Hell, it also kinda shows how bad you want the job. If the company advertises a zero drug policy, are you going to be willing to stick to that? Point is, if I go into an interview and some guy is equally qualified as me but he fails the drug test and as result, I get the job...his own damn fault.

5/7/2007 6:03:39 PM

my last office decided to start doing random drug tests.... an elderly lady that had been with the company for 10 years was fired due to her pot habit. that's just messed up.

5/7/2007 6:25:44 PM

^^^ do you not see the difference between driving fast and taking substances to feel good or escape? does driving fast to work continue to affect your work habits? can you drive fast while at work (and if you are in a delivery company or the like then yes it would be an issue)?

[Edited on May 7, 2007 at 6:54 PM. Reason : .]

5/7/2007 6:53:35 PM

Quote :

"does driving fast to work continue to affect your work habits? can you drive fast while at work "

if you drive to and from job sites, then yes. I have a few coworkers that I refuse to let drive when I work with them, and there are others that I let do all of the driving when I work with them because they are safe drivers.

5/7/2007 10:04:05 PM

i already noted the delivery example, and it sounds like it is affecting you, not them negatively.

5/7/2007 10:32:16 PM

Quote :

"do you not see the difference between driving fast and taking substances to feel good or escape? "

when alcohol is treated as other drugs (exactly) for employment reasons, you argument would hold some weight.

5/8/2007 10:20:58 AM

People do a lot of stupid things that put themselves at risk for one thing or another. Base jumpers, parachuting, skydiving, etc. etc. All these risks have varying risk 'levels' but the point is unless it's affecting your job performance you shouldn't be able to get pwnt for it. It doesn't make any of those risks justified by any means, but someone who says smoking pot is something you should be fired for then why is jumping out of a plane a mile above the planet okay?

5/8/2007 10:34:36 AM

ummm... when was the last time someone who died during a skydive able to come into work the next day and fuck up an account or something?

5/8/2007 11:01:55 AM

I'm saying there's more risk of damage to the company from someone dying from skydiving and shit than someone smoking pot. Sure, if someone smokes pot AT work they could be slow and fuck some shit up, but if someone dies outright the company has to pay out the wazoo to replace the person and get caught up on all the lost work.

5/8/2007 11:08:47 AM

id actually argue that fucking something up would cost more than simply losing an employee. employees come and go all the time, so businesses are prepared for that.

5/8/2007 11:15:22 AM

Quote :

"ummm... when was the last time someone who died during a skydive able to come into work the next day and fuck up an account or something?"

I don't know for sure, but I would be willing to bet alcohol causes more loss in productivity than all the illicit drugs combined, but that seems to be A-OK. I'm not necessarily against the workplace testing, but it's a joke since there are such vast double standards.



an alcoholic has a "medical condition" and is protected to a degree.

someone who smokes a bowl every once in a while, suffers no productivity loss but fails a random drug test is a "drug addict" and is usually immediately fired.

5/8/2007 11:22:00 AM

go to the grocery store.

buy some black hair perm treatment


apply to your hair, and you're covered.

alternatively you could just dye your hair, but thats less likely to work.

5/8/2007 11:24:47 AM

^^i think you're being a little extreme there. all the companies i've worked for simply won't fire you striaght up for a positive drug test. theres a drug counseling period you have to go through for first time offenders.

hell i work for defense contractor, and even they won't usually fire you for a first offense as long as you agree to treatment (of course it all depends on the situation)

[Edited on May 8, 2007 at 11:25 AM. Reason : d]

5/8/2007 11:25:22 AM

Quote :

"go to the grocery store. buy some black hair perm treatment apply to your hair, and you're covered. alternatively you could just dye your hair, but thats less likely to work. "

really?....I was wondering if bleaching would work.

^well, you can go home after work every night and get blistered, but as long as your productivity doesn't suffer and you don't come in drunk nobody cares....why should weed be any different?

