[speaker001:] okay were you drug tested when uh
[speaker002:] well actually interestingly enough a lot of times
[speaker001:] oh where where do where do you work at
[speaker002:] well I just retired from the Army after twenty years of uh active uh service uh uh retired out of the Pentagon and because of the organizations that I was in in the military
[speaker001:] oh
[speaker002:] and the jobs that I held and particularly because of the security clearances that I had we had first of all we had regular random testing just because we were in the military
[speaker001:] just because you were in the service yeah
[speaker002:] right and then because of the security clearances that I held I also had uh other regular random uh drug testing for that as well that I actually had to sign an agreement saying that uh
[speaker001:] were they like urine tests or were they blood
[speaker002:] yeah it was all urine testing
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and it was mainly because of their concern because drug use is illegal uh and of course addictive uh it's a perfect thing uh for blackmail for people with high security clearances and so I've kind of over the twenty year period of time I've gotten kind of accustomed to it and
[speaker001:] that's right that's right oh okay so it doesn't really bother you that much or
[speaker002:] doesn't bother me uh uh because I've always been in sensitive positions that I understand the the problems that can results uh as far as compromise and espionage and uh addiction and blackmail that that has never bothered me
[speaker001:] exactly yeah I work for a defense contractor down here uh Pratt Whitney
[speaker002:] and uh uh-huh and I work for a defense contractor in Virginia called Network Solutions we uh uh we actually operate the NIC for the internet
[speaker001:] oh okay
[speaker002:] yeah you probably got uh uh information about this program through the internet
[speaker001:] that that's exactly where I got it from
[speaker002:] right all of us did yep so uh now we don't have any drug testing out there
[speaker001:] uh oh okay so yeah at Pratt Whitney you do it's the you you have to pass your drug test in order to do uh to get employed there you have to pass it
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh huh
[speaker001:] and uh it's for the same reasons uh you hold you hold a I have a secret clearance and uh
[speaker002:] right uh-huh
[speaker001:] you know I guess they just want to make sure that uh like you said that nobody can uh hold anything against you you know make information and then say well we'll turn turn you in for these drugs if you unless you do this and that
[speaker002:] um-hum right exactly I guess so there's uh still a good bit of discussion and controversy about whether it's an invasion of your privacy and uh that sort of thing
[speaker001:] yeah yeah there is and I and I can see why you know especially especially if you do do especially especially if you use illegal drugs I can see why you wouldn't want it it to happen to you and yeah
[speaker002:] right especially right you don't want to get caught
[speaker001:] and even if you don't you know it's like well geez you know what else what else could they use this stuff for you know and if it is kind of an invasion of privacy it is an invasion of privacy
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah as a matter of fact uh that's such a difficult question to to answer because on the one hand sure uh uh drug testing is an invasion of property or of privacy but yet on the other hand
[speaker001:] yeah right
[speaker002:] for example these uh guys that drive these trains and that sort of thing that uh have been high and uh killed a lot of people yeah it's it's uh right
[speaker001:] that's right you I know it see what a small price to pay to to save some lives it saves us one life you know drug testing it's worth it but
[speaker002:] um-hum right and I think for the most part the general public tends to support it but uh I'm sure organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union uh the ACLU probably have their
[speaker001:] yeah yeah and they're worried about abuses of it
[speaker002:] sure and that that can really happen
[speaker001:] hm
[speaker002:] uh and that sort of thing not just drug testing but lots of other things uh for example blood tests that determine whether you have particularly diseases or not like AIDS uh can be construed to be an invasion of property or of of privacy because it effects your insurance and your employability and
[speaker001:] yes that that that stuff should be kept confidential far as that goes
[speaker002:] yeah and it's it but yet if that's that's in any kind of a computer database somebody's going to get access to it that and uh real easy to abuse so
[speaker001:] it's accessible that's right
[speaker002:] it's one of those problems that it's really hard to come up with an answer to
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] and uh
[speaker001:] yeah you have you ever heard of anybody cheating on those uh urine tests
[speaker002:] yeah oh yeah in
[speaker001:] I know I know a guy who was who cheated and got in out there at Pratt and uh he took somebody else's with him and just
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah
[speaker001:] put it in there so it you you can get around them if you have to
[speaker002:] oh yeah there were guys in the military that were selling their own urine
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] because they uh just had to be careful that they didn't do the test and uh show that you came up pregnant depending on who you got your sample from it that could be really bad so but uh
[speaker001:] oh that could be real embarrassing then you could be caught real bad
[speaker002:] and they were really protective
[speaker001:] what do they what do they do to you in the military if you get caught what do they do to you if you get caught
[speaker002:] um-hum well it depends now if you have a you know that was the other funny thing if you had a high security clearance like my people had
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] uh and you got caught and these guys were shift workers it really worked out well for them because of course the first thing that happened was that their security clearance was suspended and then they were removed from access to sensitive information which means they got a straight day job at the company
[speaker001:] oh
[speaker002:] so it it was really to their advantage to get caught and
[speaker001:] oh man but it wouldn't didn't look good on their record though of course
[speaker002:] yeah and in the long run of course uh that was a problem and it kind of depended also on on how often they uh were caught whether they were in a rehab program and