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1/30/2009 - Protect Your Business with a DFW Program

Alcohol and drugs are often called equal opportunity destroyers. The effects of uncontrolled substance use can be devastating to the substance abuser and everyone around him or her. While many substance abusers believe they are only hurting themselves, their problems often impact their families, friends, co-workers and others in a variety of ways.

No business, regardless of size, industry or location, is immune from the devastating effects of employee substance abuse. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance that there’s a substance abuser on your company’s payroll. In 2007, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that the majority of the nation’s approximately 16.4 million illicit drug users and 15 million heavy alcohol users hold full-time jobs.

Some industries, such as hospitality and construction, are plagued by higher rates of abuse than others. There’s no shortage of employee substance abuse stories, ranging from the tragic to the totally outrageous. Here are a few recent examples.

  • A 34-year-old municipal employee was arrested after police stopped him in his work vehicle at 8 a.m. The man admitted that he had been smoking marijuana in the vehicle, and later failed a field sobriety test. This was the man’s second arrest that fateful Thursday. Earlier he was charged with drug possession after an officer on foot patrol smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the man’s apartment at approximately 6 a.m.
  • A former NASCAR truck racer arrested near an Ohio amusement park in July 2007 later admitted that he had used heroin on race days. At the time of his arrest, he had been addicted to pain killers for years, and had been using heroin for about a year.
  • After assuring the hiring manager that passing a pre-employment drug test would not be a problem, an applicant reached into his pocket to pull out his license. Instead, he accidently removed a small bag of cocaine.
  • An Arkansas man was arrested for building a meth lab in the basement of a funeral home where he worked. The funeral home is located across the street from the local sheriff’s department, and police discovered the lab before any drugs were produced. The man faces multiple charges.
  • A Hawaii special education teacher recently pleaded guilty to selling tens of thousands of dollars of crystal meth to an undercover agent.
  • A promising young doctor, who had been struggling with addiction since high school, would come into work early to acquire drugs and inject just enough to get him through his shift. He took some time off to attend a rehabilitation program, but later died from an overdose.

Also troubling are recent news reports that alcohol use and drug abuse are on the rise as people turn to substances to cope with challenging economic times. Far too often this self-medication results in even greater problems for the individual, their loved ones, co-workers and employers.

Employees with substance abuse problems are a drain on a company’s productivity and profitability, and the impact on the U.S. economy is significant. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, employees with drug and alcohol abuse histories cost U.S. businesses more than $81 billion every year. Lost productivity isn’t all that employers stand to lose to employee substance abuse. Numerous studies have shown a strong correlation between employee substance abuse and workplace violence and accidents.

A comprehensive Drug Free Workplace (DFW) Program is one of the best and most cost-effective ways for companies to protect themselves from the high costs associated with employee substance abuse. Companies throughout the United States have found that the relatively small cost of implementing and administering a Drug Free Workplace Program provides an excellent return.

For more information on Drug Free Workplace Programs, please visit Foley Services’ DFW Help Desk. Click here to learn how Foley Services can help you implement and administer a comprehensive Drug Free Workplace Program. If you would like to speak to a DFW Program Specialist about your drug and alcohol testing needs, please call 1-800-253-5506, ext. 708.

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