Applicants Fail Job Training Drug Tests

About 2 percent of applicants for an Indiana job training program were turned away after failing a drug test, according to state officials who describe the mandatory testing as a success.

The program was launched in part because some business owners had questioned why drug users who would not be able to pass workplace drug screening were nonetheless allowed to participate in the federally funded job training program, the state Workforce Development Commissioner Mark Everson said.

Applicants were tested for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, the hallucinogen PCP and amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Everson believes the program, which has cost the state about $45,000 and that the U.S. Department of Labor describes as a national first, has been more successful than the numbers indicate.

“When people understand you’re going to drug test them, they walk away,” Everson said. “It discourages people from going through the process.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57349726/indiana-2-percent-fail-job-training-drug-tests/