This research presents a review and an assessment of drug testing in industrial environments, as the practice is a labor relations management issue. For purposes of this research, the term drugs refers to illegal street narcotics, and does not encompass alcohol, tobacco, or prescription drugs. The review begins with a brief description of the drug abuse environment.
The seriousness of the drug problem in the United States (US)is not open to question.1 The toll exacted on society and on individuals within the society in both social and economic contexts is both appalling and enormous.2
It can be fairly stated that the majority of illegal drugs used in the US is imported, as opposed to being produced domes tically. This assertion, however, is very general. All of the cocaine is either imported or requires the importation of coca leaves. On the other hand, however, some estimates place
1P. M. Barrett, "Federal War on Drugs Is Scattershot Affair, With Dubious Progress," The Wall Street Journal, 10 August 1989, A1, A16.
2T. Morganthau, "Hitting the Drug Lords," Newsweek, 4 September 1989, 18 23
domestic marijuana production ahead of imports of that sub stance.
Drug abuse is not a serious problem in most of the coun tries from which drugs are imported to the US, for the quite straightforward reason that drug abuse is so heavily punished in most of those countries. By contrast, most drug abusers in the US tend to think that they can escape detection or serious penalty. Most American politicians are fond of proclaiming that drug lords are poisoning America's youth. While the term youth requires definition, the general perception is that the politicians are referring to teenagers and even younger per sons. In fact, however, the majority of the drug abusers are beyond their teenage years, and that is why the issue of drug testing is significant for American industry.
Citizens of foreign countries tend to perce...