Record number of U.S. workers testing positive for cannabis, according to study

Cannabis use among the U.S. workforce reached a "historically elevated level" last year, according to newly released data from lab company Quest Diagnostics.

For the more than 6 million workplace urine tests  the Secaucus, N.J.-based firm collected in 2022, 4.3% came up positive for weed — an increase from the 3.9% tallied the prior year, officialssaid.

That's the largest percentage of positive pot tests Quest has collected since its started running annual studies in 1988.

"This historic rise seems to correspond with sharp increases in positivity for marijuana in both pre-employment and post-accident drug tests, suggesting that changing societal attitudes about marijuana may be impacting workplace behaviors and putting colleagues at risk," Quest General Manager and VP of Employer Solutions Keith Ward said in a statement.

Also worthy of note: 7.3% of employees tested by Quest following a workplace injury came up positive for cannabis last year. That compares to 6.7% in 2021.

After declining from 2002 to 2009, post-accident pot positivity rates increased every year from 2012 to 2022, according to the company. That upward trend followed the legalization of marijuana in a growing number of states.

"Intoxicating cannabis products, including marijuana, can have a major impact on safety at work and have been proven to slow reaction time, impact memory and impair skills essential to driving," National Safety Council Senior Program Manager Katie Mueller said in a statement. "State legalization of the drug creates new challenges for employers."

Mueller urged employers to create and maintain policies that addresses cannabis use and for them to increase workplace safety training.

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