Karen Belanger

Record Level of Positive U.S. Workforce Drug Tests

Karen Belanger - 7 April 2022

Quest Diagnostics just released its 2022 Drug Testing Index (DTI) report of the analyzed results of more than 11 million workforce drug tests in 2021.  The DTI provides context and trends of its drug testing data collection since 1988.   

The report disclosed that overall drug test positivity increased across 16 out of 17 industry categories excluding mining.

Not unexpectedly, all 17 industry categories saw an increase in positivity for marijuana with 15 industries showing a double-digit surge. The industry sector with the greatest rate of marijuana positivity of 7.5% was Accommodations and Food Service. 

Six industry groups have 5-year positivity increases of double or more for marijuana tests.  Those categories are: Accommodations and Food Services; Finance and Insurance; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Retail Trade; Transportation and Warehousing; and Utilities.

The federally mandated, safety-sensitive workforce such as truck drivers, and other transportation operators, saw an increase in positive drug tests for cocaine and marijuana.

 

Download the report