Addicts at Work

Plant manager, college registrar, pharmacy clerk, teletype operator, postal worker, security officer and steel mill worker. These are but a handful of some 60 types of jobs held by 95 New York City drug users who cooperated anonymously in a recent study of addicts at work. Their revelations confirm in detail what other studies have suggested: addicts on the payroll bring financial loss and widespread criminality to U.S. business and industry.

Of the 95 subjects interviewed by the Manhattan-based Training for Living Institute, * 87 had been on heroin. Three-fourths were male, half were black, one-fourth white, one-fourth Puerto Rican. Most had incomes in the $5,000 to $10,000 range. Among the 91 who had taken drugs during working hours, 48 had also sold them to other employees, 37 had stolen goods to sell on the outside, and 28 had stolen cash or checks. One man had forged and cashed an entire payroll. Although the average age of the subjects was only 23, they had already been on drugs for about six years. Says Psychologist Stephen Levy, T.F.L.'s research director: "It appears that more and more drug abusers are coming into the work force from high schools and colleges where they have been exposed to and participated in the academic drug scene."

The most remarkable revelation of the study is the ease with which addicts deceived their employers. They usually injected their heroin in the men's room, where they could experience the initial rush of euphoria undisturbed. This might last up to 20 minutes. They were careful to shoot only enough heroin to prevent withdrawal symptoms, not enough to get conspicuously high. If one began to nod, he moved around quickly to hide his drowsiness. If he was questioned about odd behavior, the favorite excuse was fatigue from lack of sleep caused by family problems. Older addicts also used the excuse of a hangover from drinking: most employers and supervisors apparently can empathize with this condition and find it socially acceptable. On this ground, said one addict, his boss often sent him home to rest.

Although 28 of the addicts had eventually been fired, not one employer gave drug abuse as the cause of dismissal. To Psychologist Levy, this indicates "a high degree of ignorance on the part of employers and supervisors about drug abuse on the work premises, an unwillingness to face up to the problem, or a combination of both."

* A private, nonprofit organization that teaches the skills of drug prevention and treatment to professionals and laymen.

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