On August 31, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the U.S. joined workplaces, families, and communities impacted by drug overdose to recognize International Overdose Awareness Day. The majority (over 70%) of drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2019 involved an opioid. Interestingly, the issue of substance abuse in the workplace has been around for some time. In December 2008, I actually posted a newsletter on my Web site at that time [Microsoft Word – Substance Abuse in the Workplace – Issue 1- 12 08 (healthyorganizations.yolasite.com)] concerning the impact of substance abuse in Canadian workplaces and the need for organizations to develop policies and programs to deal with this issue. Sadly, as noted by NIOSH, overdose deaths American workplaces from the non-medical use of drugs or alcohol increased for the seventh year in a row in 2019. In Canada, it has been estimated that anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of workers have experienced a period of substance abuse, with resulting overdoses a growing concern.
Since the early 2000s, governments and businesses have been increasingly recognizing the dire consequences of substance abuse on our health care systems and in our workplaces. Substance abuse can include alcohol, prescription medication, controlled substances and illegal drugs. However, unlike in the U.S., Canadian courts have ruled against arbitrary or random drug testing, particularly as part of pre-employment screening. Moreover, the problem with drug testing alone is that it doesn’t measure impairment, and it doesn’t resolve the problem. In order to promote a safe workplace, most employers tend to be generally concerned about impairment and whether or not somebody can perform on the job. NIOSH stresses that employers can work to prevent occupational factors, like work-related motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and job stress, that can increase the chances a worker is prescribed medication.
We are hopefully in a better position today to deal with the opioid crisis in particular, recognizing the addictive dangers of using these pain medications. International Overdose Awareness Day (https://www.overdoseday.com/) is one symbolic way in which to better inform the public of the fact that, while overdoses are preventable, they are becoming increasingly common in the workplace. Anyone at a workplace is at risk of overdose if they use opioids. Importantly, organizations such as NIOSH are providing more information on this topic (Opioids in the Workplace | NIOSH | CDC).
If anything, the current COVID pandemic and its impact on workplaces, including several lockdowns in certain sectors over the past year and a half, has increased the use of substances, legal and illicit. Most substance abuse today is perceived by society as a disability issue, similar to that occurring for any other disease, hopefully lessening the stigma. Also, substance abuse is often associated with mental health issues, many of which have frequently surfaced as a consequence of the pandemic and its impact on people’s employment and families. People need help more than ever, and not condemnation and societal censorship.
Other recommended Web sites on this subject are:
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: http://www.camh.net/
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: http://www.nida.nih.gov/
FROLITICKS 
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