MediNat Australia

Australian Standards for Urine and Saliva Drug Tests I thought it was about time to clear this one up, as there is just so much misinformation around the internet about Australian Standards compliance and those organisations that try to create the idea that they are the only company that create an Australian Standards drug test and all others are all making false claims and are somehow in breach of the ACCC Fair Trading Act. Lets get the facts! Australian Standards cut-off levels for Urine tests (copied straight from the Australian Standards): ASNZS 4308-2008 TABLE 1 IMMUNOASSAY SCREENING TEST CUT-OFF LEVELS Class of drug* Cut-off level, μg/L Amphetamine type substances                                 300 Benzodiazepines                                                      200 Cannabis metabolites                                                 50 Cocaine metabolites                                                 300 Opiates                             

Battling Ice Addiction See the Today Tonight article here if you haven't already seen it: http://au.news.yahoo.com/today-tonight/latest/article/-/16141654/battling-ice-addiction/ So often we think it is someone else, far removed from our lives, our family our workplace! Reality is quite the opposite as with all drug use, there is someone in your circle (statistically) that is using illicit drugs, or has a problem with drug use in some form, and I am not excluding alcohol from the latter! The article produced by Today Tonight is a well balanced portrayal of the reality of drug use, parental anguish and the recovery process. My issue is with the prevalence of the drug Ice (Methamphetamines) in Australian society. Quote:  Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana says "ice is really what's creating the greatest concerns to us in terms of harm out on the streets in the moment and in the home." He says "ice has been around for a long time

Fake Weed! Did you see this on A Current Affair? http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/02/05/18/27/youth-issues-warning-about-fake-cannabis If not have a look now! People are still getting around the law and damaging lives, families, futures, we always portrayed drug pushers as people hanging around dark alleys, in night clubs and parties pushing their goods, now it is just available at some local stores so we are told, sold as incense but laced with deadly chemicals! The TGA has made the chemicals illegal, States in Australia have legislated against them, but these 'people' still sell it with a small label (in most cases) 'not fit for human consumption' and get a way with it. Ok, I know the end user has a choice, however, as with a lot of drug use particularly amongst the young, there is a lot of pressure to conform, to act like their peers, to belong, or to just experiment or just escape from the pressure, I also know until we as a society deal with these i

'Ice' users likely to suffer psychosis on drug, study finds Date   January 10, 2013 Malcolm Knox    USERS of methamphetamine, or ''ice'', are five times likelier to suffer psychotic symptoms while taking the drug, according to a groundbreaking new Australian study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry (JAMA Psychiatry). The study's lead author, Dr Rebecca McKetin, said that ''there have always been questions about causality from those who say methamphetamine users aren't 'turned mad' by the drug but have a pre-existing psychotic condition. What's unique about this study is that it excludes those users and still finds such a strong link between use and psychotic symptoms in a large cohort over a period of years''. Dr McKetin, formerly of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre in Sydney and now at the Australian National University, said she was surprised by the str

Workplace drug testing Australian Drug Foundation November 2012  PolicyTalk provides an overview of topical debates to help senior policy makers find the right solutions for the community on alcohol and other drug issues. No one objects to the breath testing of automobile drivers to ensure their performance is not impaired by high concentrations of alcohol. Similarly, people who are engaged in safety critical work in occupations such as transport, or by the use of heavy machinery, may also expect to undergo drug testing to reduce the risk of harm to themselves and others. Yet in other contexts workplace drug testing is far more controversial. The debate about drug testing employees can involve considerations of individual privacy, the financial cost to employers of testing, the efficacy of testing, and the workforce’s response to testing. This latest edition of PolicyTalk by Donna Bull, consultant to the Australian Defence Force and the Australian and Internationa

I search the internet and papers for the latest news on drug and alcohol use and what do i find, ALMOST NOTHING other than the tragic results of their influence. Why is it we in Australia are so good at viewing the tragic outcomes, accidents, road toll, workplace incidents etc and yet so poor at really discussing the number of people who are intoxicated at work, driving vehicles or operating machinery, poor at discussing the numbers of youth who are using substances that are putting themselves and others at high risk. Poor at discussing ways to seriously address the problems or putting preventive measures in place. We have a society of drug users including alcohol, from teens to mature adults. So what are we going to do about it?? I can find old reports of the decline in MDMA (ecstasy) or surprise surprise the increase in METH (ice) so what can parents do about the concern that their child is using ice? What about the use of K2 Kronic or Bath Salts, synthetic marihuana, chemical

Booze and drugs culture rife in construction industry: study Brisbane Times 3 September 2012 For better or worse, construction has a blokey reputation, but new research from Brisbane finds a "hazardous" consumption of recreational drugs and booze is latest problem facing the industry. And the macho culture is partly to blame, alongside high wages and transient job patterns, according the Queensland University of Technology team that led the national survey. The Safety Impacts of Alcohol and Other Drugs in Construction study drew nearly 500 workers from all areas of the industry across Australia and involved surveys and interviews over two years. The findings, presented today by project leader Professor Herbert Biggs at an international industry conference in Scotland, showed over 50 per cent of workers consumed alcohol at "hazardous" levels, and a further 15 per cent were at "significant risk of harm". Read more: See the New Range of