Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is calling for drug testing for people receiving unemployment benefits and welfare. The proposal could run into legal obstacles, The Washington Post reports.
Some pain specialists are ordering costly, unneeded drug tests for their elderly patients, in order to receive payment from Medicare, The Wall Street Journal reports. These doctors are testing for drugs rarely used by elderly patients, such as heroin, cocaine and PCP.
Several medical groups are calling for verbal drug screening for pregnant women, followed by a urine test if necessary, USA Today reports. The recommendation is meant to reduce the growing number of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome.
The Federal Railroad Administration has delayed implementing new alcohol and drug regulations for railroad maintenance workers. It is extending the comment period at the request of industry groups, The Hill reports.
For the first time in more than 10 years, the percentage of positive drug tests among American workers has increased, according to a company that conducts the tests. The increase is fueled by a rise in use of marijuana and amphetamines, Quest Diagnostics found.
Employers in Colorado are receiving mixed messages about how to deal with employees who use marijuana, according to NPR. Recreational use of marijuana is now legal for adults in both Colorado and Washington state.
California voters will decide this November whether doctors in their state will have to submit to random drug and alcohol tests.
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Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 23- Thursday, May 29, 2014.
Legislators in a number of states are continuing to pursue measures that would deny welfare benefits to people who use illegal drugs, according to USA Today.
The U.S. Defense Department will start randomly testing service members for synthetic marijuana, the Air Force News Service reports.
Positive workplace tests for marijuana and cocaine have dropped sharply since 1988, while tests revealing prescription drug abuse are increasing, according to a study by the medical-testing company Quest Diagnostics Inc.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder this week signed a law that denies unemployment benefits to some people seeking jobs who fail drug tests.
States trying to require drug testing for welfare recipients are facing obstacles, including legal challenges and high costs, The New York Times reports.
Most drug tests given to people on parole or probation are unlikely to detect synthetic marijuana, a new study finds.
Random drug testing in schools does not reduce students’ substance use, a national survey of high school students concludes. The study found students who attend schools where they feel treated with respect are less likely to start smoking cigarettes or marijuana.
Students at a high school in Illinois will be randomly tested for alcohol this year, according to ABC News. The test uses hair samples.
An increasing number of doctors who treat chronic pain are requiring their patients who take opioids to submit to urine drug tests. The doctors are trying to avoid being held responsible if patients die from painkiller overdoses, The Wall Street Journal reports.
A study of men arrested in five major U.S. cities finds more than 60 percent use illegal drugs, but most do not receive treatment.
An amendment to be introduced this week in Minnesota would require the state’s legislators to undergo drug tests. Originally meant to shame lawmakers who want drug testing for welfare recipients, the bill has caught on with both Democrats and Republicans.
Bills that would require drug testing for welfare applicants advanced in Texas and Kansas this week.
Positive pre-employment urine drug screening in the United States rose 5.7 percent in the first half of 2012, compared with all of 2011, according to a survey by Quest Diagnostics, a medical lab research company.
Random drug testing of middle-school students may help prevent substance abuse, a six-year study of New Jersey students suggests.
Employers in the oil and gas industry are having a difficult time finding enough workers who can pass drug tests, The Wall Street Journal reports. Prescription drug abuse is largely to blame.
New Mexico’s largest jail will no longer use methadone to treat inmates who are addicted to drugs, The New York Times reports. The jail’s warden cited cost concerns. He also questioned the program’s effectiveness.
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