Does your workplace drug test for employment? Drug testing has been a proven way to effectively detect drugs of abuse. While drug addiction is still a taboo subject, the rate of its increase is of concern. In 2010, only 22.1 million or 8.7% of individuals age 12 or older used illicit drugs within the past year1.
Fast-forward to 2022, that number increased to 53 million or 19.4%.2.
The problem is getting worse, and more Americans are using illegal drugs than ever before. City environments exacerbate the issue, as 20.2% of people who used drugs did so in larger metropolitan counties, compared to 5% in rural counties2.
Why Test Employees?
Most people who misuse drugs are full-time or part-time employees. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) stated that 70% of the estimated 14.8 million Americans who use illegal drugs are employed3. In order to keep the workplace a safe and drug-free space, drug testing is essential.
Which Employees Misuse Drugs?
Drug abuse affects all sectors of our society to varying degrees across different industries. Data from the 2020 Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index indicated that Accommodations and Food Services employees had a 66% increase Marijuana positivity rate that year. The other industries that had a surge in positive drug testing include Transportation and Warehousing (63% increase in Marijuana detection), Wholesale Trade (42% increase in methamphetamine detection), Public Administration (40% increase in cocaine detection), Utilities (29% increase in amphetamine detection), and Educational Services (25% increase in cocaine detection)4.
SHRM reported that workplace drug testing positive rates hit a 16-year high in 20205. This corresponded to the year that the COVID-19 pandemic began. At that time, many experts projected a surge in drug abuse because of the pandemic. Read more about COVID-19 and its connection with substance abuse in our blog post here.
What Are The Benefits of Employee Drug Testing?
Providing drug testing at the workplace helps promote workplace efficiency while avoiding financial losses, and is a positive step in improving affected individuals and their workplace team as a whole. Testing reduces the likelihood of accidents and injuries related to working under the influence. As an example, the construction industry has a history of high drug abuse. Because of the dangerous work environment, drug testing is a critical intervention in the prevention of workplace injury. While employee health is of greatest concern, potential employer liability for drug-related accidents includes medical bills, insurance premiums, aftercare, and employee compensation.
Urine drug test cups provide an efficient first step in screening out employees with non-negative (presumed positive) results. Depending on the industry, local regulations and the employer’s specific drug testing program, only non-negative (presumed positive) samples may need to be sent to the lab for confirmation.
Efficiencies may include allowing new or temporary employees to begin work immediately following worksite testing or, in the case of an accident, only sending employees with presumed-positive results, or their urine samples, to the lab for confirmation.
Urine drug test cups allow for a rapid, accurate and non-invasive way to increase drug testing efficiency and promote workplace safety. While most employers have drug testing programs, many, surprisingly, still haven’t implemented a program. As a result, prospective employees who abuse drugs gravitate towards employee settings that don’t require drug testing. The implications of this are even more important with the increase of drug abuse since the start of the pandemic. Above all, DrugTestKitUSA is dedicated to aid in creating a safe, drug-free work environment. View our selection of urine drug cups here.
Citations:
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- https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUHNationalFindingsResults2010-web/2k10ResultsRev/NSDUHresultsRev2010.pdf
- https://drugabusestatistics.org/
- https://www.samhsa.gov/workplace/toolkit
- https://newsroom.questdiagnostics.com/2020-08-25-Workforce-Drug-Testing-Positivity-Climbed-to-Highest-Rate-in-16-Years-New-Quest-Diagnostics-Drug-Testing-Index-TM-Analysis-Finds
- https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/risk-management/pages/positive-workplace-drug-tests-hit-16-year-high.aspx