As part of out product line at Meditests.com some of the most important products we offer are Drug and Alcohol Test Kits.  It is out belief that it is important to contribute in maintaining a “Drug-Free” work place and school environment.

There are 4 standardized reasons why companies drug test their employees:

• Pre-employment
• Random Testing
• Reasonable Suspicion
• Post Accident
• Treatment Follow Up

There are a variety of reasons why it is so important to maintain a drug-free work zone.

The use of drugs in the workplace costs employers almost $81 billion a year due to a loss in productivity.  Alcoholism alone is reported to cause 500 million lost workdays per calendar year.  Statistics show that there is almost a 4.0 increase in incidence of employees injuring themselves or others in the workplace if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  As a result, employees are 5 times more probable to utilize workmen’s compensation, which is a direct financial loss to the company.  Furthermore, employees who suffer from drug or alcohol addiction or abuse are 2.5 times more likely to be absent from the workplace compared to their non-using co-workers.  Similarly, when employees who are using drugs and alcohol do not show-up for work, it is often the case that they have a long-standing record of excessive tardiness in both getting to work, as well as at work during their lunch-breaks.  Employees who abuse drugs and alcohol are also 2 times as likely to skip work as their non-using colleagues and to change jobs up to 3 times a year.  All of these things cost companies’ unnecessary finances either through increased insurance premiums, loss of needed employees, poor work performance, and thus, an overall reduction in production.  It is estimated, that, in only one year alcohol and drug abuse cost businesses in the United States 81 billion dollars due to a loss in productivity. Consider how a substance abuser might affect your workplace.  For some employers, just one accident or financial problem caused by an employee who is using drugs or alcohol while on the job could put the entire organization at risk.

Recent statistics find that:

• The majority of drug users in the United States are employed at a rate of 9.4 million people, which is 77 percent of the workforce.
• Heavy drinking is strongly associated with illicit drug use.  Of the 12.4 million heavy drinkers in the United States, 30.5 percent also participate in using illicit drugs.
• The rate of illicit drug use is higher among men than women.
• It is estimated that up to 6.5 percent of full-time employees and up to 8.6 percent of part-time employees use illicit drugs.
• Alcohol is the most abused drug of choice among adults in the workforce. It is estimated that up to 6.2 percent of adult full time workers are heavy drinkers.

The benefits of having a drug-free work place are countless.  The cost savings in medical, liability, causality, and workman’s compensation insurance are greatly reduced for companies when their employees are not under the influence of drugs and alcohol when on the job.  This is because employees are almost always more responsible, there is a lower rate of tardiness and absenteeism, and a lower percentage of drug-related accidents.

When the overall picture is taken into consideration, the benefits of a drug-free workplace affect not only those that once used drugs on the job, but co-workers, and the company as a whole.  Employees are more productive when they are drug-free and/or working in a drug-free environment, and more likely to work as a team.  When the cost of employee benefits are at a lower rate as a results of a no-drug policy, there is an increased chance for employees to move ahead as a direct result of the money being saved from companies not having to hire replacement workers, train new employees, suffer the losses of reduced productivity, theft, and increased insurance rates.

The use of illicit drugs among school aged young people is a common occurrence today. Statistics report that more than half of senior students have experimented with marijuana and up to 15% reportedly use marijuana on a regular basis.  Furthermore, almost 11 percent of school-aged children between the ages of 12 and 17 are using illicit drugs.

As a result, a decision in June 2002 by the U.S. Supreme Court was made expanding the authority of public schools to test their students randomly for drugs.

There has been substantial controversy regarding whether or not drug testing in the school sector is an infringement on the right to privacy of students, as well as what effects it could possibly have on the students who are not taking drugs.  However, advocates of drug-testing believe that drug testing in school is for a good reason: not only will it prove that those suspected of using drugs are indeed using, but it will also keep children from participating in drug use in the first place.  Furthermore, if students who are using are uncovered, the opportunity for early intervention and rehabilitation is greater, sometimes referred to giving a student a “second chance” by staying clean and continuing to live a drug-free academic life.

It is estimates that young adult between the ages of 18 and 20 make-up for largest portion of illicit drug users on a whole. It is quite possible though, that if these young adults receive intervention in the critical years before entering adulthood, then they will not contribute so highly to the overall drug using population. It is a common occurrence that drug and alcohol addiction among such a young population was a problem prior to that which is being accounted for in national records as young adults.

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