illicit/non prescribed drugs at ANY time whilst being a police officer.

If you are not in a position of trust or tasked with a duty to uphold the law, but do conduct extremely high risk work (commercial diving, rigger/dogman work and/or explosives are all examples) it may be reasonable to determine if you are using drugs on work nights or not. This is where a urine test would come in. Personally, I would not conduct a urine test on a Monday morning as urine will show the past 3 or 4 days of use for most drug classes, I would wait until Wednesday or Thursday. If a worker chooses to smoke a joint or engage in other recreational drug use on a Friday night, their criminal actions are not really the concern of an employer.

For those who are not engaging in extremely high risk work or law enforcement, all that an employer really needs to be sure of is that you are not turning up to work under the influence/impaired by drugs or the aftermath of drugs. Oral fluid tests do this well. So about 12 - 48 hours of drug history will do. Whilst their are exceptions for chronic addicts (or companies using dodgy tests) the general rule is an oral fluid test will show Benzodiazepines for about 4 hours, THC for about 12 hours and the other classes (i.e. Meth) for up to 48 hours.

Keep in mind, there are cut-off levels outlined in Australian Standards. Think of it like 'blowing over' during an RBT, you can't be at or higher than 0.050 grams of alcohol in 210 Litres of breath whilst driving, just like you can't be over the limit for drugs. There are different cut-off limits for different drugs (as some drugs metabolise and impair people quicker than others) but they do exist. All 'failed' drug tests must be confirmed in a laboratory if any action is to be taken against an employee.

Example of a failed urine test;

Example of a failed oral fluid test;

Hopefully that concludes idiotic debates like "you're testing me for a joint I had 3 weeks ago. Well, if you're a lawyer or police officer - yes, I would be. But for everyone else, your criminality is really not that interesting so all people care about is if you are coming to work after using drugs.

Criminal Law

Drug testing may help in a defence for criminal law. Whether it is creating a defence for drug driving (i.e. lawfully prescribed medication) or a defence lawyer believes drug use should be a mitigating factor in sentencing, hair follicle testing is used here.

Police also use drug testing to prosecute criminals in the form of Roadside Drug Testing which is typically an oral fluid test.

Family Law

Something I kept getting asked to do for years and finally started offering in October 2022 was Hair Follicle Testing for family law matters. After consulting with Laboratories, Legal Aid and Family Law firms NRWHS is able to offer this service. It is common in separation/custody proceedings for one partner (usually the female) to make a baseless claim about drug use by the father of the children. Sadly, this just results in everyones time getting wasted and there is never a penalty or adverse finding against the false accuser. But if you don't have a hair follicle test to prove you haven't used drugs in the past few months, it is sad to admit that likely the false accuser will be believed.

Pre-Employment, Return to work and Rehab

These tests don't always go hand in hand. In effect pre-employment testing is any drug test you do in order to get a job. Some employers require this particularly in the trades, mining and transport sectors.

Return to work testing is whatever testing is agreed on when you are stood down for a failed drug test. An employer may want you to be clean for 2 weeks before returning to work so you might have 2 urine tests spaced a week apart.

If you are at a rehabilitation clinic for your dependence on drugs/alcohol obviously they are not just going to blindly trust that you are clean, so they will test you randomly either themselves (larger rehabs are set up this way) or by getting a third party like me in to do it.

Hopefully this can end a lot of the nonsense debates about drug testing and its use.