A prescription for drug abuse
This week’s summit is a good step toward combating drug abuse.
Thirty years ago, President Reagan declared war on drugs, making it by far the longest-running war on American soil and one that continues to claim thousands of casualties each year, leaving no one’s hometown unscathed.
November 16, 2012 - 8:21 AM
First, Virginia needs to do what Colorada has done and legalize weed. Natures gift. Much less dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, and can be taxed the same. Then more resources can be spent on the more serious drugs that are prescribed by doctors.
Of course alcohol and tobacco don’t cause any societal problems. We all encourage our kids to drink alcohol and to smoke tobacco products. So why not enlarge their options by legalizing other drugs. We will all be better off, collect more taxes, and spend far more on treating the effects of drug abuse. Remind me – how much does society spend as a result of alcohol and tobacco usage?
Since the War on Drugs is a) unconstitutional, and b) a spectacular failure of epic proportions, we could accomplish a lot of things by de-criminalizing at the federal level. It would save a LOT of federal money (don’t forget we’re broke), it would relieve the prison system of a lot of folks whose only crime as possessing a bit of weed, it would be a blow for constitutional liberties…
You can legalize it all you want. The thing is corperations and business’s such as mine will start to drug test more. It will be just like alcohol. If it comes up in your system. YOUR FIRED.
Might I say theat weed can stay in your system up to 7 days. Good luck.
Herb, you fire people if they test positive for having had a beer over the weekend?
Apparently C. You dont understand that “A” beer will not come up in the system. If any alcohol shows during a drug/alcohol test. YES they are fired. Our insurance would cancel us in a heart beat if we allowed that and so would the Roanoke times I am sure.
C one other thing. When we do a Drug test it is just that. It does not test for alcohol. The only time we would test for that is if there is an accident.
P.S just to let you know..it averages out to 1 beer/shot to get thru your system in 1 hr..so 10 beers/10 shots..better stop drinking 10 hrs before.
4 – I think that’s only fair.
Depending on the industry, it is perfectly legit to test for alcohol. If I had a shipping company, I would want to make damned sure all my drivers had no alcohol in their systems before taking one of my vehicles and my customers’ cargo out. Drugs, too.
But it’s not a function of the federal government (who is failing spectacularly at it anyway).
Herb, why would test if it is legal? Just because it stays in your system does not mean you are high. Good luck to you, trying to fire someone for doing something legal. You sound like the kind of boss I am so happy not to be working for.
I agree 89 the govt is a disaster at this but where do u draw the line. Weed or heroin
12 – states and localities should make that determination. I’m not arguing that drugs should be legal, I’m arguing that it’s not a federal issue, that Uncle Sam should shed himself of the obligation (at which it fails miserably anyway). It should be left to states and localities. That all the billions and billions of dollars tossed down the rathole in Uncle’s War on Drugs can be better spend locally.
At the very least, an acknowledgement that that the federal WOD has failed and maybe a different approach would work better. And oh yeah, Uncle is broke…
Reefer should be a non-issue federally, regulated if at all by states and/or localities.
I admit to mixed “emotions” as to other drugs, but tend to lean same.
At no time should use or abuse be allowed as legal excuse for actions/behaviour.
I’m still waiting to see this mythical strawman who has been imprisoned for simple possession of a little bit of weed.
Craig, alcohol is legal and u are telling me if u came into work with alcohol still in ur system you wouldnt be fired unless you have a union or an agreed substance abuse program you would be out the door. Its not weather its legal or not its ehat your company policy is and a lot of that is determined what your ins company says.
Its all about weather your company wants to take the risk. So from your statement IMO i dont think i would do business with your company with such a lacks policy.
Just a thought, if it were legal would yoy want our military high before duty. Not me.
#16 “if it were legal would yoy want our military high before duty.”
No more than I’d want our military drunk before duty, Herb. And yet our government insists one vice should be legal while the other should be banned, despite the fact that the choice that’s currently illegal is no more harmful than the choice that’s currently legal. Strange, isn’t it?
17…The point is that weed can and will stay in your body much longer and that will hinder your ability to peroform. If you bring 5 beers on Sunday afternoon, by Monday Morning your fine..You smoke 2 joints on Sunday it might be tuesday before you are fine with how long it stays in your system. Also weed has been proven to be a gateway drug, once you stop getting the great feeling it leads a lot to go further to get the same feeling.
