Pubdate: Thu, 13 Oct 2005
Source: Pacific Daily News (US GU)
Copyright: 2005 Pacific Daily News
Contact: http://www.guampdn.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.guampdn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1122
Author: Oyaol Ngirairikl
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

NEW DRUG TEST PROCEDURES

New Drug Testing Procedures Will Be Used To Better Detect Drug Users
In Government Agencies.

Cecilia Martinez, Department of Administration Human Resources
administrator, said the department will increase the frequency of the
drug tests and decrease the number of people who know about upcoming
random drug tests.

She said there have been concerns that employees are finding out about
the tests before they are implemented and take measures to pass the
drug test.

"There are masking agents people use to make their drug tests
negative, and a lot of these agents are available at stores," Martinez
said. "Sometimes we'll find out that before an annual or random (drug)
test there's a big demand for these masking agents."

Martinez said the recent arrest of school bus driver Daniel Reyes
Newby has only underscored the need to keep testing dates and times
under wraps.

Newby was arrested last week after Guam Police Department officers
found crystal methamphetamine, or "ice", in his possession. Newby is
one of about 170 Department of Public Works bus drivers but was off
duty at the time of his arrest.

Talofofo resident and mother Lori Stephen said she was shocked to hear
that her children's bus driver was caught with "ice."

"My daughters are in middle school and high school now, and he's been
a bus driver for several years," Stephen, 42, said. "So I was
wondering how he could be a bus driver for so long. I thought they
take the drug test because they are driving children."

Stephen and other parents yesterday said it's nice to hear that the
government wants to crack down on drug users, especially those whose
jobs deal with the community's health and safety.

Manolo Puno of Mongmong said he's concerned that the government has
the desire but not the finances to cover the tests.

"They said before they don't have the money to do the tests. Are they
sure they have the money this time?" Puno asked.

Martinez said the governor has budgeted money in an account
specifically to pay for drug testing.

"So we will test as often as the funding allows, but we'd like to test
maybe once a month," Martinez said.

Zita Pangelinan, president of Pacific Human Resources, said the
standard drug-testing processes practiced by many private companies
normally limit the number of people who know about the test.

"We would poll the names, and contact the employer and say we will be
there for screening, and when we arrive on site we'll have the names,
so no one knows who's going to be tested until we get there,"
Pangelinan said.

Martinez said the new process DOA officials have adopted is similar to
the standard practiced by private companies, which limits the number
of people knowing about a random drug test.

Martinez said she and other officials all are hoping that this process
will ensure drug users are caught.

"With this new process there's less than a handful of people,
including the lab technicians, who know, so the leaks issue will be
addressed," Martinez said.

How It Works

The Department of Administration has implemented new procedures for
random drug tests.

Only one person is in charge of drug testing at the Department of
Administration. The day of the testing, that person will tell a
private lab that a certain number of employees are to be tested.

 From a database of government employee names, a computer at the lab
will generate a random list of employees to be tested. The lab will
give the list to the DOA drug testing official.

The DOA drug testing official will contact the agency heads only to
tell them that random drug testing will be conducted and to ensure
employees will be at the work site at a certain time. Names of the
employees to be tested will not be released and the director is not to
inform employees that a drug test will be performed.

Lab technicians from the private drug-testing lab will go to the work
site within hours of DOA's request for random drug tests and call the
employees to be tested. 
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