169 lines
7.8 KiB
Plaintext
169 lines
7.8 KiB
Plaintext
I have appended two text files to this post that provide netters with
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information about the drug testing talk I have put together. I'm
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planning on taking this talk "on the road" around Indiana under the
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aegis of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union (ICLU). Regular readers
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of t.p.d and a.d will find much in the outline that is familiar --
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however, I thought it would be useful to let folks know what we're
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up to in Hoosierland.
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The talk is an expanded version of the presentation I give as part
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of the cannabis re-legalization "Truth Squad".
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I will be delivering the new, expanded version for the first time
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this coming Wednesday, 3 April, in the SPEA building on the IU
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campus at 8:15. It will be the second of two presentations that
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are to be given as part of a class (what class it is, I don't know).
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Also, I should mention that I will be a participant in the
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forthcoming "Hash Wednesday" activities at the University of
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Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (or is it Champaign-Urbana?) on
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Wednesday, 17 April. There is a scheduled debate on drug testing
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that will pit the Illini Forensic Debate team against myself and
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some other folks.
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On to the info ...
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----------------------------cut here------------------------------
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Drug Testing -- What is it and do we need it?
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by Paul Hager,
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Vice-president for Drug Policy Issues, BCLU
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Who wants to travel on a plane being flown by a pilot who is
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drunk or stoned? No one, right? This is the justification most
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often given in favor of drug testing. But is this justification
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valid? What is drug testing and does it really make our skies,
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our roads, and our workplaces safer?
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Paul Hager explores these and other questions about drug
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testing in a half-hour talk that focuses on the economic and
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scientific underpinnings of current drug testing technology. He
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concludes by answering the ultimate question about drug testing:
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do we need it? Following the talk, Mr. Hager will take questions
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>from the audience.
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Paul Hager is an independent software consultant and former
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civilian contractor for the U.S. Navy. He is also the Vice-
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president for Drug Policy Issues of the Bloomington Civil
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Liberties Union, an affiliate of the Indiana Civil Liberties
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Union. Mr. Hager's involvement in the issue of drug testing
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began when the application of the Drug Free Workplace Act to his
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job required that he submit to random drug tests.
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If you are interested in hearing Mr. Hager's presentation on
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drug testing, contact him at the following address:
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Paul Hager
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4475 N. Benton Ct.
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Bloomington, IN 47408
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(812) 333-1384
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Drug Testing -- What is it and do we need it?
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Outline of Talk by Paul Hager,
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Vice-president for Drug Policy Issues, BCLU
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Following is a short outline of a talk I give on drug
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testing and its alternatives. As a civil libertarian, I object
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to drug testing as it is currently practiced on philosophical
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grounds but in my talk the focus is on pragmatic economic and
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scientific arguments. This is a timely topic given that an
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increasing number of companies drug test and drug testing
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legislation has been introduced in the Indiana General Assembly
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during the current session.
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I. Introduction
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I get the audience involved by asking for a show of hands on
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four questions: 1) who supports allowing the company that
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employs them the right to drug test any employee for any
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reason (i.e., random); 2) who supports allowing a company to
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randomly test only people in safety critical jobs (e.g.
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pilots); 3) who supports allowing the company that employs
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them to drug test employees upon probable cause; and,
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finally, 4) who supports allowing a company to test people
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in safety critical jobs upon probable cause.
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II. Drug Testing Defined
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a. I define the "metabolite" or urinalysis test. Using
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the example of cannabis/marijuana, I explain how the
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test screens for the presence of inactive byproducts of
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the "intoxicant", not the intoxicant itself. I provide
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a graph that shows the level of the intoxicant in the
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blood versus time and the level of the metabolite in
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the urine over time.
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b. I indicate that upwards of 80% to 90% of positives are
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for cannabis.
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III Information about impairment
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a. I present a study that demonstrates that pilots tested
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on aircraft simulators exhibit degraded performance
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(i.e., impairment) only for 4 hours after marijuana
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use.
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b. I present information from a study using the same
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methodology as that in the marijuana test, that shows
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alcohol users are impaired more than a day after use.
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c. I present information that lack of sleep has been
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identified as an impairment hazard that is as great as
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alcohol.
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d. I reveal that one of the ways that scientists calculate
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the "intoxicating" dose of various drugs is by using
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instruments like the aircraft simulators I mentioned
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earlier.
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IV. The failure of metabolite testing
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a. While the metabolite test is fairly useful in detecting
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PAST USE of cannabis, it is USELESS in detecting
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impairment, not only from cannabis use but also from a
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multitude of other sources including alcohol, lack of
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sleep and illness.
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b. Metabolite testing is relatively expensive, with the
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accuracy of the screen correlating directly with the
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cost. Also, techniques exist for beating the test,
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which mean that false negatives occur frequently.
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c. I mention that a recent study of Federal workers shows
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that in order to obtain a 0.5% positive rate, the cost
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to the Government averages $385 per worker or $77,000
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per positive.
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V. Impairment testing
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a. If functional, on-the-job impairment is the concern,
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then why not test for it? I indicate that the devices
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that have been used for years to measure impairment in
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the laboratory are now available for public use.
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b. I provide information about the 30+ year experience
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with one kind of tester -- the one use to measure
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impairment by testing tracking of a moving stimulus. I
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give information about its use to test Air Force pilots
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and NASA astronauts.
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c. I describe the more recent use of the tracking test as
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an alternative sentencing tool for people convicted of
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DUI -- their option is to lose their license or have
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the device hooked up to their car's ignition. I also
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note that the device is now used by municipal bus
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companies in California to test whether or not drivers
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are fit for work.
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d. I note that the cost one company charges for the
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impairment testing device and ancillary services is
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$300 per employee -- $85 less than the Federal
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government's costs -- and that the impairment tester
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tests for ACTUAL degradation of performance with a high
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degree of accuracy. An impairment tester can be used
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every day, twice a day and that doesn't add to the
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cost, whereas, each metabolite test administered
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further adds to the overall cost.
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VI. Conclusion
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I indicate that metabolite drug testing, because it doesn't
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come anywhere close to living up to its billing as a way to
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make the workplace safer, is really an attempt to make
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private companies an auxiliary enforcement arm of the DEA.
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The metabolite test is also an indirect tax on all of us in
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that companies that test must pass the costs onto the
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consumer. Although impairment testing is ALMOST as
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expensive, it actually delivers on the promise to make the
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workplace safer. I then conclude by asking the audience one
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question: a company has a choice between giving a metabolite
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test or an impairment test to its pilots to check their
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performance -- which do they prefer?
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--
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