FACT: 77% of all drug-users are EMPLOYED!  Keep YOUR company drug-free!  Call 1-800-456-4647 x205 TODAY and we will establish a Drug-Free Workplace for YOUR company by tomorrow!  FACT: 77% of all drug-users are EMPLOYED!  Keep YOUR company drug-free!  Call 1-800-456-4647 x205 TODAY and we will establish a Drug-Free Workplace for YOUR company by tomorrow!  FACT: 77% of all drug-users are EMPLOYED!  Keep YOUR company drug-free!  Call 1-800-456-4647 x205 TODAY and we will establish a Drug-Free Workplace for YOUR company by tomorrow!  FACT: 77% of all drug-users are EMPLOYED!  Keep YOUR company drug-free!  Call 1-800-456-4647 x205 TODAY and we will establish a Drug-Free Workplace for YOUR company by tomorrow!  FACT: 77% of all drug-users are EMPLOYED!  Keep YOUR company drug-free!  Call 1-800-456-4647 x205 TODAY and we will establish a Drug-Free Workplace for YOUR company by tomorrow!  FACT: 77% of all drug-users are EMPLOYED!  Keep YOUR company drug-free!  Call 1-800-456-4647 x205 TODAY and we will establish a Drug-Free Workplace for YOUR company by tomorrow!  FACT: 77% of all drug-users are EMPLOYED!  Keep YOUR company drug-free!  Call 1-800-456-4647 x205 TODAY and we will establish a Drug-Free Workplace for YOUR company by tomorrow!  FACT: 77% of all drug-users are EMPLOYED!  Keep YOUR company drug-free!  Call 1-800-456-4647 x205 TODAY and we will establish a Drug-Free Workplace for YOUR company by tomorrow!

EMPLOYERS: Call us with a question or call us for a quote!
949.764.9301 ext. 205 or 1.800.456.4.OHS (647)

CLICK HERE to return to Part 1 (the beginning) of this article (This is Part Two)

9)   But is it any business of an employer’s "what" an employee does in the privacy of his or her own home on a Saturday night?  First of all, there is no Constitutional or other legally protected right to engage in illegal conduct in the privacy of one’s own home or anyone else’s.  In any case, employee drug testing is not done in the employee's home!  Employee testing is always done while the employee is "on the job", about to start work, or immediately after their shift.

Regardless, it IS the employer’s business when drug abuse OFF the job will affect performance or safety ON the job.  Drug use that can adversely affect job attendance or performance can and should be the concern of the employee's employer.  The employer should have a right to be concerned about an employee's substance abuse "at home", or "the night before" if it may adversely impact on his business production and on his and other's workplace safety "the next day".  (U.S. employers have a legal obligation to provide each and every one of their employees with "a healthy and safe workplace environment"-  it's the LAW!)

Employee drug-use was documented in a study which found that, of those employees seeking help on a “cocaine hotline”:

   64% admitted that drugs had adversely affected their job performance
   44% said they had sold drugs to other employees
   18% said they had stolen from co-workers to support their habits

(Why should ANY employer have to put up with this at a business that THEY OWN?)

Another study by the U.S. government found that those who illicitly used drugs are:

    3.6 times more likely to injure themselves or another person in a workplace accident
    5 times more likely to be injured in an accident off the job which, in turn,
                                affects their attendance and/or performance on the job
    5 times more likely to file a Workers' Compensation claim
    One-third less productive than non-drug using employees
    Incur 300% higher medical costs than non-drug using employees

(Again, we ask-  Why should ANY employer have to put up with this?)

10) But don’t many people use drugs without losing control?  Some start that way, but drug-use tends to escalate with time.  Using “a little” turns into using “a lot”.  Also, there is often a “gateway” effect:  the initial use of what many perceive as less serious drugs (e.g., marijuana) can lead to the use of more serious drugs (e.g., cocaine); sporadic use can develop into chronic use; and people who never considered addiction a possibility for themselves personally can become desperate addicts.  Further, the psychology of addiction is such that it includes a process of denial; addicts very seldom admit their addiction voluntarily.  

Furthermore, even a “casual” user can present a substantial safety and health risk on the job to themselves, to their co-workers, and to the company’s customers.  

11) What about drug or alcohol-related crime on the job?  Drug abuse has a major impact on workplace crime.  Employees who have a $1,000-$3,000 a month narcotic habit do not usually support that habit with “just” their paycheck.  General Motors, for example, has arrested over 500 employees for dealing drugs on the job!  Crime in the forms of stealing from co-workers, blackmail, ties to organized crime, and the violence associated with drug dealing all threaten a health and safety workplace environment wherever drug abusers are employed.  Further, the workplace often provides the perfect cover for buying and selling drugs.  

In fact, drug-abuse treatment professionals state that a drug abuser's "JOB" is usually the one thing abusers will do ANYTHING to hold on to, for several reasons:

Denial- employees convince themselves that people who "work" (like themselves) are not addicted
Money- employees need a consistent paycheck to help support their drug habits
Opportunity- employees are provided with, both chances to steal (from their employer and from fellow employees) and also to deal drugs that they would not have if they were unemployed

IT'S A "GIVEN": If you have drug users in your company, you probably have drug dealers in your company!

