IS YOUR COMPANY AT RISK FROM DRUG ABUSE?
Workplace Drug Abuse Facts
- 74% of all drug abusers are
employed.
- 1 out of 6 workers has a drug
problem.
- Drug abusers on average cost an employer
$7,000-$10,000 per employee annually.
- 64% of employees using cocaine
admit that drugs had adversely affected their job performance.
- 44% say they had
sold drugs to other employees.
- 18% say they had
stolen from co-workers to support their
habits.
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Employees using drugs are:
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- 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.
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***Why
should ANY employer have to put up with this?***
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 drug addiction a possibility for themselves personally
can become desperate drug addicts. Further, the psychology of drug addiction is such that
it includes a process of denial; drug addicts very seldom admit their drug addiction
voluntarily.
Furthermore, even a “casual” drug user can present a substantial safety and health
risk on the job to themselves, to their co-workers, and to the company’s
customers.
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) do not have drug addiction.
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 too!
How long do the drugs stay in a body?
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 drug testing.
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.
This is why serious companies apply
employee drug testing to
their employees periodically and randomly.
OK, so cocaine is serious, but just how dangerous can marijuana really be?
Can marijuana 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 drug in the
workplace. One computer operator who was high on marijuana drug 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.
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.
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 drug testing is applied). 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.
What is my next step as an employer?
As an employer you want to make sure that your employees or potential employees
are free of drugs. TestCountry.com
is here to help you. We offer a
wide variety of FAST, ACCURATE,
AFFORDABLE, and CONFIDENTIAL Home drug testing kits and employee
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range of frequently abused drugs
at the ease, comfort, and privacy of your home or office.
Drug Testing for Teenagers
For Employers
- Most Popular Drug Testing Kits
| FAST, ACCURATE,
AFFORDABLE, CONFIDENTIAL |
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At TestCountry.com we offer a
wide variety of FAST, ACCURATE,
AFFORDABLE, and CONFIDENTIAL
home drug testing kits and
employee drug testing kits that can be used to test a wide
range of frequently abused drugs
at the ease, comfort, and privacy of your home or office.
Click here
to see the full list of
drug testing kits |
Drug Testing for Teenagers
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We
only work with industry-leader manufacturers that have quality and approved
test kits that fit with US Standards. We only sell test kits that are 510K
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Cleared. |
Most Popular Employee Drug Testing Kits
iCup -
10 Panel Urine Drug Testing Kit
iCassette
- 3 Panel Urine Drug Test Kit
iScreen - 5 Panel Urine Drug
Testing Kit
Saliva Multi Drug Screen Test 6
PDT-90 Confidential Drug Hair Testing Kit
iCup - Multi Drug 5 Panel Urine Drug Test Kit
Other Drug Abuse Topics:
Drug Types
Is Your
Teen at Risk From Drug Abuse
Signs of Drug Abuse
Drug Paraphernalia
Source: OHS Health & Safety Services, Inc. www.ohsinc.com
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