Skip to main content

Workplace drug testing

The company I work has random drug testing, which occurs about once every three months. A couple of weeks ago I was called in to be tested. Fine with me, as I have nothing to hide and I feel that the company has every right to call me in for three reasons. One, it's a known fact that I'm on antidepressants. Two, I have had knee surgery three times, and who's to say I'm not hooked on pain killers(which I'm not.) And lastly, I have admitted to have used recreational drugs when I was in my twenties.

The reason we have this mandatory testing is that we work on jobs for the government. Is it fair? I think so as what they are looking for are illegal drugs and others that aren't prescribed to the person using them. It just strongly advocates personal responsibility.

Where I work we make maintenance parts for the railroad. It's not unreasonable to expect employees to work unimpaired. After all, we have people's lives in our hands.

Comments

Pat Jenkins said…
huh this has always been a tough one for me wixy, if a company has a right to "watch" what you do outside the work place....
Cliff said…
Depends on your values. I've been told that they were looking for illegal drugs, but they sometimes catch the one who uses a pain killer prescribed to their spouse or someone else. Problem is where do you draw the line?

I worked jobs in the seventies where you would go out and smoke your lunch then come back and operate the machines. One of the jobs I had was in a state home for the mentally retarded. When do you become a danger to yourself and others? Stupid stuff like that keeps union stewards busy.
kim23 said…
The company I work for also has random drug testing which occurs about once every two months. I strongly believe that a faa drug abatement program is absolutely necessary and helpful for any organization. Substance abuse issues can really be avoided with the help of this method.

Popular posts from this blog

Post 800: Time to chat

Hi Guys, It's hard to believe that this is post number 800 for this blog. I started this blog out of my desire to communicate. Since radio and television is becoming more and more automated and less and less personal, I'm glad I made the decision to go in this direction as it has given me many blessings. When I first decided to write my musings, a friend from the radio and television boards who goes by the name of newsnomore, told me not to be discouraged if I didn't get any readers. The fact that I did in the early going made me surprised and grateful that anyone was enjoying what I wrote. I've had people tell me that maybe it wasn't meant for me to ever be in radio, that maybe my calling was blogging. Nowadays I think blogging makes for better two way conversation than terrestrial radio, especially the way I do it, non confrontational. The closest I come from any confrontation is the innocent digs that Pat and I shoot at each other. On an average day I get betwee

Lawson's Chip Dip

On a couple of occasions I have written posts dedicated to Lawson's, a convenience store chain that was located in Ohio for close to 50 years. In the late 1980's the chain was bought out by Dairy Mart, of Engfield Ct. Dairy Mart was then purchased by Alimentation Couche-Tard, and most stored were rebranded Circle K. Something that has survived the years since Lawson's has left the landscape is Lawson's Chip Dip. I get many hits on this blog from people out of Ohio, I'm thinking former Buckeyes, looking for availability of this chip dip. I had gotten an email from a former resident of Cleveland looking for it. I emailed Circle K about this sometime ago asking if it was possible to send the dip out to those out of state, they said because of quality issues that it was not possible. My only suggestion would be to get in touch with Circle K in your home area and ask them to start stocking this very popular item that seems to make every get-together complete. Now we wil

Sometimes Sports are Just Sports

 This may or may not make the final cut of my book. I was writing about some events this weekend and what had started as a joyous Friday night at my home school district became a weekend of heartbreak in the area after what happened at another school. Sometimes We Need to Realize That Sports are Just Games   Friday nights in late summer and early fall are sometimes a big deal for high school students and their families. As the long-time band announcer for my local high school, it is a time of year I always look forward to. This past Friday night was originally supposed to be the homecoming game for the local high school. The schedule had to be changed a bit because of the uncertainty of the opponents being able to field a team. There was talk around the league that they may have had to forfeit this game, so homecoming for the local school was rescheduled. The opponents, which are rivals of my local school district, were able to field a team and the game was played. The game was