12) In very large part, it will vary depending on a person's physiological makeup (e.g., height, weight, age, current state of health, state of mind).  Other considerations include the person's "frequency" (1x per day? 3-5x per day?) and "quantity" of use and the "length of time" (days? weeks? months?) of their drug-use prior to testing.  However, for most people, detectable levels of the following drugs stay in the body for these periods of time:

Marijuana, 2-5 days (the daily, heavy user can sometimes be detected up to 30+ days)
Cocaine, 1-2 days
Amphetamines, 1-2 days
Opiates, 1-3 days
Phencyclidine (PCP), 1-8 days
Alcohol, less than 24 hours
(a more complete listing of drugs and their detections times is available
 elsewhere on our website: click here ) 

For chronic users, drugs (other than alcohol) can be retained in the system much longer after their last use—up to 60 days in extreme situations.

13) OK, so cocaine is serious, but just how dangerous can marijuana really be?  Marijuana can be a highly addictive drug.  It is retained in the fatty tissue of the body for several days and it can cause impairment long after the “high” wears off.  A study was conducted at Stanford University in which airline pilots smoked relatively weak government-issued marijuana cigarettes for the test.  Each pilot was then tested on computerized flight simulators.  The testing resulted in simulated airline “crashes” right after the marijuana use.  More alarming, however, was the fact that it also resulted in “crashes” FULLY 24 HOURS LATER, when every pilot reported "no residual effects" and each had stated they had "no reservations" about flying!
 
Also, an incident at American Airlines showed the danger’s of marijuana in the workplace.  One computer operator who was high on marijuana while working at the airline’s central reservations system failed to load a tape in the computer at a critical juncture.  The result was 8 hours of down time for the entire reservations system, significant data erasures, and a $19 million loss for the airline.

14) What specimens are commonly used for drug testing?  Urine specimen analysis is the most common by far.  Blood analysis is not common because it’s “invasive” (needle used).  “Oral” fluids analysis has recently become available, however it does not do as good a job detecting marijuana-use as is provided by testing urine.  Hair specimen analysis is gaining in use. It will detect drug-use as far back as ninety (90) days, much longer than it is detectable in the urine.  Random hair testing is the method of choice for the majority of Nevada casinos. 

15) What about employee alcohol abuse?  Alcohol remains the number one drug of abuse in America.  It hurts more employees and their families than all other drugs combined.  Furthermore, particularly among younger workers, poly-drug abuse (involving alcohol and other drugs) is increasingly common.

16) Aren’t there important individual rights at stake?  Yes, very important.  That is precisely why employers should make every reasonable effort to minimize the intrusiveness of their drug abuse prevention programs to their workers.  Employees have the rights to privacy, confidentiality, accuracy in testing if the company tests for drugs, and a written drug testing policy that is fairly and consistently enforced.

In order to guarantee these rights, employers should take the following steps:

Develop a written drug testing policy for the employees that is well thought-out and communicated
Even-handed enforcement per that policy
Preservation of an employee’s privacy—making sure that only those with a “need to know” will know about a violation of the company’s written policy
In testing programs, use of confirmation tests, the maintaining of chain-of-custody, use of accredited laboratories and a certified MRO, and, fair application to the work force at large.

Moreover, public safety, efficient performance, product integrity, and employee morale are also legitimate interests which must be served.  There is also too little said about the rights of employees who do NOT abuse drugs.  Non-users have an absolute right to work in a safe working environment and to NOT have their jobs and benefits undermined by drug abusers!  

17) What are employees’ views about workplace drug testing?  A recent national Gallup survey of employees demonstrated an increasing intolerance among employees for drug abuse and drug abusers, and an acceptance of employers taking strong steps to provide drug-free workplaces.  The respondents said:

     28% of employees who were asked what they thought was the greatest problem facing the United States today answered “drugs.”  That response was given more than two-and-a-half times more frequently than the second most common answer.

    22% of employees whose companies have drug testing programs feel it is “not strong enough,” while only 2% think it is “too strong.”

     97+% of employees favor drug testing in the workplace at least under some circumstances.
  
18) But, come on now...does workplace drug abuse really affect me?  Drug abuse affects all citizens in the form of higher taxes, higher insurance rates, more crime, higher health care costs, and higher consumer prices.  It also affects most of us as employees.  A major telecommunications company reports that 40% of its health care costs are attributable to substance abuse!

19) Do company drug-abuse prevention programs work?  First of all, drug testing works.  As a result of advertised, high-profile drug-abuse prevention programs enacted at many companies, many drug users don’t even apply there (at companies that do drug testing).  Some of those who do apply will then stop using for fear of being caught, and some who are later “caught” will often undergo treatment and go straight.

There are numerous success stories in both the private and public sectors, but perhaps none as dramatic as the U.S. Navy’s:  a decrease since the 1980’s to under 4% (down from 28%) of its active personnel engaged in illicit drug use (i.e., found positive when tested).  This is specifically due to Navy’s implementation back in the 80’s of a comprehensive drug abuse prevention program - including monthly random drug testing of all active and reserve duty personnel- that continues even today.

(End of Article)

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