Pubdate: Mon, 03 Apr 2006
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Copyright: 2006 Richmond Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.timesdispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/365
Section: Business
Author: Lisa Crutchfield, Special Correspondent
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)

IN WAR ON DRUGS, HE'S ON FRONT LINES

The Founder Of DataPool Helps Employers Administer Programs And Screen For
Substance Abuse

THE RESUME

Name: David Mathis

Born: Aug. 26, 1945

Education: Bachelor's degree in psychology, St. Joseph's University,
Philadelphia; medical technology degree from the Medical College of
Pennsylvania.

Career: Career counselor, clinical chemist, emergency clinical laboratory
supervisor, medical technologist. Regional manager for diagnostic
laboratory device manufacturer. Founder and director of DataPool since 1999.

Family: Wife, Marsha, two sons and a daughter.

David Mathis was apologetic.

"I'm sorry if I blow you away," he warned. "But I have a passion for
this business."

Mathis is a fervent crusader in the war on drugs. "I do believe that
the biggest problem of the 21st cen-tury is chemical dependency.
Thank you, Dr. Leary," he said, referring to Dr. Timothy Leary, an
advocate of LSD experimentation in the 1960s.

His crusade is to get America clean.

He founded DataPool, the largest provider of drug-abuse-program
administration and employee-screening services in the region, in 1999.

Since the Reagan administration mandated a drug-free federal workplace
in 1988, Mathis and others like him have been screening and testing
employees to comply with guidelines.

"We've spent 20 years chasing a monster," he said. Mathis has extended
that fervor to the private sector, too.

Federal guidelines are lengthy and detailed. Screening regulations are
well-established, and many corporations adhere to Department of
Transportation mandates for their employees, especially drivers.

"Our first job is to know the rules," says Mathis. "Our motto is, 'We
know the rules so you don't have to.'"

Mathis meets with human-resource directors and offers suggestions and
guidance. He is certified by the National Association of Drug and
Alcohol Testing Programs to write corporate drug policies. He points
out that many businesses receive a 5 percent discount on premiums for
workers'-compensation insurance when they have a policy in place and
perform drug tests.

"When you're a Philip Morris or Infineon or DuPont with a
million-dollar payroll, that adds up fast," Mathis said.

"There are financial and societal reasons to do this," Mathis said.
"It saves money on workers' compensation claims, health insurance, the
absentee problem and liability. You've invested a lot in these people.
Why not keep them a long time?"

Leah Young, spokesman for the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental
Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, says reports
show that most users of illicit drugs are employed. According to the
2004 National Survey of Drug Use and Health, of the 16.4 million adult
drug users, 12.3 million were employed full or part time.

Once a company has a policy, DataPool helps to implement it. Mathis
says signs announcing the drug-free workplace deter job applicants who
know they'll test positive, saving a company time and money to
interview and train them.

Educating employees and their supervisors is the next step. In
addition to teaching employees about drugs and what to expect from a
company's program, Mathis counsels bosses on documenting events and on
reducing liability.

Drug screening is available at DataPool's three office sites, or
technicians can come to a company's place of business. DataPool is the
only provider in Virginia recognized as an accredited collection
facility by the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association in Washington.

At DataPool's office on Southlake Boulevard, a job applicant from a
nearby Target store came in. His urine sample was put into a computer
system called e-screen, which tested it and transmitted the results to
company headquarters in another state.

The future employee was relaxed, and the process was over in a few
minutes. "The positive ones complain," Mathis notes. "The negatives
don't care."

Naturally there are those who think they can beat the system. The
current issue of High Times magazine, for example, has an article
offering suggestions to fool drug testers. But Mathis and most people
in his industry -- read High Times, too. They know about the
Whizzinator (a prosthetic device designed to fool workers monitoring a
drug test), spiking, tablets, supplements and other methods used to
circumvent the screening.

In addition to drug and alcohol screening, DataPool offers paternity
testing, fingerprinting and background checks.

Mathis is active in the community as a drug educator, especially for
the Regional Drug-Free Alliance. He is an advocate for parents testing
their own children.

"A 16-year-old at a party isn't likely to try drugs if she knows she
could get busted," Mathis says. "It's easy for her to say, 'No, I
can't. My mom tests me.'" 
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MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPF Florida)