MIA Survey reveals that drugs and alcohol can turn best safety programs into a disaster
An MIA survey on drug and alcohol in the workplace indicates that industry members are aware of the problem, and report one of the keys is to spot abusers before hiring them
The statistics are sobering — and that’s no play on words. One out of every 10 deaths in America is caused by alcoholism. Every 19 minutes, someone dies of a prescription drug overdose. In 2012, an estimated 23.9 million Americans, or 9.2% of the population, had used an illicit drug or psychotherapeutic medication, up almost 10% in the last decade. A total of 7 out of 10 12th graders use marijuana every day — and a lot of them eventually graduate to drugs that are far worse. Who knows what they are using when they finally migrate into the workforce.
Drug and alcohol abuse has reached almost epidemic proportions and has caused serious concern in the workplace, especially where machinery, trucks and heavy loads are part of the work equation. You can have the most vigorous safety awareness program in the world, but it can easily be disrupted by a single hung over employee or worker whose mental edge has been tempered by the use of drugs.