Keeping an Eye on the Workforce of the Future

Most employees who fail drug tests didn’t start abusing drugs as adults. Neither did those adults who are in treatment for chemical dependency.

Several studies have illustrated the connection between early alcohol use and the increased prevalence of alcohol problems later in life. But the newly released Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Report out of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) suggests this phenomenon exists with other drugs as well. The report found that 74% of adults participating in a substance abuse treatment program had initiated alcohol or other drug use before the age of 17. Those who began at a very young age, 11 years old or younger, were more likely to have multiple substance dependencies when compared to those who waited until they were 25 years and older.

In a newsletter article announcing the release of the TEDS report, SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde said, “Early to late adolescence is considered a critical risk period for the beginning of alcohol and drug use.” The brain is still developing into adulthood, which can influence the tendency to engage in high-risk behavior – including drug use. At the same time, alcohol and other drug use can seriously affect brain development, particularly in the realms of learning, memory, critical thinking, planning, impulse control and regulating emotion.

The impact of early initiation of drug use becomes even more poignant when looking specifically at marijuana – especially in light of the swell of legalization initiatives sweeping the county.

Of the people who used illicit drugs for the first time in 2013, 54.1% were under the age of 18 – and the overwhelming majority (70%) started with weed. And the newly released National Survey on Drug Use and Health data indicated that among those adults who first tried marijuana at the age of 14 or younger, 13.2% were classified with illicit drug dependence or abuse; this percentage was 6 times higher than that for adults who first used marijuana at the age of 18 or older.

Still another study, even after controlling for 53 other factors (e.g., ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender), reported that youths who use cannabis daily before turning 17

• are more than 60% less likely to graduate from high school compared to those who never used the drug;
• are seven times more likely to attempt suicide;
• have an 18 times greater chance of becoming  dependent on cannabis; and
• are eight times as likely to use other drugs later in life.

Disturbingly, the respected Monitoring the Future (MTF) study reports that while the overall rates of illicit drug use dropped from 2012 to 2013 among youths aged 12 to 17, marijuana use increased in that same time period. The same can be said about the rate of use with those in college. “This is the highest rate of daily use observed among college students since 1981—a third of a century ago,” said Lloyd Johnston, the principal investigator of the MTF study.

It’s notable that this increase seems to be more predominant in those states where marijuana use is legal. According to a report released in August by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, 12-17-year-olds in Colorado (where marijuana is legal for both medical and recreational use) smoke marijuana at a rate 39% higher than the national average. That earns Colorado the number four spot in the nation for marijuana use among youth – up from 14^th place in 2006.

The state has also seen a 26% increase in the number of kids using marijuana in the three years after medical marijuana was commercialized – compared to the three years prior to commercialization. The top nine states having the highest rate of current marijuana use in high school were all medical-marijuana states. The bottom 10 were all non-medical marijuana states.

Stepping back and putting the pieces of this research together creates a rather bleak picture for parents, employers and communities: Using drugs at a young age increases the likelihood that they’ll have problems as adults, and the use of marijuana among youth is increasing – particularly in those states where laws have been passed to legalize it.

Yet, just because the picture is bleak, it doesn’t mean nothing can be done to work on improving the situation. There are specific preventative measures that taxpayers and voters, employers and parents can take to decrease the likelihood that young people will experience and cause problems associated with alcohol and other drug use:

Taxpayers and voters – Research coming out of those states that have legalized marijuana reminds us that the issue of legalization is layered and complex. Adults asked to comment and vote on whether marijuana should be legal need to consider the health, safety, fiscal and business impact of legalization, in addition to how the laws can influence a kid’s decision to use. Marijuana legalization has an impact way beyond the adults who wish to use the drug as medicine or to get high.

Employers – In the short run, the increased prevalence of marijuana use by young adults and the research describing the harm it causes is significant for those who frequently hire kids – e.g., restaurants, fast food establishments and retail stores. And the issue provides a forecast of the workforce of the future. Implementing a comprehensive drug-free workplace program is a tangible and effective way to both prevent those problems from entering the workplace and respond to one if somehow it does.

Parents – Research-based prevention strategies can happen at home, at the workplace and in communities. At home, what previously was assumed is now supported by research — parents are a very powerful force in preventing the early onset of drug use. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Inc. (NCADDI) reports that kids who have conversations with their parents and learn a lot about the dangers of alcohol and drug use are 50% less likely to use alcohol and drugs than those who don’t have such conversations. In response to this body of research, Ohio Governor John R. Kasich and First Lady Karen W. Kasich have spearheaded an online initiative, Start Talking, to give parents tools to initiate those impactful conversations.

Drug and alcohol use among minors is risky business. Treating it as an inevitable rite of passage is not only a disservice to young people, it also short changes our workplaces and the community at large.

It’s serious business. And it’s worth keeping an eye on.