>>> Part 11 of 15...
drug users have higher accident rates, increased rates of
litigation and medical claims,'' said Dr. John P Morgan, a
professor of pharmacology at the City University of New York
Medical School. ``The claims are always stated. They are
simply not documented.''
Dr. Morgan, who is writing an academic review of research on
work place drug testing, said most people who test positive
for drugs are occasional marijuana users. ``No data
indicate they are bad workers. They are no different than
anyone else,'' he said.
[8] JAMA, November 28, 1990 Vol 264(20) pp. 2639-2643 ``The
Efficacy of Pre-employment Drug Screening for Marijuana and
Cocaine in Predicting Employment outcome.''
...
We recognize that a number of potential confounding factors
might be associated both with the risk variables of
marijuana and cocaine use and with the outcome variables of
turnover, absenteeism, accidents, injuries, and discipline.
Potential confounders included age at hire, gender, race,
job classification, smoking status, exercise habits and
alcohol use or abuse.
...
DRUG TEST RESULTS
Demographic
Characteristics Negative Marijuana Cocaine Other
Sex M 65.7% 73.7% 60.0% 65.9%
F 34.3% 26.3% 40.0% 34.1%
Race White 90.1% 88.4% 83.6% 90.9%
Black 5.6% 11.1% 16.4% 7.3%
Asian 4.4% 0.5% 0.0% 1.8%
Smoker 30.7% 47.7% 40.0% 45.4%
Non-smoker 69.3% 52.3% 60.0% 54.6%
...
In our study, we have not been able to control for the
possible confounding effect of alcoholism. A substantial
body of literature suggests that alcohol abuse correlates
with the abuse of other substances. Other literature
suggests that alcoholics have poor employment outcomes. We
did not obtain alcohol levels in the test urine samples.
Also, we did not administer any validated alcoholism
questionnaires because we did not think they would provide
accurate information in the context of a pre-employment
examination. ...
...
The findings of this study suggest that many of the claims
cited to justify pre-employment drug screening have been
exaggerated. Drug users have been reported to be involved
in 200% to 300% more industrial accidents, to sustain 400%
more compensatable injuries, and to use 1500% more sick
leave. We found that those with marijuana positive urine
samples have 55% more industrial accidents, 85% more
injuries, and a 78% increase in absenteeism. For those with
cocaine-positive urine samples, there was a 145% increase in
absenteeism and an 85% increase in injuries. These findings
could be used to reevaluate ... the cost-effectiveness of
pre-employment drug screening.
[9] JAMA, November 28, 1990 Vol 264(20) pp 2676-2677 ``Pre-
employment Drug Screening'' by Eric D. Wish, Ph.D
...
... factors suggest that pre-employment drug testing may
have limited potential in the United States. First,
employers should remember that a single positive urine test
provides limited information about a particular employee's
level of drug use. ... Furthermore, lifestyle issues may
contribute to an employee's drug use as well as to his or
her poor job performance. Unfortunately, a medical review
officer-type review is not required for firms testing
private sector employees, and job applicants may be denied
positions on the basis of a single positive test result,
without their knowledge and without the right of appeal.
[10] THE NATION September 24 pg. 300 BELTWAY BANDITS by David
Cobs
War Profiteering. Back in June, before Saddam Hussein was
even a glint in the eyes of depressed military contractors,
entrepreneur Max Franklin, a former analyst for I.B.M.,
placed an ad in DEFENSE NEWS, a trade weekly. ``The arsenal
>>> Continued to next message...
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