Introduction

Background

The abuse of drugs and alcohol is widespread in our society and affects us all in many ways. It contributes to crime and to the costs of our already overburdened health care system and financially strapped social welfare system.

A recent Gallup poll indicates that public concern about the drug abuse problem remains high. According to the poll, drug abuse rates second only to violent crime as the issue Americans consider the most serious facing the nation. Ninety-four percent of the respondents to the poll considered the problem a “crisis” or “serious.” When explicitly asked about several issues, respondents expressed greater concern about the drug problem than about health care, the welfare system, the federal budget deficit, public education, societal moral values, the economy and unemployment.

Although federal, state, and local efforts have begun to show encouraging results, the problem of drug and alcohol abuse remains a serious issue. We need to address the drug abuse issue in all segments of our communities, especially the workplace. The workplace is probably the only consistent arena where we have our adult population as a captive audience and can influence their attitudes about drugs and alcohol, provide information and resources to help them and their family members, and intervene on behalf of those in need of help.

We know that adult drug users are more likely to be employed than unemployed. According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2001 National Household Survey released in September 2002, almost 76.4 percent of all adult illicit drug users were employed. Some other statistical highlights from the survey show that in an average month:

• 22 million Americans engaged in binge drinking
• 15.9 million Americans were current users of illicit drugs;
• 12 million Americans were current users of marijuana;
• 1.7 million Americans were current users of cocaine;
• 12.9 million Americans had five or more drinks per occasion, five or more times a month.

According to the Department of Labor, the annual cost to American employers of on-the-job substance abuse is estimated to be one hundred billion dollars ($100,000,000,000). This figure includes lost productivity, theft, accidents, and additional health-care costs. Studies reported by the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace show:

• Of all workplace drug users who test positive, 52 percent are daily users;
  
• Employees who test postive for drugs were 60 percent more likely to be responsible for plant accidents, use a third more sick leave, and have many more unexcused absences;
  
• One national automobile manufacturer reports that drug-using employees averaged 40 days of sick leave each year, compared with 4.5 days for non-users;
  
• The state of Wisconsin estimates that expenses and losses related to substance abuse average 25 percent of the salary for each worker affected.

A study conducted from by the U.S. Postal Service provided conclusive evidence that drug using employees perform poorly compared to non-using employees. During the study period, the Postal Service hired job applicants regardless of whether they passed or failed their drug tests. The two groups of employees (those who failed the drug tests and those who passed) were then closely monitored. The results indicated that employees who tested positive for marijuana had 55 percent more industrial accidents than the group of non-using employees. They also had 85 percent more injuries, a 55 percent greater discipline rate, and a 78 percent increase in absenteeism. For the cocaine-positive group, absenteeism was l45 percent higher and there were 85 percent more injuries.

Drug and alcohol abuse is a bottom-line issue for employers, and no workplace is immune to it. Employers have a vested interest in eliminating the problem. Recognizing the importance of protecting their bottom lines against drug and alcohol abuse, employers have begun implementing drug-and-alcohol-free workplace programs. The impetus for these programs has grown tremendously in the past few years. They have spread from the federal government and large corporations to small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, the expansion of private-sector programs has been driven by several mandates: Department of Transportation and Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations for those industries; Department of Defense regulations for their contractors; the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, requiring many federal grantees and contractors to provide drug-free workplaces; and several State Workers’ Compensation insurance incentives.

Details

These guidelines intend to prevent substance abuse among the workforce and within the workplace, and where a problem may exist--to encourage those who abuse drugs and/or alcohol to seek help in overcoming their problem. Toward this end, these guidelines provide a full continuum of substance abuse education, prevention, intervention and treatment resources and include:
• a policy statement;
• an employee orientation and drug-awareness education program and supervisor training;
• an employee assistance program, including intervention and treatment referral components;
• information about drug testing;
• information about legal issues;
• information about compliance with federal and state mandates; and
• resources to assist employers in maintaining a drug-and-alcohol-free workplace.

For the purposes of these guidelines, drug abuse is defined as "any activity involving illegal drugs."