DRUG TESTS AS A WINDOW ON WORKERS

The Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index is hardly a portrait of the
general population. Rather, it includes a better-behaving subset:
those who are applying for jobs at places that test for drugs or who
hold jobs where they know they may be tested randomly. That said, the
index offers up some interesting nuggets.

The index -- which includes the general work force and people in jobs
where testing is federally mandated -- shows an overall positive rate
of 3.8 percent in 2007, compared with a high of 13.6 percent in 1988.

In the past, changes in positivity rates for methamphetamine and
amphetamine have been roughly parallel in the general work force, said
Barry Sample, director of science and technology for Quest's employer
solutions unit. But last year, methamphetamine use fell 22 percent as
amphetamine use rose 5 percent.

One possible reason, Dr. Sample said, is that as federal laws have
clamped down on illegal meth, drug users have turned to alternative --
and easier to obtain -- stimulants.