Pubdate: Sun, 06 Aug 2000
Source: Hobbs News-Sun (NM)
Copyright: 2000 Hobbs News-Sun
Contact:  P.O. Box 850, Hobbs, N.M. 88240
Fax: (505) 393-5724
Website: http://www.hobbsnews.com/
Author: Kyla Morris

WHAT'S SHOULD WE DO WITH PEOPLE WHO FAIL URINE TESTS?

To the Editor:

Have you ever wondered how people who are fired from a job due to dirty 
urine fall through the cracks?

Say, for instance, someone is working perhaps out at the mine or (you pick 
it) airport and fails his/her urine test. What if this company offers 
him/her treatment, yet the worker refuses and, as a result, is terminated.

Seeing how this person (fictitious character as he/she may be) was 
terminated due to illegal substance found in his/her urine, wouldn't it 
seem like there would be an ordinance, statute or law requiring such an 
incident to be reported to the narcotics officer of the city in which the 
individual resides? Also, since this person was working, he/she obviously 
was paying taxes, so shouldn't he/she automatically qualify for, as well as 
be ordered into, treatment?

Have you wondered how it is that this person who lost his/her job due to 
dirty urine would actually even have the choice of whether to go to 
treatment or not? He/she seriously can't make rational decisions anyway, so 
why then would a decision as important as getting treatment for an illegal 
substance be left up to that particular individual?

Well, if you should discover the answer to these questions, please write to 
me at P.O. Box 122, Hobbs, N.M. 88240 or call me at 391-9474.

Kyla Morris, Hobbs
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