Workplace drug testing can screen for a range of drugs that affect driving performance. These include:

alcohol
illicit drugs
some legal drugs.

Alcohol and drug testing is not compulsory within the heavy vehicle industry.

Drivers are, however, subject to other companies' testing policies when on their premises.

If you choose to undertake workplace drug testing:

make sure it is included in your alcohol and drug policy
be clear about how, and under what circumstances, drug tests will occur
explain what will happen after a positive test
have plans in place for employees to get home safely after a positive test.

Types of tests

Three types of workplace alcohol and drug tests are often performed in Australia:

Breath testing: Only available for alcohol (BAC) testing.
Saliva testing: Used to determine if an employee has taken an illegal substance in the last couple of days. These are more likely to detect individuals who are still 'under the influence' or experiencing 'comedown effects'.
Urine testing: Can show if an individual took a drug in the more distant past.
Follicle (hair) and blood testing: Rarely used in Australian workplaces.

It can take several days to come down after using an illegal drug. The comedown effects that may influence work performance include:

poor concentration and lack of focus
tiredness
headaches
irritability and moodiness
anxiety and depression
paranoia.

Drugs that can be detected

Standard workplace drug tests can detect:

methamphetamines/amphetamines
benzodiazepines
cocaine
codeine and morphine
opiates
cannabis.

Synthetic cannabis detection

Synthetic cannabis can now be detected through both workplace saliva and urine testing.

Synthetic cannabis (with street names such as Kronic, K2, Kaos, Pegasus, Wolf Rage, Hypernova) can contain any number of ingredients, most claiming to be herbal. These are still usually illegal and can affect work performance.

Currently, synthetic drugs cannot be detected by roadside testing.

Estimated detection periods

The rate at which a drug leaves the body varies from person to person. Factors include:

the drug taken and its strength
how much was consumed
how it was taken
body size and how efficiently it was processed (metabolism).

Windows of detection by drug type and testing method

Drug	Urine	Saliva
Alcohol	Up to 24 hours	N/A
Amphetamine and Methyl amphetamine (speed and ice)	Up to 4 days	Up to 2 days
Barbiturates - short acting (sedatives)	Up to 4 days	N/A
Barbiturates - long acting (sedatives)	Up to 30 days	N/A
Benzodiazepines (sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication)	Short term use: up to 7 days Long term use: up to 4-6 weeks	Up to 48 hours
Cocaine	Up to 3 days	Up to 2 days
Codeine (strong prescription pain killers)	Up to 3 days	Up to 3 days
Heroin	Up to 3 days	Up to 2 days
Marijuana/Hash/Cannabis (THC)	Casual user: up to 7 days Heavy user: up to 30 days	Up to 24 hours
Methadone (used to treat heroin addiction)	Up to 3 days	Up to 24 hours
Morphine (strong prescription pain killer)	Up to 3 days	Up to 2 days

Source: Australasian Medical Review Officers Association (www.amroa.org.au)

You can test specific employees (targeted testing)

You can test specific employees (rather than conducting random tests) provided your Alcohol and Drug Policy covers it.

In general, it's recommended that organisations conduct random testing across the whole organisations, but targeted testing is appropriate in some circumstances.

Targeted testing is suitable for employees who:

have previously returned a positive result
are involved in an accident
works in high-risk areas of the business, such as driving or using heavy machinery.

Follow the relevant Australian Standards

Testing must be in accordance with Australian Standards:

AS4760:2006 - Procedures for specimen collection and the detection and quantitation of drug abuse in oral fluid.
AS/NZS 4308:2008 - Procedures for specimen collection and detection and quantitation of drugs of abuse in urine.

After collection of a sample, a 'chain of custody' form must be completed and signed by the:

donor (employee)
collector (on-site tester)
laboratory analysts.

Masking agents can be detected

People being tested might use masking agents, such as synthetic urine or water-diluted samples, to try and get a negative test result.

This can be detected by a professional drug testing company.

Limitations to testing

Drug testing alone will not keep your workplace safe. Drug testing can't:

detect all potentially impairing drugs
indicate impairment, only the presence of the substance
prove if an employee is 'fit for work'.

Drug tests can also only tell how much of a drug is in someone's blood, saliva or urine at the time of a test. They can't tell you how much was initially taken, or when.

Alcohol and drug policies for heavy vehicle operators

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