4.2% Of Workers Failed Employment Drug Tests In 2016, Highest Rate Since 2004

During 2016, about 4.2% of workers subject to employment drug testing conducted by Quest Diagnostics tested positive for illicit drug use. In 2015, about 4% of tests were positive. The 2016 rate is the highest since 2004, when the rate was 4.5%. In 2016, the use of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine rose among United States workforce across multiple specimen types and testing populations.

Positive urine tests for marijuana in Colorado and Washington, the first states in which recreational marijuana use was legalized, increased by about 10% in 2016 over the 2015 rates. The national rate in the general . . .