Positive drug tests among American workers in 2019 reached the highest level in 16 years—especially for marijuana, as a wave of cannabis legalization made the drug more easily available. Overall, the proportion of those in the general workforce who tested positive for drugs in urine rose to 4.5 percent compared to 3.5 percent a decade ago, a 30-year low, according to Quest Diagnostics. But the biggest jump was positive tests for pot, which climbed 11 percent in 2019 from the year before and 29 percent since 2015, a time span in which the number of legal marijuana states grew to 11 from four. Surprisingly, the spike in positive marijuana results came as fewer employers even tested for the drug, especially in states where it is legal.
Meanwhile, positive urine tests for opiates—primarily prescription pain relievers containing codeine and morphine—fell 19 percent in 2019 from the year before, while those for heroin dropped 33 percent. The results for marijuana testing follow a recent CDC call for more research into the impact of marijuana use on the job and workplace safety—in particular, for jobs that involved driving a vehicle.
And finally, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are doubling down on decriminalizing marijuana—a position supported by the Rosenthal Center—as the presidential campaign heads into the final months. In an interview, the candidates were on the same page concerning pot despite Harris’s prior advocacy of full-on marijuana legalization. Now, both support the official Democratic Party platform that calls for decriminalization, legalizing medical marijuana and letting states go their own way on recreational.