25 ms·

Think of the drug test as a responsibility test. If you aren't resposible enough to be clean, why should I hire you?

chimeracoder 14y ago
I assume you test for nicotine and alcohol use then, correct? If you aren't 'responsible' enough to quit smoking - since you know it's bad for your health - why should I hire you? Drug tests are counterproductive, because not only do they not dissuade drug use (empirically), but they push drug users towards drugs like cocaine, which are detectable in drug tests for only two days, instead of drugs like marijuana, which are detectable for several weeks. The only drug you can really test for effectively is marijuana, and I frankly couldn't care less whether an employee uses marijuana - medicinal or recreational - in his free time, just the same way I don't care whether he drinks alcohol or smokes cigarettes. Finally, it's nobody's business what an employee of mine chooses to do after work so long as it doesn't impact his work performance. If it does, that's reason enough to fire him right then and there, without any need for a drug test.
- jff 14y ago
  Nicotine and alcohol are legal. An employee of, say, the federal government should not be partaking in illegal drugs. If a person with a security clearance is regularly doing cocaine, at least one person (his source) knows. He is now vulnerable to blackmail. This is why we have random drug tests--I've never been called for one, but I will not consume illegal drugs because I could well be called tomorrow. I'm also impressed by your assertion that employees will think, "Shit, I can't smoke weed, guess I better start doing coke!" It's like the whole "gateway drugs" thing, except he skips straight to the hard stuff because the gateway isn't available to him.
  - zem 14y ago
    some random tech company (which, let's face it, is where the majority of people reading this will be applying to) is not the federal government. there should be no legal burden on, say, amd to hire only people who do not use "illegal" drugs.
bcoates 14y ago
If you're expecting me to work for free ~100 hours a week, why should I work for you?
MartinCron 14y ago
Conversely: if you're so out of touch with the reality of the output of your employees that you need urine samples to tell who is doing a good job and who isn't, why should I work with you?
- tibbon 14y ago
  That's what I figure. If I can't tell its effecting their performance, then either they are doing fine or I'm out of touch as a manager.
jiggy2011 14y ago
If I sometimes smoke a joint on friday night when I am at home, does that make me a defacto irresponsible person?
tibbon 14y ago
“Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.” - Steve Jobs In my personal experiences, I'd have to agree with Steve and I personally would rather hire someone who has taken LSD vs someone who hasn't. To me it doesn't show irresponsibility- it shows a sense of exploration and creativity.
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  Not sure if there's anything especially "creative" about swallowing a small piece of paper. Exploration? perhaps, but boredom and peer pressure are more likely explanations.

I assume you test for nicotine and alcohol use then, correct? If you aren't 'responsible' enough to quit smoking - since you know it's bad for your health - why should I hire you? Drug tests are counterproductive, because not only do they not dissuade drug use (empirically), but they push drug users towards drugs like cocaine, which are detectable in drug tests for only two days, instead of drugs like marijuana, which are detectable for several weeks. The only drug you can really test for effectively is marijuana, and I frankly couldn't care less whether an employee uses marijuana - medicinal or recreational - in his free time, just the same way I don't care whether he drinks alcohol or smokes cigarettes. Finally, it's nobody's business what an employee of mine chooses to do after work so long as it doesn't impact his work performance. If it does, that's reason enough to fire him right then and there, without any need for a drug test.

jff 14y ago
Nicotine and alcohol are legal. An employee of, say, the federal government should not be partaking in illegal drugs. If a person with a security clearance is regularly doing cocaine, at least one person (his source) knows. He is now vulnerable to blackmail. This is why we have random drug tests--I've never been called for one, but I will not consume illegal drugs because I could well be called tomorrow. I'm also impressed by your assertion that employees will think, "Shit, I can't smoke weed, guess I better start doing coke!" It's like the whole "gateway drugs" thing, except he skips straight to the hard stuff because the gateway isn't available to him.
- zem 14y ago
  some random tech company (which, let's face it, is where the majority of people reading this will be applying to) is not the federal government. there should be no legal burden on, say, amd to hire only people who do not use "illegal" drugs.

bcoates 14y ago

If you're expecting me to work for free ~100 hours a week, why should I work for you?

MartinCron 14y ago

Conversely: if you're so out of touch with the reality of the output of your employees that you need urine samples to tell who is doing a good job and who isn't, why should I work with you?

tibbon 14y ago
That's what I figure. If I can't tell its effecting their performance, then either they are doing fine or I'm out of touch as a manager.

jiggy2011 14y ago

If I sometimes smoke a joint on friday night when I am at home, does that make me a defacto irresponsible person?

tibbon 14y ago

“Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.” - Steve Jobs In my personal experiences, I'd have to agree with Steve and I personally would rather hire someone who has taken LSD vs someone who hasn't. To me it doesn't show irresponsibility- it shows a sense of exploration and creativity.

jiggy2011 14y ago
Not sure if there's anything especially "creative" about swallowing a small piece of paper. Exploration? perhaps, but boredom and peer pressure are more likely explanations.