Last updated : December 23, 2024
A sad fact of being in business today is the possibility that your employees may be abusing drugs or alcohol. Employees with drug problems can cause employers a lot of grief, ranging from lower productivity and higher healthcare claims to workman’s comp issues and other kinds of legal hassles. Fortunately, through drug testing employers can help to avoid hiring people with drug and alcohol problems and identify current employees who develop substance abuse problems. But what drugs should be included in a drug test and why?
What Drugs to Test For
There is no one right answer to the question of what drugs to include in a drug test. Much may depend upon the type of business you are in and your own attitudes as an employer about what kinds of drug use pose the most risk to your business. Yet, despite some variance in what is included in a drug test, here are the five drugs most often tested for:
Alcohol
Because alcohol use is so prevalent in our society, people sometimes don’t think of it as a dangerous drug. However, the truth is that alcohol is the one drug most likely to be abused by an employee, and is the most common drug problem that occurs in the workplace.
Marijuana
Although attitudes about the recreational use of marijuana is changing rapidly towards greater acceptance, that does not mean that most employers would tolerate the use of marijuana on the job. Still, use of marijuana is no longer an automatic cause for employment rejection or firing with some employers.
Amphetamines
The use of stimulants, commonly known as speed, may actually have a temporary, short term positive effect on an employee’s productivity. In the long term, speed can have a very destructive effect on users in ways which will almost certainly have a major negative impact on the employee’s usefulness and productivity.
Cocaine
This drug is milder in its stimulative effects than amphetamines, but it is highly psychologically addictive, especially when smoked in the form commonly known as crack. It is also expensive, which can lead to all sorts of financial difficulties for users, which may encourage dishonesty and theft.
Opiates
Common drugs in this category are heroin, codeine, morphine and other powerful narcotics that will almost certainly debilitate any employee who uses them. Recovery from opiate addiction is extremely difficult and those who use them are seldom able to function well enough to hold a job.
Other Drugs
There are other drugs, less commonly abused, but which none the less can become a serious problem if the use of them is not detected. Therefore, depending upon the type of business, some employers include other types of drugs in their testing. These drugs include PCP (angel dust), bariturates (downers) Benzodiazepines (tranquilizers), MDMA (ecstacy) and hallucinogens such as LSD.
Unfortunately, drug testing will not eliminate the problem of drug abuse on the job. However, the problem can usually be controlled by a sensible drug testing program.
