Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Job applicants are testing positive for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamine and heroin at the highest rate in 12 years, according to a new report from Quest Diagnostics, a clinical lab that follows national employment trends. An analysis of about 10 million workplace drug screens from across the country in 2016 found positive results from urine samples increased from 4 percent in 2015 to 4.2 percent in 2016.
The most significant increase was in positive tests for marijuana, said Barry Sample, the scientist who wrote the report. Positive tests for the drug reached 2 percent last year, compared with 1.6 percent in 2012.
Although state laws have relaxed over the past four years, employers haven't eased up on testing for pot, even where it's legal.
California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada moved last year to legalize recreational marijuana, joining Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washingtona. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia, meanwhile, permit medical marijuana.
Under federal law, however, weed remains illegal – and employers in the United States can refuse to hire anyone who uses it, even if they have a prescription, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.
In the oral fluid testing category, which picks up on recent drug use, and is typically used to test workers on the job, positive drug tests for marijuana surged about 75 percent in the United States over the past four years – from 5.1 percent in 2013 to 8.9 percent in 2016, according to Quest. The data show smaller increases in urine and hair testing (a 4.2 percent increase over the past year).
Colorado and Washington, which became the first two states to legalize weed in 2012, showed the largest growth in positive tests. Urine screens that detected pot rose 11 percent in Colorado and 9 percent in Washington.
The culture change in pro-marijuana states hasn't broadly altered the way employers screen applicants, Sample said. "Ninety-nine percent of drug panels we perform in Colorado and Washington still test for marijuana."
Meanwhile, Colorado's legal marijuana business is booming. By 2016, Colorado had 440 marijuana retail stores and 531 medical dispensaries, one report showed last year – double the number of McDonald's and Starbucks stores in the state.
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Full Article: Job prospects up in smoke - Business - GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Author: Danielle Paquette
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Photo Credit: Justin Sullivan
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The most significant increase was in positive tests for marijuana, said Barry Sample, the scientist who wrote the report. Positive tests for the drug reached 2 percent last year, compared with 1.6 percent in 2012.
Although state laws have relaxed over the past four years, employers haven't eased up on testing for pot, even where it's legal.
California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada moved last year to legalize recreational marijuana, joining Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washingtona. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia, meanwhile, permit medical marijuana.
Under federal law, however, weed remains illegal – and employers in the United States can refuse to hire anyone who uses it, even if they have a prescription, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.
In the oral fluid testing category, which picks up on recent drug use, and is typically used to test workers on the job, positive drug tests for marijuana surged about 75 percent in the United States over the past four years – from 5.1 percent in 2013 to 8.9 percent in 2016, according to Quest. The data show smaller increases in urine and hair testing (a 4.2 percent increase over the past year).
Colorado and Washington, which became the first two states to legalize weed in 2012, showed the largest growth in positive tests. Urine screens that detected pot rose 11 percent in Colorado and 9 percent in Washington.
The culture change in pro-marijuana states hasn't broadly altered the way employers screen applicants, Sample said. "Ninety-nine percent of drug panels we perform in Colorado and Washington still test for marijuana."
Meanwhile, Colorado's legal marijuana business is booming. By 2016, Colorado had 440 marijuana retail stores and 531 medical dispensaries, one report showed last year – double the number of McDonald's and Starbucks stores in the state.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Job prospects up in smoke - Business - GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Author: Danielle Paquette
Contact: Contact Us - Erie Times-News/GoErie.com Customer Service
Photo Credit: Justin Sullivan
Website: GoErie.com: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Erie, PA
