Survey tracks marijuana use before, after drug-screening

Thirty-five percent of marijuana users abstain from cannabis at least a month before a pre-employment drug test, while 28% return to using the drug “immediately or one day” post-test, according to survey results released Friday by New York-based Health Street.

The diagnostics company, which offers employment drug testing,  surveyed 597 adults nationwide in early July, finding that 60% have used marijuana in various forms over the past 12 months. Of the respondents, 66% work full time and 18% work part time, with 51% reporting that they had been tested for marijuana upon hiring, according to the survey results.

Of those tested, 52% reported heavy to mild anxiety when facing the drug screen. When asked their opinion on workplace drug testing policies, 55% said rescinding a job offer wouldn’t be fair, while 44% said it would.

Regarding safety-sensitive jobs, 56% of respondents said a company should have the legal right to test workers. Regarding coming to work “high” or getting high at work, 64% said companies should be able to test a worker.