DRUG TESTING

Drug Testing

Table of Content

Introduction3

Federal Drug Testing: Background and Analysis3

How Different Are Ethical Standards In Different Cultures?4

Suspicion-Based Searches5

Legitimacy And Assumption Of Cultural Homogeneity6

Suspicionless Tests7

Corporate Drug Testing10

Drug Use Patterns In The Population11

Is There A Need For Structure, Training, And Guidance?12

Legality13

Test Criteria13

Values Or Compliance Approaches In Drug Testing in Nigeria?14

Bibliography17

Drug Testing

Introduction

Drug testing of employees is legally mandated in some occupations; corporations may also require that employees undergo drug testing before employment, at periodic intervals, or after an accident or incident. The usual drug test consists of supplying a sample of urine which is then analyzed in-house or by a commercial laboratory for specified drugs (e.g., marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, or some other set; almost never are tests exhaustive of all substances because of cost). Testing of the breath, a salivary sample, or a sample of hair are alternatives. Blood tests are almost never used in employee drug tests unless a medical situation has arisen. Drug testing is undertaken and justified for safety reasons. The practice is rarely popular because it is intrusive; opponents also charge that drug testing violates fundamental individual rights and can have a corrosive effect on workplace morale.

Federal Drug Testing: Background and Analysis

Testing of transportation workers was mandated by The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991. According to the Department of Transportation's Web site, the act "requires drug and alcohol testing of safety-sensitive transportation employees in aviation, trucking, railroads, mass transit, pipelines and other transportation industries." DOT states that roughly 12.1 million people are included under the "safety-sensitive" employee definition, but neither the department nor the regulation (49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 40) actually spell out what that phrase means. It is left to each DOT element regulating the transportation industry to define such individuals. The phrase refers generally to operating and direct supervisory individuals in the transportation industry. Each regulatory agency also publishes separate regulations of how and when it conducts drug and alcohol tests.

How Different Are Ethical Standards In Different Cultures?

Ethical standards are different in different cultures. Drug testing of students most often arises in two circumstances: tests conducted when a school official reasonably believes that a student is under the influence of a controlled substance not permitted by law or school policy, and tests conducted pursuant to a policy permitting random, suspicionless drug tests. Usually, the drugs targeted are those that are considered serious and dangerous, such as marijuana and alcohol, but not nicotine. Likely the most popular test implemented is urinalysis. Other drug tests include searches with breathalyzers and analysis of hair samples. With some limitations in policy and practice, student drug testing is lawful in both suspicion-based and random circumstances.

Suspicion-Based Searches

Suspicion-based searches of students are governed, largely, by the Supreme Court decision in New Jersey v. T. L. O. In T. L. O., a high school teacher discovered two students smoking in a bathroom, in contravention of school policy. The two girls were questioned by the assistant principal. One girl admitted the violation. The other one denied it, and the assistant principal searched ...