9 to five? More like 9 to 4:20.
Marijuana use amongst US employees reached “historic” highs in 2022, in keeping with study findings released Thursday by Quest Diagnostics.
The lab company analyzed over 6 million general workforce urine tests in 2022, determining 4.3% were positive for cannabis, up from 3.9% in 2021.
That represents the very best variety of marijuana-positive test results ever recorded by Quest, which began analyzing workplace drug-testing data in 1988.
Quest also found that 7.3% of employees who had suffered a workplace injury tested positive for marijuana in 2022, up from 6.7% in 2021 — marking the very best positivity rate in 25 years.
Marijuana use amongst US employees reached “historic” highs in 2022, in keeping with study findings released Thursday by Quest Diagnostics.Getty Images/iStockphoto
“This historic rise seems to correspond with sharp increases in positivity for marijuana in each pre-employment and post-accident drug tests, suggesting that changing societal attitudes about marijuana could also be impacting workplace behaviors,” Keith Ward, general manager and vice chairman for employer solutions at Quest, said in an announcement.
In accordance with Quest, the industries that saw the best increase of their positivity rates over the past five years are: hospitality and food services (up 42.9%); retail (42.6%); and finance/insurance (38.5%).
And while marijuana was the drug most frequently discovered within the drug tests, tests also got here back positive for amphetamines — rising from 1.3% in 2021 to 1.5% last 12 months.
“The rise in amphetamines positivity can be notable, given the addictive potential and health risks related to this class of medication,” Ward said, declaring that the corporate’s amphetamines data doesn’t differentiate between prescribed medications and illicit drug use.
Quest began analyzing annual workplace drug testing data in 1988. Quest Diagnostics
Dr. Suhash Harwani, senior director of science for employer solutions at Quest, noted the correlation between the positivity rates and states which have legalized recreational and medical marijuana.
Twenty-two states, two territories and the District of Columbia have enacted measures to control cannabis for adult non-medical use, while 38 states, three territories and DC allow the medical use of cannabis products, in keeping with the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“In the final U.S. workforce, states which have legalized recreational and medical marijuana use exhibit higher positivity rates than the national average. States which have not legalized marijuana appear to have positivity rates below the national averages,” Harwani said in an announcement.
