Drug Abuse and Drug Testing in the Workplace

The prevalence of recreational drug use is high, and has been high for some time. Based on surveys of students in high schools and colleges, tabulations from hospital emergency rooms, and self-reports elicited through national surveys, it can be concluded (conservatively) that roughly 10% of the work-force (and a higher percentage of male workers) has or will develop a pattern of recreational drug use that may impede performance on the job. In Newcomb’s (1988) sample of young adults, primarily those just beginning their careers, 30% admitted to being “high” on the job at least once, and 8% of the sample reported that they had been “high” on the job more than eleven times during the previous 6-month period, a frequency that was labeled problematic drug use. ¹ Our best estimate is that approximately 1 out of 10 prospective or current employees in virtually any job has or will develop a pattern of recreational drug use, including alcohol abuse and alcoholism (AA&A), that is problematic, unless an organization does something specific to change the situation (Tolchin, 1989; Walsh, 1989; see, however, Grabowski, 1989).