Pubdate: Sat, 23 Feb 2002
Source: Hull Daily Mail (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Northcliffe Newspapers Group Ltd
Contact:  http://www.thisishull.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1181
Author: Carl Wagner, Legalise Cannabis Alliance
Note: newshawk's heading

DRUG TESTING IN THE WORKPLACE

Drug testing in the workplace should be brought in only after full 
consultation with staff and unions, and within the context of a clear 
policy on what to do in the event of a positive result.

The unreliability of the evidence provided by drug tests could have serious 
consequences for workers, especially cannabis users, who should be aware 
that they could lose their job, their driving licence or worse because of 
an unsafe test.

A positive test result for cannabis can be produced after passive 
inhalation, consumption of foods containing hemp seed or its oils, legal 
medications or the ingestion of cannabis even after months previously.

The greatest shortcoming is their inability to determine impairment at the 
time the test was taken. Unlike the breathalyser which can accurately 
detect alcohol impairment, drug tests cannot.

It wouldn't be legal to dismiss someone because they had tested positive 
for cannabis because the tests themselves are known to be unsafe.

Scientific studies of the effects of driving performance after smoking 
cannabis carried out in the Netherlands and in Australia, have long ago 
declared that the detrimental effects are tiny, and the Dutch government, 
which allows cannabis use and sale from certain outlets, has no special 
laws for drivers who smoke it.

So why use unnecessary tests that produce unreliable results?

Carl Wagner
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart