Frequent Drug Use and Negative Employment Outcomes among the Criminally Active.

The consequences of frequent drug use for future employment are consistently negative within this criminal justice sample. Results suggest that lower levels of drug use may improve the success of postrelease employment programs. In a context of increasing concern over rising opioid and heroin, but also cocaine and marijuana abuse, the findings suggest a renewed focus on and perhaps expansion of evidence-based drug treatment among populations embedded within the criminal justice system, particularly if employment constrains criminal behavior.