Facts and Statistics

  • 33% of employees know about illegal drug sales in their workplace (ONDCP)
  • 50%+ of workplace accidents are related to substance abuse (NCCI)
  • 50%+ (1.3 Million visits) of all ER visits are related to drug misuse/drug abuse (DAWN/SAMSHA)
  • Absenteeism is 10x (40 days vs. 4 days) higher for drug abusers (DHHS/SAMHSA)
  • 70% of all arrests involve drugs in some manner (DAWN)
  • 47% of inventory shrinkage is due to employee theft, with up to 80% related to drug abuse (NRF/Kroeger Study)
  • 33% of all business failure are caused by employee theft (United States Department of Commerce)
  • 66% of negligent hiring trial cases result in jury awards averaging $600,000, with civil suits averaging $3M on behalf of the victim (Workplace Violence Research Institute)
  • 90% of employees that test positive plead “not guilty” citing “lab messed up”, or the “MRO is against them”, etc. (Federal Transit Administration National Conference, 2006)
  • Prescription painkillers have surpassed marijuana in popularity and usage in many parts of the country, and are not detected in typical urinalysis testing, such as SAMHSA or “NIDA-5” type tests. The next stage from illegal prescription painkiller use is typically heroin addiction. (DAWN / Drug Abuse Warning Network)
  • The cost of drug abuse to U.S. employers exceeds $140B annually, with approximately 10% of full time workers aged 18-49 self-reporting the monthly use of illicit drugs (U.S. Department of Health and Human Service National Household Survey on Drug Abuse).
  • 77% of the approximately 20 million adults classified with dependence or abuse are employed, representing 10% of all U.S. workers (United Stated Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA, National Survey on Drug Use and Health , 2003)
  • Nearly 25% of employed Americans between the ages of 18-35 have illegally used drugs in the past year (White House/ONDCP)