An Analysis of Worker Drug Use and Workplace Policies and Programs

Figure 6.3Percentage of Full-Time Workers, Age 18-49, Reporting Workplace Drug Testing Programs, by Type of Program and Current Illicit Drug Use, 1994

Nevertheless, given the associations discussed above between occupation and workers’ reports of drug testing programs (see Table 6.1), and between occupation and establishment size, the role of current illicit drug use in these relationships is difficult to identify precisely without simultaneous controls—in a multivariate statistical model—for the effects of several relevant variables. An additional barrier to understanding these relationships is determining if the variation that appears between those who currently use illicit drugs and those who do not is due to differences in the awareness of testing programs or to the actual existence of such programs. One might think that current illicit drug users would be more likely than non-users to report workplace testing programs simply because they have more of a vested interest in acquiring this information; non-users may not be as cognizant of these programs. On the other hand, it is feasible that workers who use illicit drugs are, in reality, less likely to work for establishments that have testing programs. The NHSDA data presented thus far do not allow a precise assessment of this issue, but the next section provides additional insight.

Table 6.2Percentage of Full-Time Workers, Age 18-49, Reporting Workplace Drug Testing Programs, by Establishment Size and Current Illicit Drug Use, 1994
		Total			1-24 Employees			25-499 Employees			500 or More Employees
Type of Testing Program		Current Illicit Drug Use	No Current Illicit Drug Use		Current Illicit Drug Use	No Current Illicit Drug Use		Current Illicit Drug Use	No Current Illicit Drug Use		Current Illicit Drug Use	No Current Illicit Drug Use
Any		33.7	44.4		22.5	22.5		43.5	52.7		59.5	68.9
At Hiring		24.5	35.8		12.6	16.6		32.8	43.0		56.4	57.6
Random		12.3	21.1		7.2	11.1		17.4	25.5		22.7	30.5
Upon Suspicion		23.2	28.1		11.7	12.6		33.6	33.6		48.9	46.4
Post-Accident		19.3	22.9		10.0	11.4		29.0	28.3		37.4	33.1

Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1994-B.

   

This page was last updated on June 03, 2008.

SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.