Study Confirms Testing Reduces Worker Drug Use

But bosses may be overestimating true value, best uses of policy, researchers say

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 20, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- Drug testing in the workplace reduces drug use, but not as much as previously thought, new research suggests.

A new study published in the online edition of Health Services Research compiled data on marijuana screening at private, for-profit firms across the country. Marijuana is the drug that turns up most often in failed worker drug tests.

The University of California, Irvine, researchers found drug testing was associated with less worker drug use, even after accounting for other workplace drug policies such as "zero tolerance" standards and employee assistance programs.

"My results don't definitively prove that drug testing directly reduces drug use, but they are the strongest evidence to date," Christopher Carpenter, a health economist at UC-Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business, said in a prepared statement.

Since previous studies have not accounted for the effects of other policies and workforce characteristics, Carpenter estimates the association has been bloated by as much as 25 percent in the past.

This is important information for budget-conscious personnel managers who are deciding whether to implement testing.

"If you tell an employer that workplace drug testing will reduce worker drug use by 25 percent less than they expected, this may affect an employer's decision to implement drug testing in the first place," Carpenter said.

More information

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about drug testing.

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