Marijuana is a Gateway Drug, No Matter What Gate

Well this is hilarious research: http://www.healthfinder.gov/News/Article.aspx?id=701168&source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery - Researcher showed that marijuana (well this research anyway) isn't a gateway drug despite the fact that researchers admit that most people use other drugs used marijuana first. That's a fact they admit it. But you got it all wrong if you are thinking 'gateway." Huh? Yes, it's true. The chemicals in marijuana do not cause teens to go on and use other drugs in the future. (Like whoever said they did!?) The researchers instead are saying that teens use marijuana for different reasons, (and peer pressure is not one.) These reasons are boredom or seeking insight and truth and inner understanding. Those who are bored may then go on to use Cocaine! Those who seek insight and self-understanding will go on to use magic mushrooms! (They failed to say what happens if a teen is both bored and seeking insight.) So, shame on you for thinking marijuana is a gateway drug. You are just plain wrong. It's the reasons that kids use marijuana are the real gateway. So, the next time you learn of a teenager smoking pot, don't worry about it. Just find out if they are bored or looking for insight. Then worry. Otherwise back off because there is no gateway thing going on. (This is my tongue in cheek reaction to this study that SOUGHT to show us all that marijuana is not a gateway drug.) Of course it is!

Workplace Violence Prevention: It's More Teaching Signs, Symptoms, and Head for the Exit!

Conducting a violence in the workplace training program in your company is more than offering a presentation on the signs and symptoms of an employee who might go postal.

Workplace violence may have many antecedents, and signs and symptoms, although important, are really too little, too late to stand alone as a prevention strategy. While training employees hide in place or escape through the nearest exit is certainly worthwhile, and could save a life, there is a lot more to preventing workplace violence prevention if you really want to reduce risk of death in your workplace.

To put on an effective and comprehensive workplace violence prevention program, consider the following topics, and if you would like to see videos for each of these topic as part of the larger more meaningful strategy, visit this free preview library at WorkExcel.com.

- Violence in the Workplace Prevention General Discussion
- Mastering the Respectful Workplace
- Avoiding Workplace Harassment
- Facing Bullying at Work--What to Do.
- Improving Day to Day Workplace Communication
- Employee Conflict Resolution: Simple Steps and Strategies
- Improving Your Assertiveness Skills
- Supervisor Assertiveness Training
- Effective Performance Evaluation of Employees that Improve Relationship with Supervisors
- How to Respond to a Disappointing Performance Review
- Valuing Diversity at Work
- Anger Management: Tips for Employees
- EAP Orientation: The EAP Can Help (for employees under stress and frustrated)
- Manager's Role in Promoting a Respectful Workplace
- Supervisor's Role in Helping to Prevent Workplace Violence
- Supervisor Training: Using the EAP in Supervision to Manage Difficult Employees

Can you see how these topics all contribute to reducing risk of workplace violence? To see any of them as videos, go to WorkExcel.com's all videos preview page.

Salvia: Tell Employees and Parents About It

Salvia (Salvia divinorum) is a plant native to the region of Oaxaca, Mexico. You should start mentioning this drug and discussing it abuse and prevalence among young employees. It is sold on the Internet as a powerful hallucinogenic drug, but it is illegal in only 21 states. At the federal level, Salvia is completely legal and unregulated, but it is beyond a doubt a substance that should be discussed and warned about. Salvia is usually smoked and creates an “out of body experience,” making it dangerous and unpredictable, and rendering the user utterly out of control of their behavior and decisions. The user may have complete amnesia from the "trip." Salvia is sold in strengths and dosages that may be 10X, 30X, or 200X in potency. Salvia is used mostly by young people ages 12 to 25. If you are a concerned parent, supervise your children, know who their friends are, and monitor their whereabouts. Talk to older teens about the dangers of Salvia and abuse of any drug, including alcohol. Signs of Salvia use may include drug paraphernalia, Internet purchases, or small butane torches used for burning the substance in a pipe. A YouTube search will show the vivid dangers of this drug in videos that have been posted online by users, people who have had bad experiences with it, and those it thought. To preview out drug and alcohol education programs, visit multiple programs preview page.

Powdered Alcohol: Will It Be Another Concern for Parents?

Parents and employers, heads up. There is a new, potentially dangerous substance of abuse coming onto the market: prepared, flavored, crystalline ethanol in ready-to-drink packets. Add five ounces of water and, abracadabra, just like Cup-o-Soup™, a flavored cocktail equal to the alcohol content of a typical mixed drink results. It’s not magic, it’s powdered alcohol. On March 10, 2015, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau granted Palcohol, a powdered-alcohol manufacturer—the only one in America to date—approval to sell its novel product on the U.S. market. The substance may be available as early as August 2015. Learn about this substance (at least from the manufacturers perspective at www.palcohol.com. Download a tip sheet for this topic at http://bit.ly/TIP148

Best Model for Performance-based Intervention

Here is an effective workplace intervention model to help alcoholic or drug abusing workers and it succeeds almost every time it is tried, but follow up by a knowledgeable EAP pro is key. Use a provider who understands job security leverage dynamics and the core technology of employee assistance programming. Essentially, the model for performance-based intervention places the employee in the position of making a decision to accept an EAP referral or a legitimate disciplinary action for documented ongoing job performance problems. The supervisor does not accept any postponement of this decision. (This is a major Achilles heal for those who attempt this model of intervention.) The disciplinary action is held in abeyance, but the requirement is to go to the EAP now in order for this accommodation to be made. A common myth among supervisors is that this method of constructive confrontation punishes the employee for refusing to go to the EAP. Indeed, it does not. Never take disciplinary action “for failure to go to the EAP.” Instead, take disciplinary action for ongoing job performance problems. This should always be clearly stated to the employee so there is no misinterpretation. If you can communicate this much, you are home free. Drug and Alcohol DOT Supervisor Training Instructors Guide discusses this model in detail - http://workexcel.net/dot-supervisor-preview.html

Understanding Mandatory Referrals

Fake It Until You Make It: EAP Counseling Tip

It sounds sneaky and dishonest, but the catchphrase “Fake It Till You Make It” (FITYMI) is one of the most useful pieces of advice in the business world. The goal of faking it until you make it is not about acting as an impostor. It’s about imitating confidence and energizing yourself to be successful while you wait for real confidence and know-how to arrive. Fear of not measuring up to expectations can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The truth is that their is no end to the process of FITYMI. It continues throughout our careers.The most famous study of FITYMI asked 50 students to act like they were extroverts, even though none of them had the desire to do so. The more these students faked it, the happier they became. And the more extroverted they actually became. Another variation on this same strategy is “bring your body and the mind will follow.” These tactics are well-known for helping alcoholics stay involved in programs like Alcoholics Anonymous until a level of self-motivation to stay involved is achieved. Fold in the FITYMI as you counsel clients facing the challenges of total freak out in a position they fear will do them in.

Have you gotten your hands on the condensed EAP Resources catalog I created? Click here to get it http://eaptools.com/1.pdf 

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