EMPLOYERS HEAR PITCH FOR DRUG-FREE EFFORT

Seventy-seven percent of Americans who use illegal drugs report being
employed, and many of them buy their drugs from coworkers on the job,
said Chuck Wade, state director of Drugs Don't Work in Georgia.

To Wade, those are strong reasons to use the workplace as the main
battleground against drug abuse.

"There is an invisible empire of drug users, drug dealers and drug
addicts in the American work force, and that includes right here in
beautiful downtown Rome, Ga.," Wade told a group of human resources
managers and business executives last week.

He was one of the guest speakers at the annual Employer Regulatory
Seminar hosted by Redmond Occupational Health.

The federal government has spent billions, Wade said, trying to fight
the supply of drugs being imported from other countries, but the
former police officer described that effort as hopeless.

His message -- that every Georgia business should take the steps to
become a state-certified drug-free workplace -- comes at an opportune
time in Floyd County.

The Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce's board voted in January to
become part of the state Drugs Don't Work program. Rome chamber
members can join the program at no cost, and businesses that become
certified as drug-free workplaces are guaranteed a 7.5 percent
discount on their workers compensation insurance premiums.

"To become a drug-free workplace is the biggest no-brainer on this
planet," Wade told his audience last week, adding that drug-free
businesses tend to see increased productivity, decreased absenteeism,
lower employee turnover rates and fewer workers compensation claims.

The state's drug-free certification process includes five steps:
adopting a substance-abuse policy, conducting limited types of drug
testing, signing up with an Employee Assistance Program, providing
drug education for employees and training supervisors on how to
supervise a drug-free workplace.

Twenty-three businesses have signed up so far through the Rome
chamber, joining more than 6,500 certified drug-free companies in Georgia.

Local business leaders who are interested in more information or would
like to sign up for the Drugs Don't Work program should contact the
Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce