With the Festive Season fast approaching the next month can be a worrying time for Perth businesses. Christmas and New Year is a great period, but it brings an escalation in office parties and social occasions and, subsequently, an increase in the chances of employees coming to work under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Which is why conducting drug testing and alcohol testing in your Perth business is perhaps more important at this time of the year than at any other time.
Meth the focus of drug testing in Perth
As mentioned in a recent post (see Meth main drug detected in Perth and Western Australian drug testing), one of the main targets in any drug testing conducted in a Perth or indeed Western Australian business will be methamphetamines. While meth, including ICE, is an issue everywhere in Australia, research and drug testing by Integrity Sampling in workplaces throughout the state show that Perth and Western Australia are the ‘epicentres’ for meth use in Australia.
In a recent 3-month-period, during drug testing carried out by Integrity Sampling in Perth and Western Australia, meth accounted for a massive 67% of all positive drug tests. While Integrity Sampling can detect several drugs during drug testing, including cannabis, cocaine, opiates and alcohol, it’s meth that is clearly the major issue in Perth and WA workplaces and indeed in the wider community.
An insidious drug
It’s not just the number of detections of methamphetamines during drug testing in Perth and Western Australian workplaces that is causing concern. The strong effects of meth, and in particular ICE, make it a particularly insidious drug.
ICE is generally smoked or injected and acts extremely fast, in as little as seconds. Effects can include:
- ICE is a stimulant so it increases alertness, energy, and feelings of pleasure and confidence
- It can make users feel itchy
- It can cause enlarged pupils, a dry mouth, a fast heart rate and an increase in breathing
- User can grind their teeth and sweat excessively
If a large amount of ICE or a strong batch is used, which is becoming increasingly common, people can experience potentially life-threatening problems. Symptoms can then include:
- A racing heartbeat and chest pain
- Issues with breathing
- Fits or uncontrolled jerking
- Agitation, confusion and clumsiness
- Potentially, unconsciousness
- This can lead to a stroke or a heart attack.
- In severe situations, ICE can be lethal.
Higher doses and stronger doses of ICE can also result in something that’s called ICE psychosis, where the user can become aggressive and violent, as well as experience delusions and hallucinations.
The effects of ICE use can last for 6 hours or more and the user may find it difficult to sleep during this period. After the effects of ICE wear off, the issues don’t stop there. Users coming down from ICE can also experience negative symptoms such as exhaustion, headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, paranoia and irritability.
Drug testing in Perth and WA a must
Clearly, ICE and people who are under the influence of ICE have no place in Perth and Western Australian workplaces, which makes workplace drug testing in this state a business imperative.
