Nationwide Drug Testing and On-Site Medical Services By Mobile Medical Corporation

Chicago is looking to cut unnecessary spending and free up police and law enforcement by decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana. The thought is that police will be able to focus on and concentrate their resources on higher crimes. Under the new law set to be introduced next week, people caught with less than 10 grams of marijuana would instead face a $200 fine and up to 10 hours of community service. A pro-marijuana group reported that enforcing marijuana prohibition costs US taxpayers $10 billion and results in the arrests of 853,000 people a year. Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey told reporters that, "It is not time to act tough on crime; it is (time) to be smart on crime. We need our resources spent somewhere else." How should employers feel about this new proposed law when it comes to pre-employment criminal background screening and drug testing ?

National Drug-Free Work Week - October 17-22, 2011 MMC is proud to be part of this year's National Drug Free Work week - Celebrating one drug free week is the first step but MMC believes that every work week should be drug and alcohol free! MMC encourages workers with drug and alcohol abuse related life issues to seek help now! Substance Use and Abuse Among Workers Substance use and abuse is a concern for employers. Most drug users, binge and heavy drinkers, and people with substance use disorders are employed. A 2007 survey found that: • Of the 17.4 million current illicit drug users age 18 and over, more than 75% were employed. • Similarly, among 55.3 million adult binge drinkers, nearly 80% were employed, as were 16.4 million heavy drinkers. • Of the 20.4 million adults classified with substance dependence or abuse, over 60% were employed full-time. 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Substance Use and Abuse On the Workplace Workers reporting subs...

“Prescription drugs are one of the things that get kids hooked” and lead them to begin abusing heroin, said Naperville police Detective Shaun Ferguson. “When they realize they can pay much less for heroin than for prescription drugs, they turn to heroin.” Detective Shaun Ferguson — who works in his department’s Special Operations Group — concluded of all drug-related arrests made between 2009 and this year in Naperville, IL, approximately 34 percent involved heroin. That included 24 heroin-related arrests in 2009, 33 in 2010 and 28 so far this year. Prescription drug-related crimes are also on the rise from past years, Ferguson said, going from 13 such arrests in 2009 to 34 in 2010 and 18 to date this year. Read the full article here

The New York Times recently reported that Medicare is subsidizing drug abuse through allowing benefit receivers to search out doctors who will fill their prescriptions for large amounts of painkillers and narcotics.  Congress says that this practice far  exceeds what any patient could safely use.  The General Accounting Office reported that 170,000 Medicare beneficiaries received prescriptions from 5 or more doctors for 14 types of drugs that are frequently abused. The report states that the most commonly abused drugs by medicare recipients include the painkillers Oxcycodone and Hydrocodone (OxyContin and Percoset) Case Study: Georgia - a beneficiary received a 150 day supply of oxycodone in just 27 days by obtaining 7 different prescriptions from 4 different doctors. California - a California man received over 1,300 fentaynyl patches and pills from 21 different prescribers in one year. Texas - a beneficiary received prescriptions for over 4,500 hydroco...