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This is The Drug Report’s Friday Fact report - Since 2018, marijuana workforce drug test positivity has increased by 60.7%, with 2023 reaching a new peak

This week, Quest Diagnostics released an analysis of workforce drug testing in 2023. Quest Diagnostics processed 10 million drug tests in 2023 and found a  surge in drugs test tampering. Additionally, the company shared their marijuana workforce drug test positivity rate for 2023, highlighting that the marijuana workforce drug test positivity rate is at an all-time high:

Marijuana Workforce Drug Test Positivity Rates: 

• 2018: 2.8% 

• 2019: 3.1% 

• 2020: 3.6% 

• 2021: 3.9% 

• 2022: 4.3% 

• 2023: 4.5% 

Data for 2018-2022 is available here.

Data for 2023 is available here.

Since 2018, marijuana positivity in the overall workforce has increased by 60.7%, with 2023 marking a record high. Quest’s report shows how the industry’s lies have fueled a narrative that downplays the hazards associated with these dangerous psychoactive drugs and creates serious risks for Americans’ health, safety, and mental wellbeing.

See SAM’s full statement on the Quest Diagnostics data here.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is an alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy. We are professionals working in mental health and public health. We are bipartisan. We are medical doctors, lawmakers, treatment providers, preventionists, teachers, law enforcement officers and others who seek a middle road between incarceration and legalization. Our commonsense, third-way approach to marijuana policy is based on reputable science and sound principles of public health and safety.