Despite the surge of people who embraced healthier lifestyles amid the new perspectives they’d gained during the pandemic, drug use remains significant among U.S. workers. Recent data analysis by testing company Quest Diagnostics found that nearly 20 percent of employees generated positive results for a range of illicit substances in 2025. This usage reflects potentially reflecting recurring or chronic drug use.
Nearly one in five workers in the general U.S. workforce (19.1%) tested positive for drug use based on an analysis of hair specimens collected in 2025. This brings an increase of nearly 46% compared to 13.1% in 2021. That included higher detection of narcotics like cocaine, methamphetamine, and amphetamines among employees.
Marijuana led the list of drugs identified—by far, constituting more than 53 percent of all positive tests. That increase likely reflects the growing number of states legalizing medical or recreational cannabis consumption—or both—and slower moves by businesses to scratch pot off their banned substances lists.
DETECTION OF OPIOIDS DECLINING
The good news was that positive testing for opioids among workers finally fell. This comes after years of increased use left millions of lives wrecked or entirely snuffed out. That’s likely a result of governments and companies having appreciated the deadly threat that drugs like fentanyl pose to workers, as well as the efforts they’ve made to detect and dissuade use of the drugs.
“Year-over-year fentanyl positivity declined by nearly half (49.1 percent) in the general U.S. workforce (0.55 percent in 2024 vs. 0.28 percent in 2025) . . . This decline may indicate that employers are taking steps to address fentanyl use, often present alongside other substances such as marijuana, through expanded testing, education, and deterrence strategies.” ~Quest Diagnostic Report
DESPITE DECLINES, WORKPLACE OVER-DOSAGES STILL HAPPEN
Despite decreasing opioid detection rates, other data indicates how the risk of fentanyl use and overdose remains something employers need to be concerned about. This issue is precisely what the Department of Labor’s new guidelines are seeking to close amid the continued risk of workplace opioid overdoses.
“Because fentanyl has infiltrated the illicit drug landscape and acts as a chemical weapon against our people, it is critically important that the American workforce is familiar with drug overdose recognition and reversal . . . I am grateful to the Department of Labor for informing employers and workers about life-saving overdose-reversal treatments like Naloxone.” ~White House Drug Czar Sara Carter
Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a Drug Offense or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.
