Legal marijuana seems to have performed a task within the variety of staff testing constructive after on-the-job accidents hitting a 25-year excessive, based on a brand new evaluation.

Drug-testing laboratory Quest Diagnostics reported Thursday that 7.3% of workers failed a urine take a look at for marijuana following an accident final yr, a rise of 9% in comparison with 6.7% of staff in 2021. (Besides pre-employment drug screening, employers routinely conduct post-accident testing to guage whether or not drug use performed a task in on-the-job accidents.)

The new peak caps a pattern of regular annual will increase in post-accident constructive take a look at outcomes for marijuana from 2012 to 2022 — a interval coinciding with states legalizing leisure hashish that started with Colorado and Washington in 2012, the New Jersey firm famous.

Twenty different states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for leisure use since 2012, whereas 38 states plus the District have licensed medical use. Both makes use of stay unlawful beneath federal regulation.

The different states which have legalized leisure marijuana: California, Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, Maine, Montana, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Michigan, Arizona, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Missouri and Virginia. 

“Changing societal attitudes about marijuana may be impacting workplace behaviors and putting colleagues at risk,” mentioned Keith Ward, a normal supervisor and vice chairman at Quest.The Washington Times reached out for remark to authorities officers in D.C. and several other states the place leisure marijuana is authorized.

The Quest report is just correlative and doesn't show that pot prompted the office accidents, mentioned Demitri Downing, founding father of the Marijuana Industry Trade Association, or MITA.

“Just because people are testing positive doesn’t mean it’s causing workplace accidents,” Mr. Downing advised The Times. “Of course more people are going to test positive in a world where marijuana use is now accepted.”

Quest primarily based its drug testing index report on greater than 10.6 million de-identified urine, hair and oral-fluid drug take a look at outcomes reported between January and December 2022.

According to the corporate, marijuana led the way in which as 4.6% of the mixed nationwide workforce failed a pre-employment or post-accident take a look at for any drug final yr, the very best degree in twenty years. The 2021 and 2022 positivity charges have been the very best since 2001 and elevated greater than 30% from an all-time low in 2010-2012.

“State legalization of the drug creates new challenges for employers,” mentioned Katie Mueller, a hashish security professional on the National Safety Council. “The Quest data provide compelling evidence that increased use of cannabis products by employees can contribute to greater risk for injuries in the workplace.”

Amphetamines additionally performed a task within the improve, the evaluation discovered.

Among staff who failed urine checks in all circumstances, and never merely after accidents, positivity for marijuana elevated by 10.3% from 3.9% in 2021 to 4.3% in 2022. Positivity for amphetamines — stimulants that are available each prescription and illicit varieties — elevated by 15.4% from 1.3% to 1.5% over the identical interval. 

Drug positivity charges climbed in most trade sectors from 2018 to final yr, Quest famous. Accommodation and meals service staff led the way in which with a 42.9% improve, adopted by a 42.6% surge amongst retail staff and a 38.5% spike amongst finance and insurance coverage workers.

Failed drug checks even elevated from 2021 to final yr amongst federally mandated staff corresponding to airline pilots whose conduct may hurt shoppers in addition to coworkers, Quest reported.

“Safety-sensitive jobs, like pilots and some federal positions, carry responsibilities that have higher potential risk of harm to public safety than most private-sector jobs,” mentioned Suhash Harwani, Quest’s senior director of science. “Employers need help identifying individuals who are capable, competent and fully focused to perform their duties – and it is discouraging to see such a steep increase in drug positivity for workers in safety-sensitive roles.”

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com