Jove
Visualize
Contact Us

Related Experiment Videos

Drug abusers on the job

J E Nelson

    Journal of Occupational Medicine. : Official Publication of the Industrial Medical Association
    |June 1, 1981
    PubMed
    Summary

    Functional drug abusers can maintain long-term employment and stable work histories. Many individuals in treatment for drug addiction hold diverse jobs, demonstrating that addiction does not preclude a productive working life.

    Related Concept Videos

    You might also read

    Related Articles

    Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

    Sort by
    Same author

    Comparison of the efficacy of macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics, either singly or in combination with other anthelmintic(s), in nine beef herds in southern NSW.

    Australian veterinary journal·2023
    Same author

    Increased parenchymal damage and steatohepatitis in Caucasian non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients with common IL1B and IL6 polymorphisms.

    Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics·2016
    Same author

    Lung cancer physicians' referral practices for palliative care consultation.

    Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology·2011
    Same author

    Figure control for a fully segmented telescope mirror.

    Applied optics·2010
    Same author

    Stressed mirror polishing. 1: A technique for producing nonaxisymmetric mirrors.

    Applied optics·2010
    Same author

    Stressed mirror polishing. 2: Fabrication of an off-axis section of a paraboloid.

    Applied optics·2010
    JoVE
    x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
    ABOUT JoVE
    OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
    AUTHORS
    Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
    LIBRARIANS
    TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
    RESEARCH
    JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
    EDUCATION
    JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
    Terms & Conditions of Use
    Privacy Policy
    Policies

    Area of Science:

    • Occupational Health
    • Addiction Studies
    • Sociology of Work

    Background:

    • The working population includes individuals with varying degrees of drug abuse, from functional to dysfunctional.
    • Functional drug-abusing employees can remain productive for years without detection.
    • Long-term heroin addicts have documented stable work histories.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To examine the employment capabilities of drug abusers within the workforce.
    • To investigate the types of occupations held by individuals with drug abuse histories.
    • To understand the characteristics of employed versus non-employed individuals with addiction.

    Main Methods:

    • Review of documented cases of long-term drug abusers with stable work histories.
    • Analysis of a study by Levy involving 95 former addicts with employment and drug abuse histories.
    • Examination of data from the CODAP (Client-Oriented Data Acquisition Program) system on employed opiate users in treatment.
    • Reference to Caplovitz's findings on the characteristics of stable worker-addicts.

    Main Results:

    • Individuals with drug abuse histories hold a wide array of occupations, including skilled and unskilled positions.
    • On-the-job drug use was reported in 91 out of 95 individuals in Levy's study.
    • Approximately 20% of opiate users admitted to treatment programs were employed full-time.
    • Stable worker-addicts share more characteristics with other workers than with nonworking addicts.

    Conclusions:

    • Drug abuse does not necessarily prevent individuals from maintaining long-term employment and diverse occupational roles.
    • The concept of the 'functional drug abuser' in the workplace is supported by empirical evidence.
    • Employed individuals with addiction often exhibit characteristics similar to the general working population.

    Related Experiment Videos