A survey of local members of the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce to determine their perception of how the sales and use of illegal drugs impacts their businesses

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of how local business persons feel the sale and use of illegal drugs effects their businesses. The population for this study was the local members of the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce. The population was categorized into four strata: services, Retail, Entertainment and professional. A proportional stratified random sample was taken and 100 subjects were identified. The method of data collection was a survey. The data obtained were analyzed by comparing percentages of each stratum. Forty one figures were used to show the results. Based on the results, the following conclusions were reached: sales of illegal drugs has little direct impact on business, employers are concerned about employee drug abuse, drug use will adversely effect employees job performance, the services and entertainment industries are less likely to pay for employee drug treatment programs, business persons feel they can identify drug sellers and users by appearance and employers do not have much experience dealing with employee drug abuse. Recommendations made were: businesses should institute drug education programs, business persons should attend drug abuse seminars, businesses should ensure their insurance covers treatment costs and employers should make insurance available to employees.