cannabisnews.com: Random Drug Testing is Routine for NYPD





Random Drug Testing is Routine for NYPD
Posted by CN Staff on February 28, 2004 at 08:09:02 PT
By Betsy Powell, Crime Reporter
Source: Toronto Star 
When a computer randomly picks New York City police officers for their "dole" test, as it is nicknamed, they head to the department's medical division building and get down to business."You pee in a bowl or whatever it is, pee in a cup, and then you go back to your command," says NYPD Detective Bernard Gifford. "It's routine that drug testing is given to all NYPD personnel, very routine, common practice," he says, pausing on the line yesterday from Manhattan long enough to confirm that 20 officers were "doing dole today."
In Canada, though, workplace drug testing is anything but routine, which is why retired Ontario justice George Ferguson's call to make drug tests mandatory for Toronto Police Service officers being promoted or transferred to "sensitive or high-risk" units has sparked such an uproar. In New York, "You fail, you're fired," Gifford said."You're brought up on department charges and you're fired. No second chances." He couldn't say how many of the force's 40,000 employees, including 23,000 uniformed officers, flunk the test and don't get a second chance. The test checks for illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and opiates, and is administered randomly and pre-promotion."You shouldn't be doing drugs if you're a cop," said Gifford. "What's the big deal?"It's a big deal here, says Gerard Seijts, an associate professor of the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario who has researched the effectiveness of workplace drug tests."This would really be huge if they go along with this; it would be major," Seijts said.In his report to Chief Julian Fantino, made public this week, Ferguson singled out the NYPD's random drug testing measures as being "effective and fair to all," but goes on to cite "recent decisions made by Canadian courts and pronouncements made by both the Canadian and Ontario Human Rights Commissions (that) would appear to effectively preclude the introduction of a similar program in this province."Instead, Ferguson said in his report, he is satisfied that a program in which drug testing becomes a prerequisite for promotion or transfer to sensitive or high-risk areas, such as drug squads, "is not only appropriate but essential in the interests of public and officer safety." The recommendation was one of 32 aimed at helping to stamp out future misconduct and corruption and shoring up public confidence in Toronto's police.Rick McIntosh, president of the Toronto Police Association, immediately denounced the drug-testing proposal as an "absolute non-starter." Yesterday, he said he was getting a lot of negative feedback from his members about the proposal, including from one drug squad officer who was recently involved in an arrest of a man with seven kilos of cocaine."When they opened it up, some of the dust from the coke came out and a couple of guys breathed it in, and it got on their face and on their shirts, and they brushed it off — so what does that mean? Or what if you are on the major crime unit and drug squad and you're out there in an undercover capacity and guys are smoking grass in front of you, not that you're necessarily smoking it ... you're not arresting these people because it's leading to other things ... and it shows up in a test."Seijts says resistance to drug testing is understandable. He says he has seen little evidence to suggest that workplace drug tests are an effective way to deter "counterproductive behaviours on the job."He points to possible "legal issues" and refers to the Ontario Human Rights Commission's policy that drug testing should be used only in limited circumstances."The primary reason for conducting such testing should be to measure impairment. Even testing that measures impairment can be justified only if it is demonstrably connected to performance of the job, for example, if an employee occupies a safety-sensitive position," the policy reads.Imperial Oil is one company that tests for marijuana use by employees who hold safety-sensitive positions, "people who have a key or direct role in an operation where an impaired performance could result in a catastrophic incident," company spokeswoman Kim Fox said yesterday. "These include control board operators in our major manufacturing facilities, drilling supervisors, pipeline control board operators, those sorts of roles." The policy would cover less than a tenth of the company's 6,000 positions."But it's marijuana only; we don't test for other drugs. It has to do with being able to determine levels of impairment, and right now we recognize that the test we use for marijuana, we believe, recognizes levels of impairment, whereas we haven't found other tests yet for other drugs that would test for impairment."Still, Seijts questions the point even if the purpose is to detect impairment."You could have used the drugs two or three weeks before ... it takes a while to get out of the system, but that doesn't mean you're impaired. I can do the job; why should I be penalized?"But the NYPD's Gifford says officers are armed with guns, making high-risk, split-second decisions, so if drug use is showing up in a police officer's sample that should be of enough concern to a police department. He accepts, as well, that drug testing by police shows the community that this is a force that walks the talk.Gifford was just bumped up a rank himself, he said. "I took a random test and I just took a promotion urine test. Why not? I've nothing to hide."Note: Police in Big Apple get no 2nd chances. Toronto officers outraged at proposal.Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)Author: Betsy Powell, Crime ReporterPublished: February 28, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Toronto Star Contact: lettertoed thestar.com Website: http://www.thestar.com/ CannabisNews -- Canada Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/Canada.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by ekim on February 29, 2004 at 16:35:05 PT
farmers have 5 times the suicide rate of nation
http://www.eatwellguide.org/search.cfmjust watched linktv 375 dir TV and was on the family farm. someday cannabis will be on this guide site.went to a racial healing concert last nite many churches were there with much singing. a nice event. I feel that being drug tested is as close to understanding what was done to so many as is possible for me. I gain hope when I see how those that have been hurt are able to accept my outreached hand for a shake. to bad so many churches don't see the harm of cannabis prohibition. so slow the job of showing history will repeat its self if we are kept unaware of past events.
