Quest Diagnostics, a Secaucus, New Jersey-based global provider of diagnostic information services, has released a new analysis of the rate of positive drug test results among the US workforce. The analysis, based on more than 11 million drug test results collected in 2021, shows an overall positivity rate in the combined US workforce that is up from 4.4% in 2020 to 4.6% in 2021.

Quest Diagnostics’ Drug Testing Index™ (DTI) reports provide insights into trends in workforce drug use based on positivity rates of deidentified laboratory tests performed by Quest Diagnostics for a range of illicit, legal and prescription drugs. It examines test results according to three categories of workers: federally mandated, safety-sensitive workers; the general US workforce; and the combined US workforce.

Some key findings pertaining to the general workforce:

• Positivity for marijuana continues to increase, rising 8.3% (from 3.6% in 2020 to 3.9% in 2021).
• Positivity for opiates (class: codeine/morphine) decreased from 0.21% in 2020 to 0.17% in 2021, a 19% decrease. Positivity for opiates of the hydrocodone/hydromorphone class decreased 3% (0.32% in 2021 vs. 0.33% in 2020) and positivity for oxycodones remained static.
• Positivity for heroin decreased 27.8% over five years (from 0.018% in 2020 to 0.013% in 2021).

There was a rise in rates of positivity in workers tested after on-the-job accidents. Urine positivity rates for post-accident testing rose at a greater rate than pre-employment testing over the last five years, due to higher positive test results on post-accident tests for marijuana, cocaine and semi-synthetic opiates.

For more information, visit newsroom.questdiagnostics.com/2022-03-30-Workforce-Drug-Test-Positivity-Climbs-to-Highest-Level-in-Two-Decades,-Finds-Quest-Diagnostics-Drug-Testing-Index-Analysis.

For an interactive US map of the Drug Testing Index with positivity rates and trend lines, visit DTIDrugMap.com.