ACTON, Mass., May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Psychemedics Corporation (NASDAQ: PMD) today announced first quarter financial results for the period ended March 31, 2013. The Company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share payable to shareholders of record as of May 17, 2013 to be paid on May 30, 2013. This will be the Company’s 67th consecutive quarterly dividend.

The Company’s revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 was $6.4 million versus $6.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, an increase of 3%. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 was $822 thousand or $0.16 per diluted share, versus $827 thousand or $0.16 per diluted share, for the comparable period last year.

Raymond C. Kubacki , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said,
“We are very pleased to report record sales for any first quarter in the Company’s history. This is also in comparison to our highest growth quarter last year. Our investment in sales and marketing continues to pay off as our new business growth accounted for the entire gain in the quarter, as well as offsetting the decline in our base business due to the weak hiring/jobs environment.

During the quarter, we also completed the majority of the transition to our new patented screening process. While we are expecting many benefits from this new patented technology, including an increase in capacity, the ability to expedite new tests to market, and reduced operating costs, there was a negative impact on profits for the quarter. However, this negative impact was offset by a one-time insurance reimbursement for legal expenditures (in other income) and a positive tax impact from a 2012 R&D tax credit. Our pre-tax profit margin was still 20%.

“We continue to have a strong balance sheet with more than $2.5 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2013 with no long term debt, despite heavy investment in new equipment and software.

“Our directors share our confidence in the long-term future of Psychemedics and remain committed to rewarding shareholders and sharing the financial success of the Company with them as we move forward.

“Therefore, the Board has declared a $0.15 dividend for the quarter. This is our 67th consecutive quarterly dividend.”

Psychemedics Corporation is the world’s largest provider of hair testing for the detection of drugs of abuse. The Company’s patented process is used by thousands of U.S. and international clients, including over 10% of the Fortune 500 companies, for pre-employment and random drug testing. Major police departments, Federal Reserve Banks, schools, and other public entities also rely on our unique patented drug testing process. We strongly believe our drug testing method to be superior to any other product currently in use, including traditional urine testing and other hair testing methods.

Cautionary Statement for purposes of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: From time to time, information provided by Psychemedics may contain forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements contained in this release that are not historical facts (including but not limited to statements concerning earnings, earnings per share, revenues, dividends, future business, growth opportunities, new accounts, customer base, market share, test volume and sales and marketing strategies) may be “forward looking” statements. Actual results may differ from those stated in any forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include but are not limited to risks associated with the development of markets for new products and services offered, government regulation, including but not limited to FDA regulations, competition and general economic conditions and other factors disclosed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The annual Partnership Attitude Tracking Study found 24 percent of teens have abused a prescription drug at least once in their lifetime, up from 18 percent in 2008. The most popular prescription drugs of abuse were stimulants, such as Ritalin or Adderall. One in 8 teens reported having abused an “upper.”

Muskingum Behavioral Health Executive Director Steve Carrel said he’s not surprised by the figures and expects they actually are higher than reported.

“Generally speaking, the survey doesn’t surprise me a whole lot,” he said. “I think the general perception of the under-22 crowd is that if they see these ads on television, and doctors say they are safe or their parents are using them, they must be safe. I would venture to say the numbers are probably on the low side.”

He said where a generation or two ago there was a “perception of harm” surrounding drugs — that they were only to be used when administered by doctors — increased sales and marketing of prescription medications, the ease of getting hooked on pills at home and parents looking the other way have contributed to the prevalence of teen drug abuse.

These tests, which became commonplace during the Just Say No days of the Reagan administration, initially were administered to detect illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Today, a new generation of screenings are increasingly being used to determine if potential — and often current — employees are taking highly addictive yet otherwise legal opiates, including Vicodin, Oxycontin, Dilaudid, Percocet and Percodan.

“Employers have an interest in knowing whether a worker is using or abusing these powerful drugs,” says Dr. David Gude, chief operating officer for Texas MedClinic, which provides corporate drug testing and medical evaluations. “But because of privacy concerns, many are reluctant to test for these drugs.”

Yet, workers in safety-sensitive positions who use such drugs can open an employer to all sorts of liability. Imagine the ways a long-haul truck driver, airline pilot or nuclear engineer who abuses these drugs can put himself, his co-workers or even the public at risk.

At Halliburton, the oilfield services company with a significant presence in the Eagle Ford Shale, employees who test positive without a reasonable explanation will be terminated and then referred to the company’s employee assistance program for counseling, according to an email from company spokeswoman Susie McMichael.

With 46 employees, San Antonio’s Brown Excavation & Utilities has been doing expanded drug testing for about 18 months.

“It just got to the point where we said to ourselves, ‘It’s time to start doing this,’” said Bridgett Brown, owner of the water, sewer line and related structure construction company. “I sleep better knowing that we’ve tested our guys who are out on the road.”

We have waited a very long time for this day. Coalition for a Drug Free California has fought this fight for the last 7-years working with over 200 California cities which have banned pot stores. Those bans were challenged in the California Supreme Court, and today we learned that the Justices agree with us. We are thankful for the good work of Jeff Dunn of the BB&K Law Firm, and the countless others who argued for the rights of local governments and our children. Today is the beginning of the end for the out of control marijuana movement in our state. We expect cities to take swift action in shutting down these illicit drug dealing operations. ” said Dr. Paul Chabot, President of the Coalition for a Drug Free California www.drugfreecalifornia.org

“While some counties and cities might consider themselves well suited to accommodating medical marijuana dispensaries, conditions in other communities might lead to the reasonable decision that such facilities within their borders, even if carefully sited, well managed, and closely monitored, would present unacceptable local risks and burdens,” Justice Marvin R. Baxter wrote for the court.

“Facilities that dispense medical marijuana may pose a danger of increased crime, congestion, blight, and drug abuse, and the extent of this danger may vary widely from community to community,” the court said.

Dr. Lynn Fox of PowerfulParenting.com said, “The banning is good because it is a major line of protection to prevent availability and use by our children.”

Alexandra Datig, Board-member of Coalition for a Drug Free California stated, “Control of dispensaries should be in the hands of the people, not marijuana profiteers.”

Now, when you hear someone has overdosed the likely culprit could just as easily be prescription drugs.

Overdose deaths from prescription pain killers now exceed both heroine and cocaine overdose deaths, with the increase over the two illicit drugs beginning more than a decade ago around 2000, according to information from the North Carolina Injury & Violence Prevention branch of state Division of Public Health.

The statistics on overdoses in the country and state are staggering. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of overdose deaths of prescription painkillers skyrocketed in the last decade. The CDC calls the problem a public health epidemic.

The problem has grown more than 300 percent from 1999 to 2011, according to the state Division of Public Health.

“Enough prescription painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for a month,” according to the CDC. “Although most of these pills were prescribed for a medical purpose, many ended up in the hands of people who misused or abused them.”

Nearly half a million emergency department visits in 2009 were due to people misusing or abusing prescription painkillers, the CDC says.

The western part of North Carolina is one of the most affected areas by the problem of overdoses from prescription drugs, according to state Sen. Austin Allran, R-Catawba/Alexander.