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Comment #8 posted by billos on February 29, 2004 at 02:41:15 PT:
Virgil.....................
perhaps the right-wing Christian republican conservatives now consider themselves as the "Master Race". Bush sure seems to think so.
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Comment #7 posted by jose melendez on February 28, 2004 at 13:03:00 PT
excellent, afterburner! why stop with crisco? 
NO POT, NO OIL!Any questions?
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Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on February 28, 2004 at 12:08:05 PT
Look at the price children ar paying now
The Dtrug War made parents feel like as long as their kids stay off drugs, the rest of their life will be perfect.So they took them to McDonalds, and got them hooked on fast food.Now the rate of teenagers getting adult onset diabetes is skyrocketing.What will be done for those kids? They face an imapired life growing up.But hey, at least they're drug free.But oops it turns out they had to go on drugs after all.To treat the consequences of having adult heart and blood sugar problems at 15.
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on February 28, 2004 at 12:07:01 PT:
Boycott Esso (Imperial Oil)
"But it's marijuana only; we don't test for other drugs. It has to do with being able to determine levels of impairment, and right now we recognize that the test we use for marijuana, we believe, recognizes levels of impairment, whereas we haven't found other tests yet for other drugs that would test for impairment." Imperial Oil company spokeswoman Kim Fox said yesterday. How is it that Imperial Oil has found a cannabis test that "recognizes levels of impairment" when cops around the world are constantly ringing the alarm bells, claiming that we don't yet have a reliable test to measure cannabis "impairment" in drivers, every time someone petitions for legalization?
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Comment #4 posted by Patrick on February 28, 2004 at 11:20:09 PT
Virgil
it gives them something to pass. That is an interesting perspective on the whole drug-testing issue I hadn't considered before. Instead of getting promoted on the quality of ones character, intelligence, and the ability to perform what it is that one does so well to earn a living; one gets up the ladder by being drug free. Not alcoholic free. Not secret pedophile priest free. Not corrupt cop free. Just be drug free and step to the front of the line son! That is control. That is surrendering ones inalienable rights for employment. However, that is very common in the military and law enforcement fields. And with good reason in my opinion because of the job at hand.But Bush wants to piss test little kids. Bush Touts Drug-Testing and Faith-Based Treatment http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread18410.shtmlRandom drug-testing gives students a strong answer to the social pressure to try drugs.WHAT? Pissin in a cup can do all that for the nation and its youth?How about having the same policy for all substances? Policies like with alcohol and tobacco where you have to be a certain age to get it? The current system alleviates this so-called social pressure quite well with liquor and tobacco and this very same system can work just as well if not better with cannabis too. Ask any parent if a discussion about drugs with their kids is easier when wondering if their child's 9-year old friend deals marijuana and god knows what else all because of prohibition? Would it not be easier to broach this subject with your kids in the same manner that you explain alcohol, tobacco and all other pharmacopoeia rules? Parents it's this simple…Prohibition puts drugs on the street. Prohibition is a failure like the constitutional amendment that made liquor illegal. Legalization, regulation, and taxation will work much better at protecting our kids. The making of liquor legal again is living historical proof of prohibitions failed attempt to control human behavior when it comes to individual euphoria that harms no one including the occasional drinker or cannabis smoker.I sincerely hope we can get the Bush cabal out of office this year. If not, we will be one more jack-booted step away from his own personal brand of martial law and New World order domination that includes making our 13-year olds urine self incrimination evidence for the state. What happens to the leave no child behind program if a kid tests positive? Will it be a denial of attending classes or something akin to the tuition assistance that convicted rapists, thieves, and murders can get but college age marijuana smokers can't? Just curious George just curious?
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Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on February 28, 2004 at 09:57:38 PT
People were that way in the USSR too
I don't care if I can't say what I want. What do I want to say anyway?It's the Stockholm syndrome.It's why hookers don't run away from their pimps. I wonder to what extent pot can interrupt Stockholm syndrome. Now THAT would be some interesting science!Stockholm syndrome is part of PTSD so I think there could be something there.
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Comment #2 posted by Virgil on February 28, 2004 at 09:11:52 PT
I am better than you are 
"I took a random test and I just took a promotion urine test. Why not? I've nothing to hide."Last night they ran the rerun of the pot episode of Reba on the WB network. It acted like a person was automatically defective because they consumed cannabis at anytime in their life. The prohibitionist plan is to demonize the plant and the users ans somehow make people that do not consume "a better person."It is a prevelant attitude in Christians that they are somehow better than those that are not. The conservatives have people believing that liberals are just awful people even if people cannot define a liberal. The implied intent is to make someone adopt the conservative agenda so that they might be better by measurement of conservative values, whatever they are.People that do not use illegal drugs walk away from a drug test reaffirmed that they are better and now they have a drug test to prove that they are worthy of promotion or job. The test is affirmation they are wonderful. That is one reason some people kind of like the testing- it gives them something to pass.
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Comment #1 posted by Patrick on February 28, 2004 at 09:05:35 PT
Pissing on Corruption
The recommendation was one of 32 aimed at helping to stamp out future misconduct and corruption and shoring up public confidence in Toronto's police.I suppose it is safe to say that out of the other 31 recommendations none of them suggest legalization/regulation/taxation as a method to end corruption?
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