Positive Drug Tests Among U.S. Workers Reach Highest Level in 16 Years

August 26, 2020

(Wall Street Journal) – The percentage of working Americans testing positive for drugs climbed last year, particularly for marijuana, according to a new report, indicating employee drug use was on the rise just as the coronavirus pandemic created new stresses. Overall, the proportion of U.S. workers who tested positive for drugs in urine in 2019 rose to 4.5%, the highest level in 16 years, according to Quest Diagnostics Inc., DGX -0.38% one of the largest drug-testing laboratories in the U.S., which analyzed approximately nine million tests last year on behalf of employers.