More of Hawaii’s employees and potential employees are using crystal meth or "ice," according to the latest workplace drug testing results released Friday.
It’s just a small increase, but it’s also the third quarter in a row in which there’s been an increase.
It’s not uncommon these days for employers to screen potential employees for drugs.
And it’s here, in the Toxicology Department at Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Halawa, where tests are performed that can potentially make or break a person’s chance of getting hired.
"This instrument here is a confirmatory instrument, so we actually sample the urine and and do chemical analysis to detect the amount of drug present in the urine," said Carl Linden, DLS Scientific Director of Toxicology.
DLS tests about 7,000-10,000 people for drugs every quarter, and about 70% of them are job applicants. The rest are workers subject to random drug testing.
"We do testing for the state, and pretty much every industry in terms of the private sector, transportation, retail, construction, even banking," said Linden.
DLS just released its workplace drug testing numbers, which reveal that crystal meth or "ice" use continues to climb.
"But the rise is small, which is good," said Linden.
0.8% tested positive for ice during the third quarter of this year, compared to 0.6% during the second quarter, and 0.5% for the first quarter.
"If it continues to go up, that may be a cause for concern," said Linden.
Ice can be detected in urine tests up to four days after use.
"Most individuals are aware that they’re going to be drug tested at least when they apply for a job, so there’s probably a more significant usage than what we detect in a workplace screening," said Linden.
Statistics also reveal that fewer people are using fake urine to try to pass the test.
"You would expect with the decreasing fake urine you would have an increase somewhere else, and the ice was the only thing that rose," said Linden.
And while ice use went up, marijuana use, on the other hand, went down after remaining unchanged for about a year.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
