Drug Testing...

meatball

Anyone any idea what the legal situation is with employee drug testing here?

Am taking up a new position soon, and as part of it will have to pass a 'medical'. Could I be tested for drugs without my consent? How common is testing? What would my options be if I failed?

Apologies if this is the wrong forum BTW.

MiCr0

Nothing can be done with out your consent.

I had a medical when i started my current job, all that was tested was vision, hearing and basic fitness/wellness.

No blood tests at all.

You could always ask the doctor when you are having the medical, anything that you say to them shouldn't be passed onto the company.

Nuttzz

Random drug testing is becoming more common in larger US companies, so it is only a matter of time before it comes over this side of the water. You can see it now here in the Army for example.

TBH if you have nothing to hide you should have nothing to fear however I can understand employers looking for drug tests for people who have access to commerically sensitive information or large amounts of cash.

They are not looking for performance enhancing drugs (they might promote their use actually ) they are looking for coke, heroin etc. IMO I wouldnt want to work with even a occasional user so I would be pro drug tests.

Normally company medicals make sure that you have nothing major wrong with you that might mean you would be absent for long peroids of time. Its a physical check, like for asthma etc and they take a medical history (and compare it with your gp's) its not unusal to do a urine test, but very rare for a blood test

If you fail, you dont get the job.........

dr_manhattan

"They are not looking for performance enhancing drugs (they might promote their use actually ) they are looking for coke, heroin etc. IMO I wouldnt want to work with even a occasional user so I would be pro drug tests."

Well, ditto: however, what about cannabis?

it pisses me off to no end that someone can be a total, hungover every day drunk (and usually is in this ****ing country) and it is of no consequence. However, as a chronic weed smoker I often feel that if testing comes in I could be fired, yet I honestly feel that my drug use causes negligible harm to my work (I only smoke in the evenings, have been smoking since I was 14, not going to pretend it's a great healthy habit but it does me *fine* and I think as much or less harm than booze.

So yeah, annoying IMHO. I do not think I share any traits with cokeheads, smackheads or indeed ecstacy or acid users - it's now about 8 years since I touched hard drugs.

Anyone else agree? i know it's off topic btw. Sorry ;-)

meatball

Don't mind at all Dr.

Cocaine & heroin leave the system after a few days; cannabis is detectable up to 30. So I have to knock my daily habit on the head, but should I feel the need, I can go out this weekend and snort all I want. Highly illogical captain.

Nuttzz, if you don't want to work beside drug users, go on the dole. We make up a sizeable amount of the population.

Drug testing is always invasive and nearly always unjustified. It's not like I'm going to be a bloody pilot or something.