MOST DRUG USERS WORK FULL TIME, REPORT SHOWS

Seven In 10 People Who Used Illegal Drugs In 1997 Had Full-time Jobs, The
Government Reports.

Officials hope the data will dispel notions that most drug users are burned
out and disconnected from the mainstream. About 6.3 million full-time
workers, ages 18 to 49 -- or 7.7 percent -- admitted in 1997 using illegal
drugs in the preceding month, according to the report issued every few
years by the Department of Health and Human Services. The proportion has
been steady since 1992. Workers in restaurants, bars, construction and
transportation were more likely than others to use drugs, the report said.
HHS officials were using the report's findings to encourage businesses to
establish treatment programs.

Increasingly, drug users are working in medium-sized companies, which have
the resources to establish these programs, they said.