NEARLY half of job hunters screened for illegal substances by their prospective employers are not drug-free.

And that shocking statistic has encouraged Minister of Drug Control Wayne Perinchief to plan the launch of an island-wide drug-free workplace initiative.

Mr. Perinchief said he had approached employers with the idea and had so far received an encouraging response.

And he said his department had also been gathering statistics from agencies involved in the fight against drugs to understand the full extent of drug abuse on the island.

Vaughn Mosher, managing director of Benedict Associates Ltd., a company which carries out drugs tests on behalf of employers, said 50 per cent of pre-employment test samples showed traces of illegal substances.

Mr. Perinchief said his Ministry's research corroborated that figure.

"It's certainly a source of great concern to me," Mr. Perinchief said. "It indicates the size of the problem, when you see that level of evidence of usage by people of working age.

"I already have in the works a drug-free workplace initiative. We in the Ministry have been working on preliminary surveys to try to gauge the acceptability of such a programme. Employers have generally been very supportive."

He said it would be up to the individual employers, including Government itself, to implement their own drug-free programmes.

And the Minister said he would encourage all companies to follow the example of Butterfield & Vallis, which has a stringent drug-free policy.

"There are benefits to employers and employees and their families," Mr. Perinchief said. "There is nothing but a positive outcome. Productivity goes up and absenteeism goes down. I know from time in the Police Service that theft goes down as well.

"This is not just a blue-collar problem. Quite frequently you can find middle and senior management people who are on drugs, whose judgement can be affected. And then there's the question of trustworthiness with drug users who are in control of money. Users can get through a lot of money quickly." Mr. Perinchief said he had already started the spadework by gathering data and approaching employers, trying to build up support in a "low-key" way.

"I think we have to start by taking the stigma out of drug use, by thinking of it as a health problem rather than a crime," Mr. Perinchief said. "People can be addicted to over-the-counter drugs as well.

"I would like to see employers, when they identify a drug-using employee, to get help for that person at the first instance and then the problem can be corrected through rehabilitation rather than through punitive action."

He said the drug-free workplace initiative was aimed at demand control, while the other side of his Ministry's focus was on supply control ? clamping down on smuggling and the dealers.

Employers frequently ask Benedict Associates to test anyone who has applied for a job with them.

The testing process is rapid, as Benedict has a high-tech system linked to a laboratory in Kansas City. The results come back within four minutes. Only if a sample is not drug free is further processing required in Government labs.

"Of the four types of drug tests we perform, the pre-employment test is probably the most accurate reflection of the community," Mr. Mosher said this week.

"This morning we tested six people and three of them were not drug-free. I'd say that was fairly typical."

He said around only around 50 per cent of those who underwent pre-employment scans were cleared as drug-free.

Butterfield & Vallis uses Benedict to carry out all four types of drugs testing ? pre-employment scans, random tests, tests with reasonable cause when there is a suspicion of an employee taking drugs, and targeted tests for those with a history of drugs.

"As a community, if we are waffly about marijuana, then there is no clear message on drugs that can be sent to the population," Mr. Mosher said.

"Butterfield & Vallis has a clear message for its employees that drug use is not acceptable. While some may think they have a right to use drugs in their own time, that drug will still in their system when they go to work.

"When people apply for a job with Butterfield & Vallis, only two or three per cent test not drug free.

"That is because people know that Butterfield & Vallis is a no-nonsense working environment when it comes to drugs.

"As a result, morale is up and absenteeism is down, productivity is up and staff turnover is down. The benefits are clear."