[speaker001:] [beep] Well, I, I don't think that it's, it's wrong for a company to require drug testing for certain types of positions. For instance, jobs that require use of heavy machinery and things like that where there's, where there's, uh, endangerment to their own life and other people's lives.
[speaker002:] Uh, I agree with that. People that are, uh, driving
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] like, uh, truck drivers and things like that. I definitely think they should be tested. And I'm not, I'm not opposed to any testing. I mean because I know I certainly wouldn't want to, to, uh, you know, be endangered by somebody in a company that accidentally dropped something on me or, or you know, because he was on drugs while he was there.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] [lipsmack] Uh...
[speaker001:] Well, how do you, how do you feel about, uh, companies drug testing prior to hiring?
[speaker002:] Oh, uh, I was tested, uh, within my company. I think it's kind of a push to, uh, weed out drugs in states and, because I don't know of any other countries that are doing this
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and I, I feel like it's really just within the United States. It's, uh, it's okay. I think your record should stand for itself. That, you know, if you've been tested at other companies and you've always come up negative or whatever, then I don't see what the big deal is that they have to go to all the expense
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] of testing you over and over and over. And once you've established the fact that you're not a drug user and especially if your personality proves that you're not. I think they could, uh, save money by not doing that. You know, every time, say if you change jobs you wouldn't have to do it if you'd just been tested at your other work place.
[speaker001:] Well, what about random testing, though.
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] Do you feel like that's an in-, invasion of certain people's rights if not everyone is tested?
[speaker002:] Uh, not if it's done fairly. And that's probably my question is, how, how do you know it's done fairly.
[speaker001:] I don't know that you do. If it's random, then it's random
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] and that's not necessarily fair.
[speaker002:] Well, they might tell you it's random.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But then, you know, it's kind of like a, a lottery. Somebody in their lifetime may win millions of dollars where another person doesn't win anything, and tries and tries and tries.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] You know.
[speaker001:] Well, I ha-, I know that, for instance, in the N C double A, they drug test and it's not random.
[speaker002:] Oh, I see. How'd, how did they, how do they pick their people?
[speaker001:] Uh, well, I think all college players have to do an initial drug test at a certain point prior to the season
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and from that point on, uh, at, the N C double A does have something to do with it, but it's almost discretionary on the coach's part of each in-, individu-, individual institution to identify the ones that have the problem.
[speaker002:] Oh, I see. So, do you...
[speaker001:] And, and the ones that test positive have to retest after a certain period of time.
[speaker002:] Right. Well, do you think that should be implemented in the work place. You know, as like a manager or supervisor thinks or has suspicion that someone is using drugs, do you think they should have the right to send them
[speaker001:] Well, not being a
[speaker002:] to be tested.
[speaker001:] drug user I don't have a problem with that personally
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] but I think that might be a violation of someone's rights. If someone's having personal problems for some reason that's causing them to h-, behave differently
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] and their manager assumes they have a drug problem
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] I mean if someone assumed that of me, I would be upset.
[speaker002:] Right, right. Yeah, it, it would almost be like a, a, uh...
[speaker001:] It's an accusation, and, and it's
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and it's based on, on a perception that someone has as how a drug user would behave when some drug users behave, uh, normal, uh, you know.
[speaker002:] And then how would you feel afterwards when you came up negative and, you know, your supervisor has accused you of using drugs.
[speaker001:] Right, exactly. I, I don't, the, I think almost the only way that drug testing can be done fairly is if it's across the board from, from the janitors to the executive management.
[speaker002:] Right. I agree with that. Because I know personally myself, I've been in the same job for three years, it will be three years in August and I've already been drug tested three times.
[speaker001:] What type of job do you have?
[speaker002:] Well, I'm an environmental engineer
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and I've been drug tested three times and I know many people that have never been tested in their lifetime and the company I work for is sixty thousand people, plus. So see I, for some reason, I've come up three times. That's pretty high statistics.
[speaker001:] Well, does your r-, does your job require you to drive company equipment or to ap-, operate any type of machinery that might
[speaker002:] No.
[speaker001:] endanger someone?
[speaker002:] No, not at all.
[speaker001:] Well, that doesn't, I mean I...
[speaker002:] It's a legal job, you know
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] so, see it's really strange.
[speaker001:] That is odd. I was drug tested, uh, not for the job I have now, but for the prior job, uh, but I know that they sent, that the job I had before, that, well, the job I have, have now, requested my, uh, uh, [lipsmack] my, uh, medical record from my old company
[speaker002:] Oh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] so I don't know if I wasn't drug tested based on that or because the man who hired me didn't request the drug test, because I know that my company does drug testing on occasion.
[speaker002:] Right. Well, does your, the company say, for instance, does the company you worked for bef-, before have the right or do they have the ability to say, hey, we've already drug tested her and she came up negative.
[speaker001:] Well, no, I don't think they can, they can force another company to not drug test me just by saying that I, I
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] didn't, I mean, they don't know that I don't use drugs. They just tested me once.
[speaker002:] Right, right.
[speaker001:] But, I used to work for a power company, so it was very important that they make sure their employees, especially linemen
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] uh, were clean.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And since I was just, you know, one of the office folk, I guess it wasn't as important to them that they test me regularly. But I know they test most of the service people fairly regularly
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] reg-, uh, just across the board.
[speaker002:] Yeah. And are they tested random?
[speaker001:] No, they're, all of them are tested
[speaker002:] They're...
[speaker001:] once every three mo-, it's a rotation.
[speaker002:] Oh, okay. I see.
[speaker001:] But it, but again, it depends on what job you're in.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] The men that are out there fixing power lines are tested a lot and the men that drive the trucks
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] with, with the guys that fix the power lines aren't tested as much.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] But, but see, they make that clear to them as they hire those guys
[speaker002:] Oh, I see.
[speaker001:] what, what the drug testing schedule is. They say we, we're testing you tomorrow and we'll test you every three months thereafter while you work here.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. Okay, so they know that. And that's...
[speaker001:] Yeah, it's, it's made very clear upon hiring.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. Okay. Well...
[speaker001:] Well, have we spent our at least five minutes?
[speaker002:] Yeah
[speaker001:] Okay.
[speaker002:] I think so. Yeah, seven twenty-five.
[speaker001:] Okay.
[speaker002:] Okay, nice speaking to you.
[speaker001:] Nice talking to you. Bye-bye
[speaker002:] Bye.