Drug Education in the Workplace

Part of the drug-free workplace certification requires two hours of employee drug education for the first year. Generally these two hours are split up into two different sections. The first one is about a drug-free workplace and the policy that your business is implementing. It also covers why this is done and some general statistics about substance abuse. The second part is about what different types of drugs are, what they do, and why they're harmful. Something we've learned over the years is that adults usually assume they already know about drugs, but they always learn new information.

Smaller businesses can usually get the two hours done either on one day or two separate hour-long presentations. Larger companies may require setting up multiple presentations in coordination with their departments or divisions.

Maintaining Certification

In most areas, drug education for employees drops from two hours to one per year in order to maintain drug-free workplace certification. Southern Health Care Resources can provide that yearly continuing education through additional live presentations, or even through educational newsletters.

Although these are the minimum requirements, companies that are large and small who want to make a bigger impact with their drug-free workplace program should have multiple sessions throughout the year, and Southern Health Care Resources can develop a series of tailored presentations to fit the needs of your business. It may also be a good idea to have more than one presentation if turnover occurs.

Additional Benefits of Drug Education

One addtional benefit of having employee drug education is that workers can use the information to share with their children. It can often be a difficult thing for parents to talk to their kids about drugs - not knowing what to say or how to say it. A question and answer period of our presenters afterward can help provide tips on how to address the issue at home, and employees will be armed with valuable information they can share.