workplace drug use

[budman]

Drug Use

The Belleville News-Democrat
Posted on Thu, Jul. 06, 2006

Workplace drug use has fallen to its lowest levels since the late 1980s, according to one of the biggest drug-testing companies in the country.

Reviewing results from more than 7 million drug tests it administered to workers in 2005, Quest Diagnostics reported that 4.1 percent tested positive for drugs ranging from cocaine and marijuana to methamphetamines.

That compares with 4.5 percent positive results in 2004 and 13.6 percent in 1988, when Quest first published its Drug Testing Index.

Quest spokesman Barry Sample said the most significant decline was in amphetamines, which he said was likely the result of government crackdowns on meth labs.

Most of the positive tests in 2005 were for marijuana, with no other drug even close. For those keeping score, here are the top five: marijuana, 52.5 percent; cocaine, 15.7 percent; amphetamines, 10.6 percent; opiates, 6.7 percent; benzodiazepines (tranquilizers), 4.9 percent.

<span class=postbold>See Also</span>: <a class=postlink href= "http://www.palmspringsbum.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=195&highlight=workplace+drug" target=_blank>Amphetamine Use Declines in Workplace</a>

[palmspringsbum]

Drug test failures lead to job shortages

Associated Press
Article Launched:10/09/2006 10:19:35 AM MDT
The El Paso Times

HOBBS, N.M. - The economy is booming in Lea County, but businesses such as oilfield firms and trucking companies are facing labor shortages because many job applicants are flunking pre-employment drug tests.

"Everybody that's in the oilfield is looking for employees, and it seems that we're all probably testing the same folks over and over," said Brad Roberts, chief executive office of Arles Well Service and Ram Services in Hobbs.

Roberts said 12 to 15 percent of applicants have failed recent pre-employment screenings at Arles, while the number for Ram Services is 25 percent.

Harry Teague, who owns several oilfield companies, said testing patterns tend to run in cycles. He said he might not have any applicants fail for two or three months, then 25 percent might fail over the next month or two.

Greg Ashdown, Permian Basin operations manager for ConocoPhillips, said drugs are a bigger problem for oilfield service companies than for production companies like his. Of as many as 40 hires in the past year at his company, he said only one applicant failed a drug test.

"When we talk to our contract suppliers _ the drilling companies, the other service companies - they tell us that it is a much higher percentage," Ashdown said. "They tell us numbers anywhere from 10 to 15 percent."

Most of the same companies also conduct random drug testing of employees each month, but officials said those tests rarely show positive results.

"It is a deterrent. You can see it," said Dr. Rob Joneja of the Center for Industrial Medicine, which provides drug testing.

The random tests can show cycles, as well. Ron Braun, a Hobbs chiropractor who also performs drug testing for oilfield companies, has seen employers lose several workers on a single random test day.

Since October 2005, 47 percent of test failures at the Center for Industrial Medicine have been attributed to cocaine use, with another 31 percent tested positive for marijuana and 17 percent confirmed use of methamphetamines.

The remainder tested positive for heroin or prescription drugs.

Joneja said these results don't necessarily reflect wider trends in the community. Job applicants are more likely to test positive for cocaine or marijuana because those drugs are used on a more recreational basis than methamphetamines.

He said meth users are more likely to be addicts, whose addictions keep them from doing oilfield work.

Most companies also have a policy for testing employees immediately after any accident. At the Center for Industrial Medicine, those kinds of tests lead to positive results for about 20 percent of those tested.

[palmspringsbum]

Drugs at work a major concern


By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
December 22, 2006
The Union

Almost 75 percent of businesses surveyed in western Nevada County are "highly concerned" or "very concerned" about drug use in the workplace.

But only about half of the businesses screen or test their employees for drugs, according to a recent survey on drug-free workplaces for the Coalition for a Drug-Free Nevada County.

Some businesses said they don't administer drug tests because they know their small number of employees well. Others consider testing an invasion of privacy or an intrusion on medical marijuana users.

Community Recovery Resources' first survey of 28 area businesses "was a good start," according to Jim Phelps of CORR and the coalition. Despite the survey results, Phelps is skeptical that almost half of area businesses countywide test employees or prospective workers for drugs.

"A lot say 'I know my people, and I don't need a drug-free workforce policy'," Phelps said. "That told me more education is needed, because it might be the spouse or a child of an employee who has a drug or alcohol problem."

Dealing with addicted family members can cause employees to miss work or not be sharp for their tasks, Phelps said. To provide this information in the coming year, the coalition will hold educational workshops, Phelps said.

An attorney, for example, would be invited to talk about the legal ramifications of a drug-free workplace policy, and an insurance person could explain its benefits, Phelps said. "There will also be a nuts and bolts session on how you can do it," he added.

Of the 28 businesses surveyed, 10 were in the construction business, four were retailers and three were real estate businesses. Other businesses that responded included technology and general services firms, manufacturing, home repair, insurance, marketing, transportation, children's services, accounting and home cleaning.

Most of the respondents were smaller businesses. Thirteen of them had 10 employees or less, seven had 11 to 25 employees, six had 26 to 50 workers and two had 51 to 75 employees each.

More than half, or 16 of the 28 responding businesses, said marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the workplace, with alcohol second and methamphetamine third. But half of those responding said methamphetamine caused them the most concern behind alcohol, marijuana and prescription drug abuse.

Twenty of the businesses responding said they had a written, drug-free workplace policy. Those who do have a policy report that it creates a safer workplace and sets clear standards for employees.



To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.

[palmspringsbum]

<span class=postbold>See Also:</span> Roughneck Reality: Testing Positive: Oil-field meth use grows