Dare to Be Drug Free!

I fully agree with Ms. Jazz that those at the top should be treated the same as those at the bottom, but since I don't agree that those at the bottom should have to be regularly subjected to drug tests I disagree with her overall message.

I have a problem with testing for drugs, because I feel that the testing method is seriously biased. Marijuana stays in a person's system much longer than say cocaine (or many other hard drugs) making it much easier to detect. Personally I would rather hire someone that smoked a little marijuana every now and then opposed to someone who dabbled with the harder drugs that don't always get detected in a drug test.

The high profile instances of politicians with drug addictions have usually involved an addiction to prescription meds (that can be just as dangerous as many street drugs), but standard drug testing doesn't pick up on those meds. Alcohol is another drug that leaves the system relatively fast. I personally don't want an alcoholic representing me in government, but a drug test probably won't catch that problem.

There are certain cases where I am in full support of drug tests. I know that Capital Metro gives their employees a drug AND alcohol test at the beginning of every shift. Their staff is responsible for the lives of hundreds of people everyday, so I can see how this is a reasonable precaution.

While politicians may have our fate in their hands, one drug test given at the beginning of their term does nothing to convince me that they are in any way drug free. I believe all we can do as a voting public is elect those that we feel are best qualified, that have a proven track record and then cross our fingers and hope that they are in good moral standing and are drug-free.