By Jasmine Michaelson

It wasn't that long ago when drug testing in the workplace was a highly controversial issue.

The ACLU issued a statement in 1997 saying, "Employers have the right to expect workers not to be high or drunk on the job. But they shouldn't have the right to require employees to prove their innocnce by taking a drug test." The group said the procedure is blatant invasion of privacy and far from foolproof.

But it's on the rise anyway. According to the ACLU's statement, drug testing at work was up 227 percent in 1997 compared with 1987. In the first half of this year alone, one New Jersey drug testing firm called Quest Diagnostics performed more than 3.4 million workplace drug tests.

"Safety and productivity are two big factors," said Brock Alder, director of the Division of Substance Abuse at the Bear River Health Department. According to an article by Patrick Dixon, Ph.D., director of Global Change Ltd., U.S. studies show that substance abusers (including acohol) are four times as likely to hurt themselves or others at work.

Alertness and sobriety are obiously important for airline pilots, truck drivers and doctors, but many of the most vigialnt employers are testing their cashiers and burger flippers. Alder said it is important that those employees be alert and sober as well.

"Life's not routine," he said. "You never know when you might have to react to something out of the ordinary."

WalMart has mandatory drug testing for all job applicants and for employees if there is any cause for suspicion or if they have been involved in an accident.

Sharon Webber of the WalMart public relations department says safety is a major reason why. "We place a strong emphasis on maintaining a safe work environment," she said. "Drugs and alcohol place a serious threat."

And serious threat means serious insurance premiums.

"Substance abusers tend to get injured more often, and that's more cost and liability to the employer," said Aileen Steggell, office manager of SOS Staff, a local employment service that also does drug testing.

Substance abuse costs the employer in other areas as well. According to Dixon's article, substance abusers are 33 percent less productive, three times as likely to be late, five times as likely to sue for compensation and 10 times as likely to miss work.

"For every dollar spent on treatment," Alder said, "seven dollars are saved in work attendance and productivity."

The ACLU argued in 1997 that drug tests don't prevent accidents from happening, but staggering statistics have shown otherwise. When the state of Ohio introduced random drug testing, absenteeism dropped 91 percent, problems with supervisors dropped 88 percent and on-the-job injuries dropped 97 percent.

But as more and more employers require drug testing (albeit under varying circumstances), substance abusers have found more and more ways of cheating them, ranging from drinking lots of water before the test in an attempt to clean out their systems to even submitting someone else's urine sample as their own.

Websites like Mrs. Test offer detoxification products like "Ready Clean Gel Caps," "Absolute Detox Carbo Drink" and even synthetic urine packets -- with a guaranteed refund if your test comes up dirty.

"Are you concerned about beating a drug test?" the site asks. "We have your drug testing solutions! We have the reliable detox drug test products at the lowest prices on the net! Our drug detox products will ship directly to YOU -- you will always get the freshest and latest formulas to insure you beat your drug test."

But tricks like these have not gone unnoticed.

"People get sneaky, but the system is constantly being worked on," Alder said. "Checks continue to catch more and more stuff."

The $75,000 machine the Bear River Division of Substance Abuse uses recognizes not only whether a sample is clean, but which drugs and how much of them are there. It also recognizes anything else unusual that may be a cover-up. Even something as seemingly minor as too much water in the urine will make the sample turn up "invalid."

Alder said the best way to instigate drug tests among employees without straining relationships is to set up a random system.

"That way it's nothing personal," he said. "As more (employers) do that, people understand it's just policy and procedure."

It's something every employer should consider, he said.

"We've got to take a stand. We can't turn our heads anymore. This is killing way too many people every day," he said. "And employers are in a better position to take a stand, even better than families, because they have leverage."

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