Who Uses A Marijuana Drug Test?

Marijuana drug tests are used by people of all stripes in all sorts of situations - parents, employees, employers, schools and coaches. As I posted recently, 84% of employers require drug tests when hiring new employees. Today we'll look at an interesting case studies of how drug use affects particular industries.

William F. Current in "Indian Country Today," writes about the gaming industry, which is often said to have a high rate of drug abuse. He offers this 2007 statistic from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration): 10.4 % of full-time workers in the “Amusement, Gambling and Recreation Industries” admit to “past-month” illicit drug use. 18.4% of "Food Services" and "Drinking Places" industries' workers admit to "past-month" illicit drug use.

It is no wonder then that drug testing proves so popular with employers. Mr. Current provides another interesting statistic that suggests why drug testing is used in the workplace so frequently:

"A compelling study by the U.S. Postal Service found that substance abusers, when compared to non-substance abusing coworkers, are involved in 55 percent more accidents, and sustain 85 percent more on-the-job injuries according to the SAID Web site." [emphasis supplied.]

Those are pretty astonishing figures. SAID is the Substance Abuse Information Database, maintained by the US Department of Labor. Statistics there too suggest why an employer might want to marijuana drug test their employees: "75 percent of the nation’s current illegal drug users are employed—and 3.1 percent say they have actually used illegal drugs before or during work hours."

Employers don't necessarily need to outsource drug testing - they can use a home drug test to meet their needs. Why pay someone to come into your workplace when you can buy an FDA approved urine drug test?

As Drug-Free Work Week comes around the corner (it's happening October 19-25 this year), it could be time for some employers to think about the usefulness of home drug tests. Hair, saliva, and urine tests - even substance tests - are all available at Home Health Testing.