Occupations Where Workers Get High (or Don’t)

On a recent episode of This American Life, host Ira Glass identified several occupations as those in which workers have the greatest self-reported percentage of substance abuse, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. I checked for the source of this information and could not find any research later than 1993, when HHS conducted a household survey and later published the results as “Drug Use Among U.S. Workers: Prevalence & Trends by Occupation and Industry.”

It seems likely that the overall incidence of workplace substance abuse has declined since then, perhaps aided by the passage of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (even though that law applies only to federal contractors and federal grantees). At least, that is what is indicated by urine tests conducted on workers. Quest Diagnostics reports that between 1988 and 2012, the positivity rate for its urine tests showed a 74 percent drop-off (from 13.6 percent to 3.5 percent) for the U.S. workforce as a whole. Among those workers federally designated as in safety-sensitive occupations, the decline was smaller (only 38 percent), but dropped from an already-low percentage of 2.6 to 1.6.

The Quest Diagnostics report does not break down findings by occupational groups, but it quotes Mary Brown-Ybos, director of compliance for DISA Global Solutions, Inc., and president of Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association (SAPAA), as saying, “Some industries, such as the restaurant industry, have adopted an attitude that drug use in their industry is something they cannot control.”

The report also noted increases in some categories of drugs. Positivity almost tripled for amphetamine and methamphetamine. Prescription opiates also increased in use, with hydrocodone and hydromorphone more than doubling and oxycodone up by 71 percent.

For what they are worth, here are the findings of HHS from the early 1990s.

Ten Highest Rates of Current Illicit Drug Use, 1991–93
Rank	Occupation Category	Percentage Reporting Drug Use
1	Other Construction	17.3
2	Construction Supervisors	17.2
3	Food Preparation	16.3
4	Waiters and Waitresses	15.4
5	Helpers and Laborers	13.1
6	Writers, Designers, Artists, and Athletes	13.1
7	Janitors	13.0
8	Purchasing Agents and Buyers	12.9
9	Auto Mechanics	12.8
10	Construction Laborers; Other Laborers (tied)	12.8

Ten Lowest Rates of Current Illicit Drug Use, 1991–93
Rank	Occupation Category		Percentage Reporting Drug Use
1	Police and Detectives		1
2	Administrative Support		2.2
3	Teachers		2.3
4	Child Care Workers		2.6
5	Dental and Health Aides		2.8
6	Data Clerks		3.2
7	Records Processing Clerks		3.5
8	Computer Programmers and Operators		3.6
9	Engineers		3.9
10	Therapists		4

Ten Highest Rates of Heavy Alcohol Use, 1991–93
Rank	Occupation Category	Percentage Reporting Drug Use
1	Other Construction	20.6
2	Construction Laborers	19.9
3	Helpers and Laborers	19.5
4	Auto Mechanics	16.3
5	Food Preparation	16.3
6	Truck Drivers, Light	15.1
7	Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Mechanics and Repairers	14.9
8	Painters, Plasterers, and Plumbers	14.8
9	Carpenters	13.8
10	Material Moving Operators	13.8
Ten Lowest Rates of Heavy Alcohol Use, 1991–93
Rank	Occupation Category	Percentage Reporting Drug Use
1	Data Clerks	0.8
2	Personnel and Training Specialists	1.1
3	Secretaries and Typists	1.4
4	Bank Tellers	1.5
5	Bookkeepers	1.7
6	Clinical Laboratory and Technologists	2.2
7	Teachers	2.2
8	Dental and Health Aides	2.3
9	Computer Scientists and Analysts	2.4
10	Child Care Workers	2.6