Drug Testing on the Job
Unemployment, in the last 5 years, have been at record highs (9.8%). With this amazing statistics we need to do our best to provide as many people as possible with employment. One thing not allowing people to get jobs is the practice of declining jobs if a drug test comes out positive. This is practice is popular and needs to be stopped, if employers use the plan in the following it is almost I guarantee unemployment will get better.

In this economy the hardest thing to do is get a job, even for people with a college education, previous job experience, and good references, so you have to think how hard it is for someone on drugs. With this job market employers should not test for drugs and decline jobs if the test show the employee positive for drugs.

Not only is the idea of drug testing and declining for employment a bad idea, the test that are conducted are not only invasive, but inconclusive and pointless. Test for THC do not provide enough sufficient information about a potential employ to determine whether or not there work will be impaired or if they are still on drugs or not.

This goes the same way with welfare, if you think about it, why do people apply for welfare? These people can't get jobs. Why would you decline someone for an unemployment check for the same reason they can't get a job? It doesn't make sense. Everyone is not trying to collect on welfare just to collect some people are having serious issues.

The main problems for marijuana test is the fact that they are inconclusive.They provide insufficient information and aren’t reliable. THC test don’t actually test for THC they test for the bodily reaction to THC making it possible that there is another substance being consumed. Also the marijuana can stay in your system for weeks or months so you can’t tell when was the last time they did the drug.

The test are not the only thing that are messed up about this system but its also the system itself. If someone was to take the road to recovery by getting a job to get some sort of rehabilitation then the plan to get better doesn’t work because they can’t get a job. Well atleast they can get welfare or unemployment to support. Right? Wrong! This way people are stuck in a continuous loop that leads them back to drug use and keeps them unemployed.

Now employers should not stop drug testing entirely but they should not decline people jobs if they come out positive but if probable employes do come up positive what should be done is a probation system should be set up. It would work like this: If someone were to test positive and get the job, they would be allowed a time of 3 months to get off drugs. After the 3 months there will be a final test that will show if they are off the drug or not. A state provided probation officer will be given to each of the employes.

A big issue would be people who take advantage of the 3 month and leave before the final test. There is a simple answer, just like in a regular probation system if you don't report or break the limits of your probation you get a fine or jail time. Just do the same thing for jobs, this will eliminate that issue with the possibility of jail time.

The economy is horrible, unemployment is on the rise and we are still cutting the chances of employment for the people who actually need it. Employers who drug test now are wrong for declining jobs for positive test. Simply all they need to do is apply a probation system that allow people a certain amount of time to clean and give them an opportunity to continue working. This will stop the job-welfare loop and lower the amount of people on welfare and decrease unemployment and may even improve the economy.