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DFWP Alliance Member Featured in National Drug Control Strategy
On March 1, President Bush and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy released the 2008 National Drug Control Strategy. The Strategy outlines progress made in reducing both the supply of and demand for illegal drugs, and highlights challenges that remain, including the emerging threat of prescription drug abuse. In addition, the Strategy addresses drug-free workplace programs and includes a profile of one of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Drug-Free Workplace Alliance members, the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers (the Ironworkers Union).
Citing a 24 percent decline in youth drug use since 2001, the 2008 Strategy credits a balanced approach of prevention, education and treatment, as well as enhanced law enforcement and international cooperation. Teen marijuana use is down 25 percent, Ecstasy use has dropped by more than half, and youth use of methamphetamine has plummeted 64 percent. However, the report calls for tighter controls on Internet sales of controlled substances since online pharmacies are increasingly becoming sources for diversion of prescription drugs.
Most adults who use drugs are employed, making the workplace one of the most effective settings for reaching them. Recognizing this, the President’s Strategy includes a section emphasizing the powerful role that drug-free workplace programs play in spreading prevention messages and intervening early with those who have already begun to use. It highlights the efforts of federal agencies that encourage drug-free workplace practices–including DOL’s Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace Program–as well as the success of the annual Drug Free Work Week campaign. It also discusses DOL’s Drug-Free Workplace Alliance, a cooperative initiative engaging labor unions and employer associations to improve worker safety and health through drug-free workplace programs.
The case study on the Ironworkers Union appears in Chapter 1 of the Strategy. It focuses on the organization’s formal drug-free workplace program, which is built around a comprehensive drug testing policy designed to provide a prequalified, drug-free workforce of ironworkers to contractors.
For more information on keeping workplaces free of the hazards of drug use, visit DOL’s Working Partners Web site.
A copy of President Bush's 2008 National Drug Control Strategy may be found at: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov.
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