Drug testing is a thoroughly un-American idea which should be
abolished in the US, where we are supposed to be "
innocent until proven
guilty". As a drug test presumes
guilt, it runs contrary to the theory behind
American justice. As for other countries, I'm not sure what their laws are, but I think drug testing is categorically unacceptable.
Furthermore: why should your employer care if you smoke a little weed on the weekends? Drinking on the job is usually prohibited, but drinking on the weekends is not. Smoking pot on the job is also prohibited, but it's not your employer's business what you do with your spare time.
I refuse to work anywhere that requires a drug test, especially random drug tests. If you are unfortunate enought to have to pass one, and aren't "clean" at the time, don't worry -- several good methods are available:
- Substitution, i.e. bringing someone else's clean urine into the test. Use a heating pad in your pocket to keep it up to body temperature. If you're going to be monitored (which is even more intolerable), you'll have to be a little sneakier about it.
- Additives. At least one additive, such as KLEAR, is available for purchase online that will produce a negative test result if added to the sample.
- Dilution. Drink large amounts of water for 24 hours prior to the test, and possibly add some hot water to the sample itself.
In most cases, a simple test called the EMIT (Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique) test will be performed on the sample; if this comes up positive, a much more expensive test (probably GC/MS - Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectroscopy) will be administered to verify. If you actually are clean, cause a false positive by consuming several tablespoons of poppyseeds or a large dose of Ibuprofen. This will force the company to use the more expensive verification test only to find that the first result was inaccurate.
Find a copy of the Drug Test FAQ online for more advice and information. I encourage everyone to fight against this unfair practice -- even if you don't use controlled substances, this type of suspicion and paranoid enforcement cannot be tolerated. Although drug testing policies are controlled by corporations and companies, and you may be bound to that law by contract, that doesn't make it acceptable or appropriate.