Pubdate: Thu, 06 Oct 2005
Source: Pacific Daily News (US GU)
Copyright: 2005 Pacific Daily News
Contact: http://www.guampdn.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.guampdn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1122
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

BACK IT UP

Camacho Must Ensure That His Zero-Tolerance Drug Policy Is Funded And
Fully Implemented

Gov. Felix Camacho's "zero-tolerance" policy regarding drug use within
the government has been more of a "zero-implementation" policy.

In April, Camacho signed an executive order to give the Department of
Administration the ability to approve funding and payment for random
drug testing. This was done because some agency directors weren't
conducting the tests because they said they lacked the money for testing.

The executive order was supposed to have resolved the funding problem
to ensure there would be regular and random drug testing of government
employees in safety-or health-related jobs. But, more than five
months later, those random drug tests haven't been conducted because
the administration department hasn't submitted a testing schedule to
the Bureau of Budget and Management Research.

Early Wednesday morning, a Department of Public Works school bus
driver was arrested, and later charged, for alleged possession of
methamphetamine. Bus drivers are among the group of safety-related
government employees who are supposed to undergo regular and random
drug testing. The drivers were tested at the beginning of the school
year.

In 2003, according to Pacific Daily News files, five school bus
drivers tested positive for drugs, and six failed their drug tests in
2004.

Because of this history, and because school bus drivers are entrusted
with the safety and lives of our schoolchildren, they need to be
regularly and routinely subject to random, unannounced drug tests. The
same needs to apply to other government employees working in health
and safety fields. This testing can't be done just once a year -- it
needs to be done systematically, throughout the year.

For the safety and security of our children, the governor needs to
back up his zero-tolerance policy with action and funding. He needs to
ensure that everything is done, at every level of the process and with
every agency involved, to make random and regular drug testing the
norm. He also needs to work with senators to ensure that the money to
pay for these drug tests is available. 
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