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If an employer


discontinues testing for marijuana, he or she will assume more costs, both hard and soft.


marijuana testing, you can be certain that more marijuana-abusing individuals will apply to work for you. And since you are no longer testing, some will inevitably get hired, and bring with them the costs that come with drug use. If an employer discontinues testing


for marijuana, he or she will assume more costs, both hard and soſt. Te federal government estimates the overall cost of addressing substance abuse in America is $600 billion annually.2


Te


annual estimated cost of drug abuse on businesses alone is $193 billion. Tat breaks down to $120 billion in lost productivity, $11 billion in healthcare costs, and $61 billion in criminal justice costs.3


Tis estimate comes from 2007,


the latest available estimate used by the federal government. Since then, public opinion has shiſted more in favor of legalizing marijuana, and teen and adult marijuana use has risen, especially in those states that have made it fully legal. It is safe to say that this is a conservative estimate if applied to the economy of 2017. Additionally, the White House has published statistics online that show that current drug users: • Are twice as likely as non-drug users to report working for three or more different employers in a one-year period (increased turnover).


• In the same period, are more likely to miss two or more workdays due to illness or injury (lost productivity).


• Are twice as likely than non-drug users to skip one or more days of work in a month (lost productivity). That much turnover, sick leave,


and absenteeism can cause a logistics nightmare for any company and make revenue and profits that much harder to guarantee. When an employer stops testing for marijuana, more marijuana users will join the company. As this happens, that company’s share of the


46 datia focus


nation’s lost productivity, healthcare costs, and criminal justice costs will increase.


Conclusion In a recent survey of employers, only 1 in 100 stated that they were planning on removing marijuana from their drug testing program. Te negative effects of allowing employees to come into work under the influence of an unregulated substance have not gone away. No mater what marijuana proponents may say, the facts are clear— that marijuana poses risks to safety and productivity in the workplace, and the cost to employers will be great. ❚


References 1


Calmes, J. (May 17, 2016). The New York Times. Hiring Hurdle: Finding Workers Who Can Pass a Drug Test. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/ business/hiring-hurdle-finding-workers-who-can-pass-a- drug-test.html?_r=0


2


SAMHSA (July 26, 2016). Prevention of substance abuse and mental illness. Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/prevention


3


The White House (2016). How Illicit Drug Use Affects Business and the Economy. Retrieved from https://www. whitehouse.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/how-illicit-drug- use-affects-business-and-the-economy


Andrew Current, Compliance Director at the Current Consulting Group, LLC (CCG), oversees research of state and federal laws, manages


CurrentCompliance.org, an on-line state laws database, and serves as the managing editor of the e-newsletter State Drug Testing Laws Monthly, as well as other publications. He has written for many industry publications, such as Oral Fluid Quarterly, The Leaflet: Marijuana Quarterly, DATIA Focus, and the IFDAT Newsletter. CCG speaks at over 60 events annually including client customized webinars, iHeart Radio, OH&S, DATIA, SAPAA, NAPBS and SHRM and is published in leading industry magazines, blogs and publications.


winter 2018


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