Drug Use Declining Or?
Date: May 24, 2007
By now, most people have accepted that to get or keep a job, they may need to enter a restroom and provide "a sample of their work." The drug testing requirement has been a blow to some civil liberties activists (not to mention the poppy seed industry), but employers defend it as a valuable deterrent.
The percentage of people testing positive for drugs-both illegal drugs and a list of undesirable legal drugs like amphetamines-is steadily declining, according to figures from a large provider of employment related drug testing.
In 1988, 13.6 percent of those tested had a positive result for drugs, compared with 3.8 percent in 2006, with some intriguing geographical variations. That includes random, on-the-job tests and pre-employment tests.
The data could be a sign of declining drug use. Or, it could be a sign that people who use drugs are not working - or looking for jobs at places that don't ask for that sample.