Page 70 - OHS, June 2024

EMPLOYEE HEALTH SCREENING
What You Need to Know About the Future of Workplace Testing
How evolving cannabis laws are impacting workplace safety protocols and why
maintaining and updating rigorous drug testing remains essential for employers
across various industries.
BY KATHERINE MILLER
It should come as no surprise that employers are concerned about workplace safety, often turning to drug and alcohol testing to help assuage those fears. A recent survey of U.S. employers found that 44 percent reported concerns about workplace safety
due to cannabis legalization, and 86 percent of employers reported a belief that drug testing increased the safety of the workplaces. With the rising popularity of cannabis and other drugs, some employers question if it is worth continuing to drug test, particularly for can- nabis. While workplace drug and alcohol testing offer many benefits, perhaps the most pertinent is helping to maintain a safe workplace.
Of major concern for many employers is cannabis. Why? First, not only is cannabis rising in popularity, it is also rising in potency. From 1995 to 2021, THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, rose in seized samples from 3.96 percent to 15.34 percent. Second, 15 per- cent of Americans 12 and older report using cannabis in the past month. Third, workplace cannabis-positive tests are on the rise. 2022 saw a 7.3 percent cannabis positivity rate for post-accident urine tests, following a steady increase over the prior 10 years.
Cannabis in the Workplace: Statistics
A recent study found that approximately 60 percent of the 46 million Americans struggling with a substance-use disorder have a job. In the same year, 4.3 percent of all non-mandated urine tests perform by one large national lab were positive for cannabis. As of January 2024, 24 states and D.C. permit recreational cannabis use and 38 states and D.C. permit medical cannabis use, though not all have programs that are currently up and running. Currently, cannabis is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the United States.
Increasingly, states are limiting employer’s rights to test for can- nabis under certain circumstances, making some employers ques- tion the need for continued cannabis testing. With cannabis use becoming more popular, it is more imperative than ever that em- ployers are aware of the signs and symptoms of cannabis use and continue testing for its presence in the workplace, when permissible.
Why Drug Test?
Drug testing provides pertinent information that is accessible only
Diagrams courtesy of The Current Consulting Group, LLC
as a result of testing. The removal of cannabis from a testing panel removes access to information that impacts the safety of the work- place as a whole. Continued drug testing is a single data point of assessment that provides employers with information such as:
■ Does the employee use drugs?
■ Was the employee able to give up drugs for long enough to obtain a job?
■ Is an employee more prone to risky decisions in the work- place?
■ Did the employee do enough research ahead of time to know that your company tests for drugs, including cannabis?
■ Does the employee have a habit that they can’t stop, no mat- ter the consequences?
Continued testing for cannabis provides important informa- tion about employees and/or applicants that could impact how a workplace functions. Knowing that an employee is substance de- pendent could impact safety, time management, and what func- tions employees are allowed to perform in order to cut down on employer liability.
The key to continued cannabis testing, even in states that re- strict it, is looking only at recent use. Gone are the days of trying to see if cannabis has been used in the past week plus. Now, when trying to balance workplace safety with tricky state laws, employers should look at if employer has recently used cannabis and could reasonably still be impaired from said use when at the worksite or during working hours. Choosing a test specimen that detects recent use and has a short window of detection is key in this new era of workplace safety.
Employer Impacts of Drugs in the Workplace
Employers that are contemplating the removal of cannabis or other drugs from their test panel should be aware of the potential impacts on their workplace. Generally, the impact of drug use is talked about in terms of three major areas: increased premature deaths and fatal accidents, increased injuries and higher accident rates, extra sick leave and/or greater absenteeism, and loss of pro- duction. However, additional problem areas because of drug use
68 Occupational Health & Safety | JUNE 2024
www.ohsonline.com