Testing for illegal drugs became fairly standard for employers after the federal government launched its drug-free workplace initiative in the 1980s. On a yearly basis, 25 million job applicants are tested for drugs, with another 25 million existing employees subject to drug screenings.

Although workplace drug testing has been credited by some for spurring higher productivity and decreasing worker's-compensation claims, the practice has declined in recent years.

Dug-testing industry growth, which averaged more than 12.5 percent annually during the 1990s, has dropped to only about 1 percent a year.

A 2001 survey by the American Management Association found that 61 percent of companies screen job applicants, a drop from 1996, when 68 percent of employers screened candidates. Because of the weak economy, many companies are reviewing spending and eliminating drug testing for employees whose jobs do not pose safety risks, according to Meldron Young, a human-resources practice consultant at the association.

"They probably won't waste their money trying to do it," Young said. "You have people that are moving into the upper echelons of corporate America now that kind of take the stance that if it's not affecting the person's performance, it's not an issue."

Young added that most companies have not quantified the before-and-after results of workplace drug testing to determine its advantages to the company.

"Employers right now are so in survival mode," said Young. "[Testing] doesn't contribute to the bottom line right now."

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