Published: Sep 05, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Watch the video on the Denver 7 News Website.
Porch Light Health’s Chief Clinical Officer Steve Carleton spoke with Denver7 about new Quest Diagnostics data showing a rise in fentanyl use among employed workers, highlighting the need for awareness and compassionate addiction support.
Denver7
Quest Diagnostics, which a lot of us have been using for different medical tests, say that they are now tracking a pretty concerning drug trend that’s happening in the workplace. While positive drug tests were slightly down, it did jump up significantly for people testing positive for fentanyl. This is post-employment versus pre-employment. It was after analyzing 8 million drug tests, including random ones. I ran this information by two local addiction experts, Dr. Rob Vallek and then Steve Carleton, and they say that all of this is tracking in Colorado. They said that it tells you a couple of different things. Vallek said, What is concerning is how fentanyl is showing up more and more in so many settings. Both experts saying that this is likely connected to people buying fake pills and really getting something else.
Steve Carleton
When you’re buying substances on the street, they’re counterfeit pills, right? So you think you’re buying OxyContin, you think you’re buying a Xanax, which is a completely different type of drug. And really, you you’re buying fentanyl.
Denver7
Another indication of just how prevalent this is is that just this year, all labs that are doing workplace testing have to now include fentanyl in their federal workplace drug testing panels. Private and state employees are required, but are not required to do so, but are advised to maybe follow some of that protocol. It’s also really important to note that fentanyl-related deaths dropped between 2023 and 2024, according to the CDC. Experts say part of the reason could be because of better education and more people using naloxone to reverse an overdose.
