Occupational Health & Safety Recommends a Drug Free Workplace

A Cornell University study (2000) found
that employers experienced a 51% drop
in injury rates once drug-use was
identified and reduced.

More than 10 years ago in Canada, substance abuse cost the Canadian economy more than $18.4 billion. $1.4 billion of that was directly related to the use of illegal narcotics (Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse web site, 1992 statistics).

Annual workplace productivity losses in Canada due to illicit drug-use were estimated at $823.1 million (Canadian Profile 1999, Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse web site).

Today, a typical workplace of 1,000 employees:

• Has a rate of alcoholism and excessive drinking between10% and 20%.
• Has a rate of illicit drug-use anywhere from 2% to 7%.
• Sees 15-25% of employees suffering from forms of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or a combination (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health web site).

Whether it is a warehouse, construction site, retail store location, employee locker room, or a loading dock, illegal drug-use and trafficking is prevalent in the workforce. As such, the financial effects are staggering. Statistics released by the American Council for Drug Education report that employees who abuse drugs are 33% less productive and are responsible for 40% of all industrial fatalities as compared to those who don’t. In addition, those same employees generate health care costs that are 3 times as high as their non drug-using co-workers.

According to a National Institute on Drug Abuse report, drug-abusing employees often inflict losses on their companies through both missed time and frequent accidents. The report states that they are more than twice as likely to leave work early or miss complete shifts, are 2 ½ times more likely to be absent for 8 days or more and are 3 times more likely to be late for work. Also cited was the fact that drug-using employees are more than 3 ½ times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident and 5 times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim.

Today a growing number of employers are striving for a Drug Free workplace, for increased safety, increased productivity and improved worker morale. In many cases this is being thrust upon employers by Occupational Health & Safety regulations or insurance carriers. Until now, there was no way to legally measure or verify if a workplace was truly Drug Free.

SurfaceDetect offers employers a non-invasive assessment capability that tests an entire workplace for the presence of illegal narcotics, without identifying any individuals. This avoids any violation of Human Rights codes in Canada, and protects the privacy of all employees. We assist employers with developing a proper Drug Policy and designing specific assessment programs for measuring any resurgence of narcotics in the workplace.