The use of opioids in the Otago region is climbing according to the latest survey of drugs in the workplace, although cannabis remains far and away the region’s illicit drug of choice.
The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), New Zealand’s largest workplace drug-testing provider, has launched its Q4 Imperans Report, a quarterly workplace drug trends report.
It showed the most commonly tested drug in the Otago region by a distance was cannabis, which accounted for 54.6% of all positive tests detected in regional screen tests in the final quarter of last year (October-December), although its prevalence had dropped 10% on the previous quarter.
In its place, opioid usage had spiked from 28.1% to 36.4%, while amphetamine usage, including methamphetamine, had climbed from 10% to 13%.
Benzodiazepines were also common, detected in 7.8% of positive tests.
Cocaine usage in Otago was detected in just under 2%, well below its prevalence in Bay of Plenty, Auckland West and Waikato, where it was as high as 9%.
Because the tests can detect more than one substance at a time, it means the overall results did not necessarily add up to 100%.
TDDA chief executive Glenn Dobson said it was vital workplaces held regular discussions about drug usage, and had workable policies around it.
He said it was interesting opioid usage in the workplace had increased markedly in the past quarter in Otago.
"There could be a number of reasons around that, and it could be a lot of it’s often the snapshot of the type of people within the workforce itself.
"Opioids also include prescription medications, but often it’s around prescription medications that may be used above a certain cut-off, so it can create a potential safety risk within the workplace."
Mr Dobson said he was aware of many police drug busts in Otago over the past year, but cocaine was not as prevalent as once thought.
"A lot of what influences the drugs within the region is around the supply chain and what comes in through that supply chain."
By the time the drugs arrived in Otago, much of the product would have been diluted or "stepped on".
"For instance, they may start with a kilo of cocaine, but as it goes through various hands, it gets stepped on each time or gets mixed with fillers, and so all of a sudden you turn that one kilo of cocaine into five kilos of product, but four kilos of it is filler.
"So that affects its purity, it affects the user’s enjoyment or effect, or high to a certain extent, and can affect its street value as well."
While the testing had a focus on "safety reliant" blue-collar jobs such as forestry and construction, there was an increasing focus on testing people in white-collar jobs such as administration.
"We’re looking at not just a quarter in isolation, but also whether the trends are going up and down in certain drugs.
"The message is for employers and employees to use this sort of information to create having that conversation, create an awareness, and actually discuss the risks around it and discuss the fact that people want to get home at the end of the day.
"People want to enjoy their families and their community, and managing this type of risk is a really great way of doing it."
Nationwide, cannabis was present in 67.5% of positive tests; amphetamines, including methamphetamine, in 24.5%; opioids, including oxycodone, in 18.6%; benzodiazepines in 2.9%; and cocaine in 3.7%.
