New Quest Diagnostics Data Show Drug Use Among Workers Remains High

It may come as no surprise to urgent care providers who offer occupational medicine services such as drug testing, but the overall rate of positive drug tests remains high across the board in the U.S. workforce according to new data from Quest Diagnostics. While fewer workers are testing positive for opiate use, results indicating use of cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana kept the positive test rate at 4.2%. That’s the same as it was in 2016—which was the highest rate in more than a decade. The results are based on testing of 10 million workers. As recently as 2012, the positive test rate was at 3.5%, its lowest in 30 years.