U.S. Workforce Drug Use at Highest Level in a Decade
Drug use by the U.S. workforce remains at its highest level in more than a decade; the positivity rate for drug tests in 2017 was 4.2 percent, the same as in 2016 and the highest since 2004, according to the 2018 Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index.
The analysis of 2017 data suggests shifting patterns of drug use, with cocaine and amphetamines positivity surging in some areas of the county and marijuana positivity rising sharply in states with newer recreational use statutes. Prescription opiate positivity rates declined dramatically on a national basis.