Book Description

This report uses information from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) to examine a number of issues involving illicit drug and heavy alcohol use among U.S. workers and workplace policies that address drug and alcohol use. It presents data derived from 7,055 NHSDA respondents, age 18-49, who reported that they were working full-time at the time they were interviewed. These respondents represent over 78 million full-time workers in the United States. In 1994, the NHSDA included an expanded set of questions concerning workplace issues. This expanded set was the result of a collaborative effort between the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The 1994 NHSDA instrument included questions about various work-related outcomes (e.g., missing work, being fired, workplace accidents), occupation, establishment size, whether respondents had been provided with information at their workplace regarding use of alcohol or drugs, the presence of written policies and employee assistance programs for workers with drug or alcohol problems, and the use of various drug testing options and employees' perceptions about them.