Pubdate: Sun, 6 Jan 2008 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2008 Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n014/a05.html Author: Tim Meehan Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor MARIJUANA RULING NAIVE Re: Mindelle Jacobs's Friday column. While the oilpatch is cheering because harmless marijuana users can now be booted off the job, no one has considered the unintended side effects of banning off-duty marijuana use. As seen in the U.S., most drug users subjected to testing switched to cocaine and meth from marijuana. Pot stays in your system up to three months, while one can use crack on a Friday night and test clean on Monday. This ruling will do nothing except increase hard drug use in rural workplaces. Anyone who thinks a crack cocaine or meth user is more desirable than a casual marijuana smoker on a work site needs to have their head examined. Tim Meehan (Jacobs favours random drug testing.) - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake