Did you know that one in three job applicants in the US is tested to see if they use drugs, even though fewer than 10 per cent of workers report having ever taken stronger drugs than nicotine or caffeine at work? These snippets appear in a review of occupational drug use, Under the Influence? (National Academy, Washington DC, ISBN 0 309 04885 0). It concludes that, in spite of the push to purge federal workplaces of drugs, there is no reliable evidence that drug screening by employers is cost-effective. It may even discourage able applicants from applying for jobs.
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