Workplace Drug Testing

Applying for a job? Throughout the United States, employers are demanding applicants submit their urine as well as their resume. And these days, it’s not just prospective employees who are being ordered to ‘drop trou.’ Under increasingly pernicious laws and regulations, everyone from student athletes, to motorists, to expectant mothers are now having their bodily fluids snooped for the lingering presence of illicit drugs. In many cases, the ramifications for testing positive are not only emotionally and financially severe—they could also land you in jail!

I know. Since 1995 I’ve studied virtually every aspect of the drug testing issue, from both a legal perspective (Can I be drug tested?) and as a practical matter (Can I beat a drug test?). I manned a drug-testing question-and-answer hotline for over five years, fielding thousands of inquiries from recreational and medical pot smokers forced to pee on command or risk losing their jobs. I’ve infiltrated various drug testing industry and U.S.-government-sponsored conferences (See This Ain’t Your Father’s Drug Test, in the December 2004 issue of HEADS) to get the skinny on the latest drug testing applications and technologies, often months and sometimes even years before the information becomes public.

As NORML’s senior policy analyst, I’ve attended Congressional hearings on federal efforts to snuff out the burgeoning ‘anti-drug testing industry’ (See How Will We Stop the Flow? in the November 2005 issue of Heads), and I’ve testified against the implementation of federally-funded random student drug testing programs in U.S. middle and high schools. In recent years, I’ve lobbied several state legislatures against the enactment of so-called “zero tolerance per se” DUID laws (See Your License, Your Urine, in the June 2004 issue of Heads)—which seek to punish sober drivers as if they are impaired merely for testing positive for inactive pot metabolites—and I’ve assisted numerous attorneys whose clients have been caught up in this dubious and destructive legal web.

And now, thanks to the editors of HEADS, I have the opportunity to share my knowledge and years of experience with you.

Each month this column will explore various issues related to the use of marijuana and drug testing—culled from the thousands of questions and topics posed to me over the past decade. I’ll give you the straight dope on the science of drug testing—including the latest research on alternative testing technologies like saliva and hair testing—and I’ll separate the fact from fiction when it comes to such oft-contested issues as adulterants, passive inhalation, and the pharmacokinetics (the process by which a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated by the body) of THC. I’ll also explore the latest legal decisions concerning who can be drug tested and when, and I’ll critique the pro-testing propaganda used to prop up this multi-billion dollar Orwellian industry. Finally, space permitting, I’ll take time out to respond to some of your thoughts and questions; I know you have many.

Over 55 million drug tests are performed in the United States each year. If you smoke pot recreationally, or even if you don’t smoke pot at all, it’s vital that you arm yourself with the information necessary to combat this growing encroachment on your rights and liberties. Your livelihood, and even your freedom, just may depend on it.

Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst for NORML and the NORML Foundation in Washington, DC. He may be contacted at:
paul@norml.org

Comments

[drk]

The USA leads the way in this type of thing - I could feel happy and smug about that - but in fact the attitude is spreading and more and more employers ask for tests in the EU.

Great way of attracting the smartest and best - huh?

Downfall of western civilization here we come ...