Society’s response to concern over drug use
includes the development and growing use of drug tests. Most of the specimens come from corporations
that screens employee for commonly abused drugs. Among these are amphetamines, barbiturates,
benzodiazepines (the chemical bases for prescription tranquillizers such as
Valium and Librium), cannabinoids (THC, hashish, and marijuana), methaqualone,
opiates, (heroin, codeine, and morphine), and PCP. With the exception of marijuana, most traces
of these drugs are eliminated by the body within a few days after use. Marijuana can remain detectable up to 30 days
after use.
How accurate are the results of drug testing? At typical
cutoff standards, drug test will likely identify 90% of recent drug users. This means that about 10% of recent users
will pass undetected. (These 10% are
considered false negatives.) Nonusers
whose drug tests indicate drug use (false positive) are quiet rare. (follow-up tests on these false positive
would nearly always show negative results.)
human errors are probably more responsible than technical errors for
inaccuracies in drug tests.
Recently, scientists have been refining procedures
that use hair samples to detect the presence of drugs. These procedures seem to hold much promise,
although certain technical obstacles remain.
Watch for refinements in hair sample drug testing in the near future.
Most Fortune 500 companies, the armed forces,
various government agencies, and nearly all athletic organizations have already
implemented mandatory drug testing. Corporate
substance abuse policies are being developed, with careful attention to legal
and ethical issues.
Do you
think that the possibility of having to take a drug test would have any effect
on college students’ use of drugs?
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