Should record companies start mandatory drug testing? Could Winehouse & Houston still be alive

http://drdrew.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/14/should-record-companies-start-mandatory-drug-testing/

There have been so many artists in the music industry plagued by problems with drugs and alcohol over the years.

Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson – the list goes on and on … and now, everyone’s talking about the death of Whitney Houston. Although the official toxicology reports have yet to be released, it’s no secret that the pop icon had a tough battle with her addictions as well.

Some are asking, can the recording industry do anything differently to prevent even more of these tragic deaths?

On Dr. Drew Monday night, R&B singer Nicci Gilbert, who was with Houston two nights before her death, came up with a possible solution.

“Everyone is in a frenzy to find out what these artists are taking after they die,” she said. “Why aren’t record companies doing the same thing that the NFL or the NBA [are doing] – mandatory drug testing. They have 360 contracts where they take everything else. Why can’t they say in that agreement: ‘You’re going to be tested randomly.’”

Gilbert added, “If you have an issue, why aren’t there doctors that record companies work with on a regular basis that they know. If you get sick, ‘you go to this guy, because he’s not just going to give you anything you want.’ And when you start taking anything you want as an artist or as a performer, then you should be held accountable for that then – not after you die.”

Dr. Drew responded, “I love that.”

Read on to hear from a rocker:,By Gary Stromberg, Special to CNN

• Gary Stromberg says he easily could have died from addiction to narcotics, alcohol
• He ran a famous rock star PR firm, with a large bowl of cocaine as centerpiece
• Stromberg lost his house, business, wife, money, and blamed everyone but himself
• He admitted the problem was inside himself and began his journey to recovery

My life with drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and addiction

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/23/opinion/stromberg-addiction-struggle/index.html?iref=obnetwork

USA Mobile Drug Testing Central Long Island offers Lab Based Oral Fluid Testing

Oral Fluid Testing & Opiates Recommended & available now for non DOT testing. 516-802-3546 to schedule a mobile collection. For non regulated employees, we can test for expanded opiates in both urine and hair samples for 90 days use right NOW, but DOT employees will have to wait til all the paperwork is done to expand their urine tests and allow oral fluids.

USA Mobile Drug Testing Compliance Consultants applaud the recent approval by SAMHSA for oral fluid testing and expanded opiate testing.

On January 25, 2012 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:

(1) 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.

(2) 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.

http://usamdt.com/oral-fluid-testing-expanded-opiate-testing-recommended/

 

“It is important to note that these recommendations are not yet in effect for Federal workplace or Department of Transportation testing” stated Joe Strom, CEO of USA Mobile Drug Testing.  “Administrator Hyde directed SAMHSA to implement the recommendations through revisions to the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs.  This will take some time.”

USA Mobile Drug Testing officials were also pleased with the statement issued by the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC), “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 DOTs National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in its efforts, with others, to establish national per se laws for Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID).”

DOT is required by law to follow HHS procedures for the drugs for which they test and the specimens they test. Therefore, the DOT will continue to work with the DTAB, HHS/SAMHSA, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and others to bring these approved recommendations to realization in our regulations and throughout the transportation industries.

USA Mobile Drug Testing will notify clients at such time that these new drug testing regulations become a reality and are officially a part of the program.  Please note again these approved recommendations are not yet in effect.