by Harvey Martens

Created on: July 31, 2009

The Trouble with Drug Testing

Drug testing is supposed to protect us from hazards caused by impaired workers. But they do not. Impairment evaluation is a viable alternative to drug testing.

Drugs and Workplace Performance

Ask a musician from the 1970 about drugs and work performance and what answer will you get? "Drugs make me more creative" one might say. Or, "I can write better music on drugs." However, drug testing is not good enough to assess a worker's performance impairment.

Nobody wants their doctor to be drunk or high on drugs as he cuts them open with a scalpel. Even if the operation is a success, you will be much happier knowing that the doctor was not impaired. Those huge construction cranes that swing around the skyline have a person operating them. Say you are walking your dog along the sidewalk near a high-rise construction site.

We all know that drunk and drugged drivers cause accidents, injuries and too many innocent deaths every year. There are plenty of accidents in the workplace that can be just as dangerous. You will be much more content if you are confident that the crane operator knows exactly what she is doing. And we want to know that the pilots of the plane we are flying in or the ferry we ride on are paying close attention to every little distraction.

Concerns about Drug Testing

Many people are concerned about drug testing in the workplace. They are especially concerned when drug test results are the measure of impairment for work performance.

What is wrong with drug testing?

Drug testing is an after-the-fact measure. It can only tell if the employee was exposed to the particular drug being tested by finding residue in the body fluid sample. The use or exposure to the drug could have occurred several days or weeks before the test. Much of the negative effect of drug use on work performance would have gone away long ago.

There is a very weak relationship between a positive drug test and poor performance. Performance measures like absenteeism and on-the-job accident rates do not form a strong association with the urine sample test. That is because a drug test is not an impairment test.

Much of the concern is focused on urine tests, the most frequently method of drug testing. The worker must provide a urine sample that is sent to a laboratory for analysis. Days or weeks later, the test results come back. If the person was impaired, it is much too late to do anything about it or to take them out of harm's way.

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