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Drug free workplace, CDL laws, ring any bells? 
 
Pre-employment and random drug screens 
Automatically, a huge prejudice occurs in the minds of either side of the topic. This is the main foundation to disturbingly unfair miscarriage of justice that lacks integrity, insight, and procedure. 
 
The Federal Government CDL laws and most businesses are currently overlooking some aspects that can negatively effect their own intentions to harness the best workers. 
Mind-altering substances use should not be allowed in any work environment.  
This is not the discrepancy. But what does a positive test for a drug or alcohol mean? 
That depends: 
 
First, we look at the methods and the findings. Is the test for “active drug”, or “metabolized drug”? The active drug tests (blood, saliva, sweat) prove current intoxication, there can be little dispute this is a known abuse by the employee. 
But a metabolized drug test (urine, stool, sweat) proves a drug was active but is not proof that it is currently active, low metabolite readings can even prove that a drug is not active, even for alcohol. Imagine if instead of breathalyzers, alcohol was simply detected for up to five days for the Ethyl glucuronide metabolites, most of America’s workforce would fail that test. 
 
So, now we shift the focus on the actual behavior that lead to a positive metabolized test.  
This is a problem because inherently, in the drug free workplace arena, there is no acknowledgement to the possibility of more than one way to test for positive metabolites. 
. The current only course of action is to treat metabolic failed test as an intentionally ingested addiction. The employer may offer the chance to treatment to remain employed, but no consideration is given to the regard of potential accidental ingestion. 
Is accidental ingestion drug abuse? Addiction? 
 
The term “spiking the punch” has been around for centuries, perhaps longer in other cultures. Adding a substance (usually Vodka) not originally in the punch without the consumer’s prior knowledge. The current practice to drug free workplace does not recognize this growing threat to an individual. 
 
Now more than ever, this legend occurs with more substances to more foods than punch. The biggest threat to this problem is THC. With the medical cards and new products containing THC like butters, flowers, oils, even spirits, even the most redneck drug hater can find themselves inflicted. THC has a short active plasma time and takes the longest of all drugs to rid the metabolite THC COOH, increasing the danger of random detection. 
Not always are the unexpected effects of any drug clear to the consumer exactly what they are experiencing while the substance begins to intoxicate the individual. 
If someone can recognize the unintended effect they can deal with it more appropriately than if they don’t recognize the effect. 
 
 
This is a human rights issue. 
Current expectations on Substance Abuse Professionals and Recovery Center Counselors to merely force the individual through treatment without depth to the question of how they got there. They have an inherent immunity to this omission of this accountability. We are to a point in science where we can find the most minuet molecular trace evidences of an inactive substance and no equal and balancing side to the investigation or wisdom into the way it got there. In fact one thing you will hear a substance abuse professional claim is: “No one accidentally consumes a toxin”. 
Really…. Ever?  
 
Instead - an individual can be plunged into a whole world of therapy and treatment (including recovery) for something they are not even in need of - or caused. 
The tormenting effect of this blind conviction to a person can be quite harmful to the individual’s continued progress in an otherwise gainful life and mind. 
 
There is a big difference between a “Class” on addiction, and “Treatment.” 
A “Class” is a dignified full spectrum course on subject matter with no bias on the information increasing base knowledge, and no personal assault.  
“Treatment” is a tormenting focus on denial, ownership of being in the situation you are in, admitting you are powerless to your vises, exaggerated worst case scenarios from your past, harm you’ve done to your work, family, and friends, the fragility of your will power, the danger you are to yourself and others, the expectation that you confess to intentional usage and addiction, a huge personal assault, and that’s just the beginning. Coupled with a time of exposure to go on for as long as, and even over a year in duration. 
 
Treatment is often effective to those who are victims to addiction. 
For someone who is not, this is worse than mental torture. A person that unintentionally finds they have an unwanted substance in their body that has a strong will to otherwise stay away from, often has a strong mindset for goal setting, morals, accomplishments, and is active in many people’s lives. Being thrust into an environment of addicted peoples and treatment of this magnitude erodes on the non-addicted individuals mindset enormously, and negatively. With much more harm than benefit as a result. 
 
Substance abuse professional’s malpractice at diagnosis immunity 
As of still now, in the current drug free CDL/employment arena, no efforts have been made to cause the treatment side of the community to be held to any standards of accuracy to the people they throw into the torment of unnecessary treatment. An employer may request such treatment in willingness to save a job, but when an outside Substance Abuse Professional or a Treatment Center is summoned, some accountability to an accurate diagnosis should be expected. 
 
No current distinction is afforded to the huge difference between the two. If an individual was drugged, or actually using drugs they are treated the same.  
When someone is poisoned generally one can expect positive treatment, protection, and support to be much different than if they had intentionally poisoned themselves, but not here. 
 
Suggestions: 
It is an obvious fact that everyone claims to “not have knowingly taken a drug” found in a metabolite drug test, and only a relative few are telling the truth.  
Many safeguards could be inserted to avert the very few that are not drug users, hair follicle tests, lie detectors, hypnosis, or even some credit to long periods of time between failures. These are not recognized or considered options. 
 
Anyone failing a random drug test staying with the same employer will (or at least should) receive an increased frequency of tests.  
If someone successfully claims they were drugged, and fail a drug screen in the next few months then less credibility to the claim would be obvious, but still is not proven. But if a long period of time like several years and a hair follicle sample shows they are not using, it could even be possible to happen twice and they are telling the truth. 
 
With the way this is set up right now: 
An addict can complete treatment and we may or may not have a successfully cured addict back on the job that could now perform better. But, to an individual who is not a current addict, (even if they have used in the past) being shamed and accused of things they are not guilty of, it is unlikely they would complete the sentence because it feels like being reprimanded for something they did not do. Often combined with the long period of time, it is so insulting, that if they finish such misdiagnosed treatment at all, their attitude and integrity may never be the same. 
 
The additional overtones that follow the individual are even worse. 
The stigma of being incorrectly tagged as a drug addict do not improve ones ability to land that next job.  
To the degree that one main reason this topic is not exposed more might be that to bring it to the table further exposes the defamation to the individual than not challenging it does. Since CDL random metabolite positive test are not criminal, no lawyers will take the client. So other than destroying any further CDL related Government, or security employment possibilities, putting such a horrifying experience behind them is the best chance they’ll have to find a half way decent replacement job.  
 
Yet another assault on the American workforce that systematically eliminates some good upstanding hard workers due to negligence on behalf of overkill on risk management. 
So the best way to avoid such a situation is obviously DON”T DO DRUGS. But if you fail a random test and you did not use any drugs, be prepared to labeled and treated as though you did. 

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