Building Better Workplaces
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- What is the BC Council on Substance Abuse?
- What does the organization do?
- How does the BC Council on Substance Abuse do that?
- How is the organization funded?
- How long has the organization existed?
- What is a drug free workplace?
- How is a drug free workplace achieved?
- What about my prescription medication?
- What is the difference between drug use, drug mis-use and drug abuse?
- What is the Council's stance on marijuana decriminalization or legalization?
- What is harm reduction?
- Does the BC Council on Substance Abuse support a harm reduction strategy in the workplace?
- What is the BC Council on Substance Abuse?
- What does the organization do?
A. The BC Council on Substance Abuse is a non-profit organization that began in 1991 with the mission to provide leadership in the development of a workplace free from substance abuse.
- How does the BC Council on Substance Abuse do that?
A. The BC Council on Substance Abuse offers training and services to its member agencies and the general public. See our Services. We also host a conference every two years to address substance abuse in the workplace on a provincial and national level.
- How is the organization funded?
A. The BC Council on Substance Abuse is funded through membership fees, our biennial conference, and by providing training and services to employers, labour, and industry. We also engage in research projects funded through partnering agencies.
- How long has the organization existed?
A. The organization was founded in 1991 and has existed under the names, Northern BC Business Council on Substance Abuse, Northern BC Council on Substance Abuse and since 2006, the BC Council on Substance Abuse.
- What is a drug free workplace?
A. A drug free workplace is an environment where no one uses alcohol, nicotine or street drugs in the workplace, or is impaired on the worksite from the effects of substances ingested outside of the workplace.
- How is a drug free workplace achieved?
A. A drug free workplace is achieved where the employer, labour representatives, and employees are committed to safe workplaces through the four pillar approach:
A. The BC Council on Substance Abuse provides resources and training to employers, industry, and labour to create and maintain healthy, safe, and productive workplaces free from substance use and abuse.
- Company Drug Policy
- Supervisor Training
- Ongoing Education and Awareness
- Employee and Family Assistance Programs (EFAP)
- What about my prescription medication?
A. Mood altering prescription drugs can only be used on the advice of a licensed physician after the appropriate safety issues have been addressed. Prescription medications should only be taken as directed by a physician licensed through the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. Use of prescription drugs in safety sensitive positions may need further evaluation prior to a worker returning to work in the case of drugs such as analgesics, sedatives and other drugs which have effects on the central nervous system.
- What is the difference between drug use, drug mis-use and drug abuse?
A. Some definitions might help answer this:
- Loss of Control
- Compulsion
- Continued use despite negative consequences
DRUG USE: This is the act of ingestion, injection or inhalation of a drug (note that Alcohol is a drug)
DRUG ABUSE and DRUG MIS-USE: This is the inappropriate use of drugs, alcohol, prescription drugs, and over the counter medication. By definition, any use of alcohol or drugs on the worksite is drug abuse.
DRUG ADDICTION and DRUG DEPENDENCY: This is a chronic relapsing illness characterized by what is known about the “3 C’s”.
A. The only mandate of the BC Council on Substance Abuse is the promotion of a drug free workplace that is safe, healthy, and productive. One of our official aims is to provide help where help is needed, not to moralize about substance abuse.
- What is harm reduction?
A. Harm reduction is a term used in connection with an approach to management of people with Drug Addiction. Rather than focusing on rehabilitation, the primary aim is to reduce the harm that comes with continued use. Examples are the provision of clean places for the addict to inject or the provision of clean needles to active drug users. Opponents to this approach point out that the corollary to harm reduction is harm facilitation, and that these efforts are indistinguishable from the actions of someone who suffers from co-dependency.
- Does the BC Council on Substance Abuse support a harm reduction strategy in the workplace?
A. This depends on the substance in question and the safety sensitive and safety critical nature of the worksite, the actual work, and the worker. For instance, nicotine replacement therapy has no impact on job safety. However, strategies such as methadone replacement for heroin addiction, or other strategies that affect the central nervous system, would require medical input from specialists such as addictionology and occupational health to ensure a safe workplace.
