Things Change

(Summer 2015) Things change. Technology. Hair Styles. Fashion. The nation’s relationship with illicit drugs.

• The drug methaqualone, “Quaaludes” or “ludes,” were very popular at one time. Today that prescription medication is not even manufactured.
• Years ago the THC content in marijuana (the active ingredient responsible for the high) was less than 5%. Now we see THC content in the high teens, and there’s a new form of marijuana, called “wax,” with THC content as high as 80-90%.
• Almost half of the states across the U.S. have legalized marijuana as medicine.
• Heroin used to be considered a drug only used by the hardcore street addict, and the only mode of use was injection. Today, people can snort it, and use is very common – even among high school students.

Today, there are three illicit drug trends that pose particular challenges to the workplace. If businesses don’t adjust their drug-free workplace (DFWP) policies, programs and practices to accommodate these changes, they are opening themselves up to problems — from decreased safety and productivity to exposure to liability.

1. 1. 1. The rate of positive workplace drug tests is increasing.
         CHANGE. Over the past three years, we have heard anecdotal information about employers having a difficult time finding employees who can pass pre-employment tests. Initially, there was limited, objective data to support these claims. However, a report released last year by drug testing giant Quest Diagnostics showed the rate of American workers testing positive for illicit drugs increased 4.3% from 2012 to 2013 — the first increase seen in more than a decade. And unlike 10 years ago when the uptick in positive tests went back down the following year, Quest’s newly released 2014 report (Drug Testing Index, “DTI”) showed the rate increased for a second consecutive year – this time by an additional 9.3%. Are the drugs being blamed for the increase? Marijuana, amphetamines (including methamphetamine) and cocaine.

         CHALLENGE. This increase in workplace-related drug use is shrinking our society’s hiring pool – at the same time, due to an improving economy, businesses are needing more workers. One way employers seem to be responding to this workforce shortage is by dropping their hiring standards. They are discontinuing testing (at least for marijuana) or, shortsightedly, telling job seekers who test positive to leave for a few weeks, come back and try again – without asking for any proof that the applicant has sought professional help. Other employers may be sticking to their guns and refusing to hire someone who tests positive, but then pass the job seeker along to a neighboring business. Sending this substance abuser down the street might prevent that company from inheriting alcohol/drug programs, but the community’s workforce readiness problem persists.

    

   1. 2. Most employers are not protected – from a policy or testing perspective — against the alarming rate of prescription (Rx) drug abuse.
         CHANGE. As a nation, we take a lot of Rx medications. In 2011, doctors wrote 4.02 billion prescriptions for drugs in America, and the abuse epidemic directly impacts employers:
         • The abuse of painkillers, alone, costs employees $42 billion in lost productivity per year.
         • The majority of employers in the U.S. spend 16% or more of their total annual health care budgets on Rx medications.
         • Opioids to treat chronic pain are received by 55 – 86% of all workers’ compensation claimants.
         • Pharmacy-only claims accounted for about 2% of workers’ compensation claims in 1990, grew 400% by 2001 and almost another 90% by 2010.

         CHALLENGE. Employees coming to work under the influence of Rx medications that alter their mood and/or behavior (e.g., painkillers, amphetamines) pose both safety and productivity risks for employers, even if the drugs are taken legally and appropriately. It is a challenge for employers. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers need to be careful about what they ask or do about an employee’s legitimate use of medications. At the same time, to keep the workplace safe and productive, an employer may want to know everything an employee is taking. The employer’s objective must be balanced against the employee’s right to privacy regarding personal medical issues.

         If an employee is abusing Rx meds, detection is a challenge. If someone smoked a joint or snorted cocaine during a business meeting, that behavior would cause alarm. However, seeing someone take an Rx medication out of a purse or desk drawer and consume it on the job might not catch anyone’s attention. Moreover, even if they were drug tested, since a majority of employers are not testing for the most widely abused Rx medications like OxyContin®, Vicodin® or Opana®, an employee’s use of these drugs of abuse could go undetected.

    

   1. 3. Marijuana Legalization is sweeping the country.
         CHANGE.Over half of all states in the U.S. have legalized marijuana as medicine and/or for personal use. Opinions on both sides of the debate are extreme and emotional, with attempts to distill the issue into one-liners suitable for a t-shirt or bumper sticker. For the workplace, however, the issues are complex and often unrecognized. For business, the legalization issue goes way beyond, “Do you approve of weed or not?”Marijuana has always been the drug most often identified in workplace drug tests. However from 2012 – 2013, the rate of positive marijuana results increased by 5%. In Colorado and Washington, where use is legal, the increase was nearly quadruple the national increase (20% and 23% respectively) Then from 2014 – 2015, the overall rate of marijuana positives increased a whopping 14.3% (including states with and without legalization) with more increases in Colorado (14%) and Washington (16%). It appears that legalization is directly influencing an increase of use impacting the workplace.

         CHALLENGES. The bottom line for employers? The legalization of marijuana for medicine or personal use has significant implications for business, particularly in the areas of workforce readiness, workplace operations and legal considerations. An employee under the influence of marijuana causes significant problems on the job including decreased productivity and increased accidents. And any grey areas surrounding legalization (e.g., the conflict between federal and state law, proving impairment, discrimination and accommodation), unfortunately, will be worked out in the court of law – at the expense of employers.

    

Despite these and other trends, employers can take action to adjust for and circumvent the ever-changing world of alcohol and other drug abuse:

1. Stay current on the business impact of new drug trends. For example, carefully read the actual language of any proposals to legalize marijuana in context of your business operations.
2. Maintain a fluid and progressive DFWP program by reviewing and updating your policy to address changes in state and federal law; enhancing your testing specifications to match current drug abuse trends; aggressively educating employees and training supervisors about the issues, your expectations of them on the job and what they can do in their families to prevent substance abuse; and giving information about helping resources to employees struggling with abuse (even those you are forced to terminate).
3. Invest in the health and viability of your business community by connecting with other businesses around the issue and putting systems in place to refer applicants who test positive to community resources. (Check out the “We Care at Work” program offered to businesses in Allen, Auglaize and Hardin counties.)

Things change, especially in the world of alcohol and other drug abuse. However, businesses should and can make adjustments to stay with the times.