IDK about “imprisoned” but arrested: “Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers between $10 billion and $12 billion annually and has led to the arrest of nearly 18 million Americans.”
http://norml.org/news/2006/09/18/marijuana-arrests-for-year-2005-786545-tops-record-high-pot-smokers-arrested-in-america-at-a-rate-of-one-every-40-seconds
“Functional alcoholics account for 19.5 percent of total U.S“. Do you really want to try and tell us they are not on the job right this moment all over this nation?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-functioning_alcoholic
sandi, I am not saying the system is not broken. The Govt cant run anything yet you want them to run our health care..
All I am saying is that if companies have the same proceeder for alcohol in the system as they do drugs(which will be the case) drugs stay in your system longer. So if you drank on sat or sunday, the possibility of have alocohol in your system is about nil, but weed can stay in your system up to 7 days. That is where this will come into play.
Let’s say I go to Colorado on vacation and smoke some dope while there. It’s legal, so no big deal.
But the day I go back to work I get popped for a random unrinalysis…which I fail because I still have pot in my system. Company policy is no drugs, so I subsequently lose my job.
But the pot I smoked was legal.
Justified firing or not?
22 – yes, as long as the company policy was in place and known to you. Same thing as drinking a beer (legal) and showing up for a job as an OTR driver with even a trace BAC, though not enough to be legally drunk.
I do not think a product being “legal” has any bearing on working or operating a vehicle under the influence. I think plenty of people risk it, but there is no protection from the work place ban if the substance is legal, or even prescribed by a doctor as far as I know. From what I have seen, the results show the “level” of the substance still in your system and someone would have to determine if that was “impaired” unless they explicitly say zero tolerance for any level in your system.
Herb, not sure what one has to do with the other, but I am just as “comfortable” with the government running our health care as I am a for profit insurance industry running it. They have taken the changes in the ACA and found their ways around them already. Going from “group rates” to age and gender banded rates that are all over the map, for small groups is the latest.
no. 22. Its up to the company. Alcohol is legal but you can not have it in your system when you report to work and get a alcohol screening. So its not weather its legal or not. It weather its in your system and company policy which most of it is going to be dictated by the insurance company, because they will jot cover most companies that allow this.
Just for the record having and DOT license you cant test more then .02 and legally drunk is .08, so you tell me.
That is not true Sandy, Go to your employer and ask them if alcohol should in your system when given a test even though you were not impaired what would happen. I think you would find they would probably have 2 options in place. Rehabilitate with other screenings or termination.
Thier insurance company would demand a policy in place.
Herb, you just said yourself it is up to the company and the insurance policy and having seen people NOT lose their job over having some minor amount of several influences in their test, I KNOW that it is true. Impaired is a judgement call unless there is a “zero tolerance” policy or the legally impaired level is reached. Otherwise, it is up to the boss what happens.
That was my point the whole time Sandi…Go back and read my threads.
It is up to the company, but like I said most companies have a zero tolerance for this, at least the ones I deal with in my industry do to safety. Also other companies have a bearing on your decision. I know for a fact that you can not do business, at least on premesis with Mead westvaco,Georgia pacific, Norfolk southern and many others if your place of business does not havea drug and alcohol policy in effect. They require you to send them your policy before they will even talk to you.
Of course almost all companies have a “zero tolerance” policy, post accident and random screening, but the point is that there are millions of functioning alcoholics on the job any given day of the week and there are companies who know who to test and who not to as well. Sadly, it is not so cut and dried as it may seem and for DOT employees it is also not so simple to just fire them if they are caught working under the influence in every case. There is almost ALWAYS wiggle room. There is no reason to assume legalized pot would be any different. I don’t believe anyone should come to work impaired or with alcohol or drugs in your system, but I am not so naive as to believe it does not happen.
I mean no offense Herb, but sometimes your point is hard to see. I did not think that was what you were saying.
No offense taken. I do agree that millions do come to work every day with it in thier system. Like I said it just depends on what the company policy is. With us it is zero,nada..because of who and where we do business. The companies I mentioned above even go so far as to have you fill out a consent form before you enter thier property that gives them authorization to test you right there. If you refuse they stop doing business with you asap. I can assure you there is no wiggle room here it comes back positive. Your done, legal or not. The only reason there is wiggle room for DOT is because union, I am sure there are stipualtions in thier contract but I can bet you they are not doing business with the above mentioned companies.