In the past, schools have been pushing to increase alcohol detection drug service testing and urine alcohol testing for students especially in athletics. It was becoming a more standard practice as school officials worked on ways in which they could decrease the amount of students on drugs and alcohol. However, now with an uncertain economy and schools facing inevitable budget cuts, drug testing is being put on the back burner.

Schools can't be to blame for making the tough decisions regarding where to spend the money. When faced with keeping programs active or adding new drug service testing requirements, it is no question that they would rather keep students in activities. By making tough budget choices now and cutting back where they can, the schools are going to be much better off when the economy starts to perk up again.

Schools aren't the only place affecting drug testing facilities. With companies cutting back on hiring, pre-employment screens are not being done. As most of us know, when you get an offer to start a new job it is usually contingent upon passing a background check and drug screen. However, when companies aren't hiring, drug testing and background checks are not being done on a regular basis. Those companies that exclusively offer these types of services could be facing some financial difficulties until companies begin hiring again.

Other budget cuts might affect drug testing companies again as well if companies start to limit the number of random drug pools they demand or require for certain employees. Perhaps companies will start to do away with the pre-screening requirement all together as they work toward ways to slim costs. You might start to find that a common practice is hiring individuals without either a drug screen or a background check. While a lot of companies currently do this, we generally see some type of drug screen or background check requirement.

While we all see the major affects that the economy is having on us, we often don't see the little ripples that occur when we cut back on spending. I'm sure we all know as least one person who has recently lost a job and is now on unemployment. However, did you ever consider what areas you are now no longer spending money in ? maybe you aren't going to your local coffee shop very often or perhaps you've stopped shopping in retail stores and are getting all your clothes and books second hand. All of these decisions are making a difference on the types of businesses that are currently thriving.

It is no secret that the economy isn't going to turnaround over night and we all have to look at what we can do to consolidate costs. Perhaps cutting back on pre-employment screening in business and alcohol and drug testing in schools is going to make a big difference. Hopefully, for everything, it is the difference they are hoping for. What kind of impact will forgoing these types of screens have on our students and on our workforce? The only thing we know for sure is that it is going to continue to have a change on drug testing companies.