Learn to recognize signs of impairment and how to respond.
For the first time in US history, more people are dying from opiate overdoses than car accidents, meth and cocaine overdoses. In 2015, medical doctors in the US wrote 256 million prescriptions for opiates totaling 3 billion pills. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy now says we have an opiate epidemic in this country and only now are federal agencies, state drug oversight and physician-licensing groups starting to address this problem with any real vigor.
Use patterns for opioids and other substitute drugs show that any addicted employees would need to use their drug about every four to six hours and may become obsessed about not going into withdrawal during their work day. This means there is a strong likelihood they will use drugs like heroin at or near their workplace. Besides the obvious work productivity issues, heroin use brings illegal drug possession, theft, needles, and the danger of an overdose to the employer’s worksite.
This webinar will explain how to recognize opiate abuse from both legal and medical perspectives, so security directors, managers, and supervisors become better aware of opiate use by their employees, vendors, visitors, customers, or trespassers. The webinar will discuss the protocols for “reasonable suspicion” interventions with employees, including drug testing, results discussions, treatment options, return to work protocols, and/or safe and legal discipline and termination procedures. The webinar will also touch on the efficacy and use of Narcan and if the organization should store this life-saving drug on-site.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify the signs, symptoms, and behaviors of employee opiate use and
- Have crucial conversations with employees suspected of opiate use.
- Explain the differences between opiate drug use versus opiate withdrawal symptoms.
- Determine when and if Narcan use by security staff for employees or others having an opiate overdose may be a necessity.
- Cite the safety hazards related to opiate users, their drugs, and drug paraphernalia, including needles and other blood-borne pathogens, like MRSA, hepatitis, and HIV.