ROLL WITH IT

Positive Drug Tests in the Workplace Have Surged, Data Shows

The number of U.S. workers testing positive for drugs on the job has reached a two-decade high (pun intended).

More people are going to work with a buzz in the U.S. now than in the last two decades, according to new data that says worker shortages and loosening restrictions have driven the increase. Nearly 4 percent of more than 6 million workers who were randomly urine tested in 2020 for marijuana use tested positive, a 50 percent increase over 2017. The data, from Quest Diagnostics' annual drug-testing index, may reflect the fact that 10 more states have legalized marijuana since then, when recreational use was legal in eight states. Many companies have stopped random testing for marijuana and some states where pot is legal are not allowed to use test results in hiring decisions.