P.M. Briefing : On-Job Drug Use High in Fla.

WASHINGTON — Illicit drug use by workers apparently is more common in Florida than it is nationwide, a survey released today by the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace in Washington suggests.

One-third of the 501 full-time employees in Florida interviewed by the Gallup Organization said they knew of drug use by co-workers on the job, compared with only 24% of workers nationwide, the institute said.

“The magnitude of the workplace drug problem in Florida, as identified by the workers themselves, is extremely troublesome,” said the institute’s executive director, Mark A. de Bernardo.

Similarly, 45% of the Florida workers surveyed said they had seen or heard of illicit drug use by fellow workers before or after work, compared with 31% nationwide, the institute said.