Positivity Rates for Workplace Drug Tests Spike in Last Year

If your company conducts drug tests on potential or current employees, it may have noticed an increase in tests that were positive for drug use in the last year. In 2021, the rate of positive drug test results among America’s workforce reached its highest rate since 2001, an increase of more than 30% from an all-time low in 2010-2012, according to a recent analysis released by Quest Diagnostics.

The study was based on more than 11 million urine, hair, and oral fluid drug test results collected between January and December 2021. It found the overall positivity rate in the combined U.S. workforce, based on nearly nine million urine drug tests collected between January and December 2021, was up in 2021 to 4.6% compared to 4.4% in 2020 and up 31.4% from the all-time low of 3.5% 10 years ago.

The oral-fluid drug positivity rate for marijuana was 14.8% in 2021, an increase of 20.3% compared to 2020 (12.3%) and up 68.2% over five years (8.8% in 2017). The positivity rate for cocaine increased 46.6% (0.58% in 2020 versus 0.85% in 2021), its highest spike since 2006. Positive tests for methamphetamine increased 26.4% (0.53% in 2020 versus 0.67% in 2021), exhibiting year-over-year increases for the last 5 years.

“Employers are wrestling with significant recruitment and retention challenges as well as with maintaining safe and engaging work environments that foster positive mental and physical wellbeing,” said Keith Ward, general manager and vice president of Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions. “Eager to attract talent, employers may be tempted to lower their standards. In the process, they raise the specter of more drug-related impairment and worksite accidents that put other employees and the general public in harm’s way.”