The Case for and Against Drug Testing
Case Study 16-1
Columbia Southern University

The adversity that the Castulon Corporation is faced with during the recent discovery of employee’s use of drugs on and off the facility, they’re trying to decide what can be done about the current situation while implementing a drug screening policy to resolve the situation.

According Drug Use Statistics, “Among unemployed adults aged 18 or older in 2009, 17.0 percent were current illicit drug users, which were higher than the 8.0 percent of those employed full time and 11.5 percent of those employed part time. However, most illicit drug users were employed. Of the 19.3 million current illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2009, 12.9 million (66.6 percent) were employed either full or part time” (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 2010). Not to mention prescription drug abuse or alcohol abuse. Some say those statistics and Castulon Corporation’s current issues that the implementation of a drug screening policy should not should be put in place immediately. However, what implications would it have on the employees who are not a using drugs, and how far should the testing go, after all alcohol and prescription drug use can cause just as much damage. The one thing Castulon did was weigh the pros and cons, and assigned the task to two employees of proving both sides to management. I do agree that there are some industries where drug screening should be mandatory, as in this case because of the nature of the industry. I would recommend that a corporation such as Castulon implement a broader system for all drugs testing for new employees and periodically perform mandatory random testing to those employees who have failed a test. Before implementing such a program, Castulon should set up an employee helpline where present employees can call in