Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 30, 1993                   TAG: 9311300037
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

DRUG USE AT WORK DOWN, BUT REASONS AREN'T CLEAR

The deterrent effects of drug testing never have been clearly demonstrated, said Charles P. O'Brien, head of psychiatry at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and chairman of a committee of the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine.

The committee called for more comprehensive studies and better evaluation of programs aimed at creating a drug-free workplace.

"Clearly workers entering the work force in the 1990s are likely to have substantially less experience with illicit drugs than did their counterparts in the 1980s and the late 1970s," the committee said.

The committee said a 1990 survey indicates that abuse rates in the workplace are now relatively low.

The survey found that about 7 percent of U.S. workers used an illegal drug during the preceding month and about 6 percent abused alcohol.

A 1979 study showed that as many as 14 percent of the general population had used one or more illegal drugs during the preceding month.

Businesses ought to do a better job determining what works in checking drug abuse, and studies also should focus on whether occasional drug use affects productivity, he said.

The committee also said that nearly $1.2 billion is spent annually on urinalysis tests of workers. But there is not much scientific evidence to show the tests are very good at detecting drug use or dependence.

For example, said Marian Fischman of Columbia University, traces of marijuana can be found in urine even months after use. There is no scientific proof that such amounts would affect behavior, she said.

Added Bryan Finkle of the University of Utah, urine testing "tells you a very limited amount. It doesn't distinguish between use and abuse."

The test results have been overinterpreted, primarily by lawyers and crimefighters, he said.

The committee also found that on-the-job drug intervention programs may have limited value, in part because they do not include systematic follow-up.

"Recovery should be viewed as a process rather than an event," the committee said.

It said most drug and alcohol intervention programs have focused on finding new cases of abuse and have "devoted little time to relapse prevention."

"Workplace alcohol and other drug interventions may help a limited number of patients" but cannot by themselves "solve the nation's problems with alcohol and other drugs," the committee said.

A separate study released last month by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said abuse of alcohol, tobacco and drugs is killing more than 500,000 Americans a year and placing an increasing and heavy burden on the health care system and society.

The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine are chartered by Congress. They are private groups that provide health policy advice to the government.

The committee on drug use issued a two-volume report and held a public forum to discuss its findings.