(The original title of this was “Baristas and Bumps: The Drugs We Do, by Profession”, but because Google is my God, I had to change it. It’s my preferred title.)
A new study from treatment4addiction.com (did Prince name them? Was “2many8balls4U.org” taken?) examines drug use by profession.
According to the report, Americans – duh – sure like them some druggies while on the clock, costing $120 billion in lost productivity as recently as 2007 due to drug use in the workplace.
You Microbrew Bores don’t escape blame either, as 15 percent of US workers reported being impaired on alcohol while at work at least once during the previous year.
(We call that “Monday through Thursday” here at the Mercury offices, but I digress.)
The fun part comes with the handy dandy chart they’ve created, which shows you exactly which substances are being used most by which profession.
Who takes what? According to the study, construction and extraction workers use heroin at a rate of 17.4 percent, which might explain the rates charged by most general contractors.
But for real though, this rate due may be due to the high number of injuries resulting in opiate prescriptions, and the addiction that may ensue. We could talk about improvements of safety standards to prevent such accidents, but space means we won’t.
Media and communication workers “abuse” hallucinogens at a rate of 12.2 percent, but if Jah didn’t want us to eat mescaline at our desks, she shouldn’t have made it so yummy.
Jazz tobacco is most frequently used by “Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related” at a rate of 11.8 percent.
Personal experience tells me that number is a bit shy of the 80-plus percent I encounter weekly, but maybe that’s just me.
How high is your profession, and on what? Check out the list.