5/8/2007 11:33:07 AM

speaking from experience, pot clouds my memory more that alcohol.

i can drink a drink or two every evening and not notice a drop in my cognitive thinking and problem solving skills, but that isnt the case when i smoked pot. i realize this is just my own opinion, but its the only experience i can speak for.

5/8/2007 11:44:15 AM

I hear ya, but it's much much much more likely for someone to go out and get drunk and come into work with a hangover (or not come in at all) than to smoke too much pot and feel bad the next day.....how many times have you heard people talking about the crazy night they had at the bar last night (while still looking half drunk)? I've never heard someone say they smoked too much pot last night and have a hangover because of it, and even if it happens, it's surely not near as many instances as with alcohol.

point is, they're close enough in terms of detrimental workplace effects (imo alcohol is much worse)not to treat them the same.

[Edited on May 8, 2007 at 11:57 AM. Reason : .]

5/8/2007 11:55:29 AM

Quote :

"bbehe: It says you're willing to do something illegal just to relax. Shows you may not follow rules if you disagree with them. Shows you don't really care about how the company looks (if you get caught, and you're in a high enough position, it might look bad) I mean honestly, grow the fuck up. I don't judge people who smoke weed, a lot of my friends do. But don't bitch about your employer firing you or not hiring you because you do."

I was asking my question under the premise that drugs are legal.

And don't make this personal to me. I don't use drugs.

5/8/2007 3:50:02 PM

Quote :

"I don't use drugs"

pretty much everybody uses drugs......I think you mean you don't use non-uncle sam approved drugs.

5/8/2007 4:05:27 PM

I was addicted to caffeine for a while and I've managed to ween myself down to about one or two drinks a week now.

5/8/2007 4:07:20 PM

^^That's correct. I thought we were over pointing that out after, like, the fifth grade.

[Edited on May 8, 2007 at 4:13 PM. Reason : sss]

5/8/2007 4:12:47 PM

obviously not,

Quote :

" I don't use drugs."

things like caffine, alcohol, cigarettes, and certain medications can be some of the most nasty and hard to kick addictions, and they're all legal. It's all about the stigma surrounding a certain substance.....some stigmas have basis and some don't, unfortunately most people never actually investigate/research for themselves, and thus perpetuate the stigma of "drugs".

it all boils down to self control and restraint.....past performance and success/failure should be about the only determining factor in prospective employment.

5/8/2007 4:31:39 PM

I've never been addicted to alcohol or cigarrettes, but I can say with authority that if you have trouble kicking a caffeine habit you are either extremely weak minded or you have some horribly addictive personality.

5/8/2007 4:41:15 PM

^^Stop talking to me.

I'm aware of everything you're saying. I'm not interested in that shit right now.

[Edited on May 8, 2007 at 4:42 PM. Reason : sss]

5/8/2007 4:42:25 PM

^^you've never heard of people having trouble giving up coffee?

^don't be dumb and I won't have to correct.

5/8/2007 4:44:15 PM

No, it's perfectly acceptable for me to say "I don't use drugs" and expect you to understand that I mean illegal drugs, especially given the context.

And you're not just correcting. You're lecturing me on stigma and shit, like I haven't spent days of my life getting jacked and stoned going over all the talking points of the drug debate with my drug-loving friends. I've been in college for five years.

[Edited on May 8, 2007 at 5:30 PM. Reason : Better.]

5/8/2007 5:26:13 PM

Quote :

"I hear ya, but it's much much much more likely for someone to go out and get drunk and come into work with a hangover (or not come in at all) than to smoke too much pot and feel bad the next day"

this is true, and im for firing people who are alcoholics as well. that said, smoking a bowl at lunch is probably a lot more detrimental to your work than having a cocktail with that burger so it goes both ways.

[Edited on May 8, 2007 at 5:53 PM. Reason : .]

5/8/2007 5:53:31 PM