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The rate of workforce drug positivity hit a fourteen-year high in 2018, according to a new analysis released today by Quest Diagnostics. Positivity rates in the combined U.S. workforce increased nearly 5% in urine drug tests (4.2% in 2017 versus 4.4% in 2018), climbing to the highest level since 2004 (4.5%) and are now more than 2% higher than the thirty-year low of 3.5% recorded between 2010 and 2012. The new findings of the Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™ were unveiled on April 11 at the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) annual conference in Chicago.

Last year saw the highest percentage of positive workplace drug tests since 2004, with 4.4% of American workers showing traces of drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines, opiates, cocaine, and heroin in their systems, according to the results of a new study published Wednesday. Key findings from a Quest Diagnostics analysis.

The rate of American workers testing positive in workplace drug tests hit a 14-year high in 2018, driven by an uptick in marijuana use, a new analysis found. Last year, 4.4% of workers and job applicants tested positive for drugs, a 5% increase over 2017 and the highest mark since 2004, according to an analysis of more than 10 million workplace drug tests released Thursday by Quest Diagnostics, one of the largest drug-testing laboratories in the country. Despite the increase, the rate remains significantly lower than that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when rates were in the double digits.

The rate of workforce drug positivity hit a 14-year high in 2018, according to analysis released today by drug-testing firm Quest Diagnostics. Positivity rates in urine drug tests in the combined US workforce rose to 4.4% in 2018, up from 4.2% in 2017. This is the highest level since 4.5% in 2004 and higher than the 30-year low of 3.5% recorded between 2010 and 2012.

The rate of positive drug tests among U.S. workers hit a 14-year high last year with marijuana topping the list of most commonly detected illicit substances, an analysis released today by Quest Diagnostics shows. Ten states and the District of Columbia have OK’d recreational marijuana for adults, and in more than half of all states medical marijuana is legal. The state initiatives pose problems for employers and mariners — or potential mariners — who may use marijuana when not at work. Federal law still considers marijuana illegal, so weed is off limits for those in safety-sensitive jobs under Coast Guard and Department of Transportation (DOT) jurisdiction.