A Brief History of Drug Testing

Drug testing is a big enterprise. With at least fifteen huge read more U.S. corporations supplying laboratory testing, employees and other individuals are only a couple of minutes drive from a testing facility. From employers who use drug testing as a pre-employment screening tool to parents who want to keep tabs on the nicely becoming of their teenagers, there are numerous groups that regularly use drug testing as a screening mechanism.

Since the mid-1980s, drug testing has become a lot more and a lot more frequent. Probably the group that is tested most typically is potential employees. With strict workplace extra resources safety legislation and the fact that workers can use unsafe gear or have access to sensitive details, employers want to be particular that their staff are not drug abusers. With a sample of urine, hair, blood or swab from the mouth, drug-testing laboratories can typically product positive or negative outcomes within 24 to 48 hours.

Not too long ago, drug abuse testing has grow to be increasingly common in professional athletics. With the controversies surrounding the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, athletes are below a fantastic deal of scrutiny. The government has also stepped in, and has begun to implement stricter controls and more frequent screening of athletes. A positive result on a drug test can result in penalties such as fines, loss of game time, or total dismissal from the team. It is protected to say that drug-abusing athletes are taking enormous risks with their careers by abusing overall performance or other illegal drugs.

Opponents of drug testing argue that it violates a persons rights to privacy. They hold that even if an employee is a recreational drug helpful resources user, it does not necessarily adhere to that his or her function will be affected. With random drug testing gaining popularity in the workforce, one could literally be drawn out of a hat as the subsequent one particular up for a drug screening. Even though states only loosely enforce drug-testing laws, opponents say that random drug testing can ruin a persons life. Even recreational weekend usage might outcome in the loss of employment if the drug usage is determined with a drug test. Random drug testing is usually argued to be testing without having any probable cause.