Showing up to work high may be more common than you think. According to a survey, around 9.74 percent of respondents have gone to work while they were high under the influence of marijuana.
Done by SurveyMonkey for Mashable, the survey involved around 534 respondents, each of which shared their habits involving illegal substances and prescription drugs in relation to work. Of that number, 80.77 percent admitted to getting their drugs illegally.
Every year, about 22 million pounds of marijuana are grown in the country. However, there are only two places where it's legal to buy marijuana recreationally: Colorado and Washington. For Washington, D.C. and 23 other states, the drug may only be purchased for medical reasons.
As for prescription drugs, 28.28 percent of the respondents said that they have gone to work after taking a prescription. Around 7.28 percent of those, however, said they took medication outside of the intended medicinal purpose. Compared to marijuana though, majority of prescription drugs were acquired legally, with about 95.36 percent using a proper prescription.
For what it's worth, the survey also showed that 96.25 percent of respondents also said that they are very unlikely to go to work under the influence of an illegal drug in the future while 95.88 percent said they are very unlikely to take illegal drugs while at work in the future.
From a separate survey done by small-business insurance company Employers, it was revealed that 10 percent of small businesses have encountered employees showing up for work under the influence of at least one controlled substance in 2013. Out of all reported substances, marijuana came in at 5.1 percent.
Whether or not they get their employees tested is up to the companies. Majority of employers in the United States though are not required to do that, with local and state statutes saying that workplace testing may be limited or prohibited unless required by Federal or state regulations for specific jobs.
Unfortunately for smaller businesses, they might not be able to enforce workplace testing even if they wanted to because of limited resources. In that case, they have to be more creative in trying to figure out a compromise between following the law and implementing clear rules in the workplace.
Still, a spike in employee drug testing programs has been recorded after pot was legalized for selling in 2013. While Colorado's Mountain States Employers Council affirms the jump in numbers, the trend is actually prevalent throughout the country and not only where marijuana is legally sold for recreational or medical purposes.
