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US workers – alarming rise in positive drug tests

An analysis of 10 million drug tests taken by US workers reveals a failure rate of more than one in 25.

Quest Diagnostics discovered that the use if illicit drugs in the US workforce is now at its highest in 12 years.

The senior director of science and technology at Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions, Dr Barry Sample, commented: “This year’s findings are remarkable because they show increased rates of drug positivity for the most common illicit drugs across virtually all drug test specimen types and in all testing populations.”

With some US states legalising or considering the legalisation of marijuana use, Quest’s data revealed that the drug’s use was increasing among US workers. Positive oral fluid test results for marijuana have grown steadily from a level of 5.1% in 2013 to the 2016 result of 8.9%. Positivity also increased in urine tests, with 2015’s figure of 2.4 per cent rising to 2.5 per cent in 2015. Positive hair test results in 2015 were 7 per cent. In 2016, this figure had risen to 7.3 per cent.

Since Washington and Colorado legalised marijuana use the positive urine tests in both states exceeded the national average recorded in 2016. Colorado saw the biggest increase.

The Wall Street Journal reports that another concern for US employers is the increased use of cocaine by employees. Worryingly, positive tests for the drugs are now common after accidents in the workplace.

A positive note is that tests indicating the use of heroin by workers are stabilising.

 

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