Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator - Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. - approved both of the Drug Testing Advisory Board (DTAB) July, 2011, recommendations:
- Based on review of the science, DTAB recommends that SAMHSA include oral fluid as an alternative specimen in the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs.
- DTAB recommends the inclusion of additional Schedule II prescription medications (e.g., oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone and hydromorphone) in the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs.
We believe the opportunity to address the illicit use and abuse of these additional Schedule II drugs in the transportation industries is an important way to limit their misuse in our communities and a great way to serve transportation safety, while getting those who need treatment into treatment. And please know that oral fluid testing will be a bonus to our regulated transportation industry program; and will certainly serve to assist the DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in its efforts, with others, to establish national per se laws for Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID).
TCT Services LLC will keep your groups advised of when this option takes place and costs related to testing. The Oral Fluid Device will be collected in field but testing will continue to be at a certified lab site. The information on the schedule two drug will be implemented by the approved laboratories in the testing device operating process. We, at TCT Services LLC will also advise, as soon as it is released, any collection procedures or training for those companies that currently collect their own DOT drug test samples. This will be the first time since the conception of mandated drug testing that there is an alternative testing method to urine drug testing.
Update 1/27/2012
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