Pubdate: Fri, 08 Aug 2014
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2014 The New York Times Company
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n637/a01.html
Author: Dale Gieringer

THE MARIJUANA SERIES: OTHER VIEWS

To the Editor:

It is both ironic and disturbing that Americans should support random 
drug testing even while they have begun to accept the legal use of 
marijuana ("California Asks: Should Doctors Face Drug Tests?," front 
page, Aug. 2). Random drug tests do not detect actual impairment or 
job fitness, but rather past use. Ironically, they are highly 
sensitive to and intolerant of off-the-job marijuana use, but are 
completely insensitive to alcohol, the most abused drug of all.

Neither the safety nor efficacy of random testing has ever been 
demonstrated in Food and Drug Administration studies. It's time to 
recognize that drug testing is an insult to American values of 
freedom and personal privacy. Workers should be judged by the quality 
of their work, not their urine.

DALE GIERINGER

San Francisco, Aug. 3, 2014

The writer is director of California NORML (National Organization for 
the Reform of Marijuana Laws), which supports legalization of marijuana.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom