drug testing

[soberups]

Here is a first; I find myself in agreement with Tieguy.
I consider myself an expert on the subject of the destructive effects of drugs and alcohol. I have done every drug except for heroin, and I am a recovering alcoholic with 11 yrs sober.
I will concede that weed is slightly less detrimental to ones overall health and driving abilities than alcohol, but not by much. Weed builds up in your fatty tissues, and regular use of it means that you are pretty much permanently stoned on a low level whether you realize it or not. This I can say from personal experience. In my opinion, someone who smokes weed on any kind of a regular basis will suffer from a loss of brain function and coordination.
I disagree with Tieguy about the "second chance" agreement. Someone with the courage to step up and admit to a problem deserves an oportunity to get help, as they would for any other medical condtion. I believe in second chances, but NOT in 3rd chances.

[moreluck]

Congrats soberups on your 11 years. My daughter has 5 1/2 yrs. and if it wasn't for 2nd chances, my granddaughters would still be living with me. Ironically, my daughter now works in a toxicology lab and the mgmt. is paying for her college education to get her Lab. tech. credentials.

She has become a productive person who's raising kids, working & going to school. In the past I wanted to "freeze-dry" her in her teens and not add water 'til she turned 30. Life's lessons can be hard, but the important thing is that we learn from them.

Originally Posted by soberups

Here is a first; I find myself in agreement with Tieguy.
I consider myself an expert on the subject of the destructive effects of drugs and alcohol. I have done every drug except for heroin, and I am a recovering alcoholic with 11 yrs sober.
I will concede that weed is slightly less detrimental to ones overall health and driving abilities than alcohol, but not by much. Weed builds up in your fatty tissues, and regular use of it means that you are pretty much permanently stoned on a low level whether you realize it or not. This I can say from personal experience. In my opinion, someone who smokes weed on any kind of a regular basis will suffer from a loss of brain function and coordination.
I disagree with Tieguy about the "second chance" agreement. Someone with the courage to step up and admit to a problem deserves an oportunity to get help, as they would for any other medical condtion. I believe in second chances, but NOT in 3rd chances.

Used for 5 years, also tried everything except heroin(although I did take oxycontin which is hillbilly heroin) never touched crack either but it ain't cause I thought it was any worse than the rest; it just wasn't my drug of choice. Rehab is full of people who think what they are doing isn't as bad as the next persons habit. I have driven drunk and I have driven after smoking some weed. On alcohol, I struggled to maintain a lane and tended to speed. I have smoked some weed before that had me seeing the whole world in slow motion, think they call it sketching. I drove about 20 miles per hour and the last few hundred yards before a stop sign seemed like miles. Both alcohol and weed lead to erratic driving, traffic stops, arrests, jail time, and loss of your job. Most of my old "friends" who have relapsed convinced themselves smoking a little weed wasn't really a relapse, but once they were high, their old drug of choice was soon to follow. Congrats to you SoberUPS, I have 2 1/2 years clean now and I know how hard it is sometimes.

[IDoLessWorkThanMost]

Originally Posted by soberups

Here is a first; I find myself in agreement with Tieguy.
I consider myself an expert on the subject of the destructive effects of drugs and alcohol. I have done every drug except for heroin, and I am a recovering alcoholic with 11 yrs sober.
I will concede that weed is slightly less detrimental to ones overall health and driving abilities than alcohol, but not by much. Weed builds up in your fatty tissues, and regular use of it means that you are pretty much permanently stoned on a low level whether you realize it or not. This I can say from personal experience. In my opinion, someone who smokes weed on any kind of a regular basis will suffer from a loss of brain function and coordination.
I disagree with Tieguy about the "second chance" agreement. Someone with the courage to step up and admit to a problem deserves an oportunity to get help, as they would for any other medical condtion. I believe in second chances, but NOT in 3rd chances.

"Actual studies of human populations of marijuana users have shown no evidence of brain damage. For example, two studies from 1977, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed no evidence of brain damage in heavy users of marijuana. "

1) Marijuana and Health, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, 1982. Note: the Committee on Substance Abuse and Habitual Behavior of the "Marijuana and Health" study had its part of the final report suppressed when it reviewed the evidence and recommended that possession of small amounts of marijuana should no longer be a crime (TIME magazine, July 19, 1982). The two JAMA studies are: Co, B.T., Goodwin, D.W., Gado, M., Mikhael, M., and Hill, S.Y.: "Absence of cerebral atrophy in chronic cannabis users", JAMA, 237:1229-1230, 1977; and, Kuehnle, J., Mendelson, J.H., Davis, K.R., and New, P.F.J.: "Computed tomographic examination of heavy marijuana smokers", JAMA, 237:1231-1232, 1977.

Driving While Impaired

The extent of the problem of marijuana-impaired driving is startling. One in six (or 600,000) high school students drive under the influence of marijuana, almost as many as drive under the influence of alcohol, according to estimates released in September 2003 by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). A study of motorists pulled over for reckless driving showed that, among those who were not impaired by alcohol, 45 percent tested positive for marijuana.

Those who patrol streets and highways, know that the consequences of marijuana-impaired driving can be tragic. For example, four children and their van driver-nicknamed Smokey by the children for his regular marijuana smoking-died in April 2002 when a Tippy Toes Learning Academy van veered off a freeway and hit a concrete bridge abutment. He was found at the crash scene with marijuana in his pocket.
Innocents Killed

Some such drug-impaired drivers will be detected through the Drug Recognition Expert program, which operates under the direction of the IACP and is supported by NHTSA. However, if we are to bolster cases against drugged drivers, greater protection for innocents on the road requires the development of affordable roadside drug detection tests, and some are in the testing phase now.

Secondhand smoke from marijuana kills other innocents as well. Last year, two Philadelphia firefighters were killed when they responded to a residential fire stemming from an indoor marijuana grow. In New York City, an eight-year-old boy, Deasean Hill, was killed by a stray bullet just steps from his Brooklyn home after a drug dealer sold a dime bag of marijuana on another dealer's turf.

AMyth: Marijuana Is Harmless

From Karen P. Tandy, DEA
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by Steven Gans, MD
(Continued from Page 3)
Reality: Marijuana Is Dangerous to the User

Use of marijuana has adverse health, safety, social, academic, economic, and behavioral consequences; and children are the most vulnerable to its damaging effects. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in America and is readily available to kids.
Compounding the problem is that the marijuana of today is not the marijuana of the baby boomers 30 years ago. Average THC levels rose from less than 1 percent in the mid-1970s to more than 8 percent in 2004. And the potency of B.C. Bud, a popular type of marijuana cultivated in British Columbia, Canada, is roughly twice the national average-ranging from 15 percent THC content to 20 percent or even higher. Marijuana use can lead to dependence and abuse. Marijuana was the second most common illicit drug responsible for drug treatment admissions in 2002-outdistancing crack cocaine, the next most prevalent cause. Shocking to many is that more teens are in treatment each year for marijuana dependence than for alcohol and all other illegal drugs combined.
This is a trend that has been increasing for more than a decade: in 2002, 64 percent of adolescent treatment admissions reported marijuana as their primary substance of abuse, compared to 23 percent in 1992.

[drewed]

Originally Posted by IDoLessWorkThanMost

"Actual studies of human populations of marijuana users have shown no evidence of brain damage. For example, two studies from 1977, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed no evidence of brain damage in heavy users of marijuana. "

1) Marijuana and Health, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, 1982. Note: the Committee on Substance Abuse and Habitual Behavior of the "Marijuana and Health" study had its part of the final report suppressed when it reviewed the evidence and recommended that possession of small amounts of marijuana should no longer be a crime (TIME magazine, July 19, 1982). The two JAMA studies are: Co, B.T., Goodwin, D.W., Gado, M., Mikhael, M., and Hill, S.Y.: "Absence of cerebral atrophy in chronic cannabis users", JAMA, 237:1229-1230, 1977; and, Kuehnle, J., Mendelson, J.H., Davis, K.R., and New, P.F.J.: "Computed tomographic examination of heavy marijuana smokers", JAMA, 237:1231-1232, 1977.

those studies from over 25 yrs ago, the genetic manipulation of plants has increased its strength and effects as well as lacing agents

Originally Posted by drewed

those studies from over 25 yrs ago, the genetic manipulation of plants has increased its strength and effects as well as lacing agents

to the potheads, its still '77

[browniehound]

Sober,
Congrats on 11 years of sobriety, that is a great accomplishment. I pretty much did everything as a young adult except heroin, coke(any form), or exctasy (disco biscuits, lol).

As I teenager I did experiment with LSD, mushrooms, mescaline and then PCP in my early 20's. I smoked weed on a daily basis throughout high school and my early 20's.

The reason I stopped was because I applied at UPS. I was sure drug testing was a condition of employment (boy was I wrong), so I stopped smoking weed when I applied almost a decade ago.

I decided at the point it was time I stopped and I did. I don't crave or think about smoking weed anymore. Sober is right, you become an idiot if you smoke weed on a regular basis.

Although, I don't think about smoking weed anymore, I still have dreams about smoking cigarettes to this day. I quit smoking in 1995. That goes to show how powerful a drug nicotine is and the extent of the tobacco companies plans to get you hooked. 13 years and I still dream about it!!

[soberups]

click to enlarge

[What'dyabringmetoday???]

Originally Posted by tieguy

I

By the way our friend made his original post and then dissapereared. Shouldn't he stick around and explain what he was busted for?

Good point. Chances are that this never really happened. Not saying it didn't, but you can be anyone you want here and you can have any kind of life on the internet. Just like when someone talks about how many stops they had. Did they really have 220 stops that day, or was is much less and a little cooler out than what they said?? Do the tough guys really take their lunch and file grievances on 9.5 language?? You will never know and you will never know if this guy really got fired or if he even works for UPS. But, this has become a pretty good thread. Maybe that was the intent.

UMMM yeah this guy really got fired, and he got his job back. now what? smoke it up playa

[sx2700]

Originally Posted by Back Den

UMMM yeah this guy really got fired, and he got his job back. now what? smoke it up playa

Good deal, we can never have enough hopped up losers driving around in commercial vehicles.

[Baba gounj]

I just want to add this... if it weren't for drugs I wouldn't be here now.

[package man]

you said show me one death I showed you 10,000. France did the study the US has not. When the US finally does a detailed study of the type france did then I'll be happy to rub your nose in it.

Let's play the info game then.

BBC: Cannabis driving danger measured

"Trials previously completed under similar test conditions at the TRL have shown that alcohol and tiredness have a more adverse effect on driving ability.

The results of the cannabis and driving study agree with similar research carried out in Australia, the US and Holland."

If that isn't enough, here is a nice little myth buster with some creditable sources such as:

77. McBay, A.J. and Owens, S.M., "Marijuana and Driving," pp 257-63 in L.S. Harris (ed) Problems of Drug Dependence 1980, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (1981); Teale, J.D. et al, "The Incidence of Cannabinoids in Fatally Impaired Drivers: An Investigation by Radioimmunoassay and High Pressure Liquid Chromatography," Journal of the Forensic Science Society 17:177-83 (1978).

78. Terhune, K.W. et al, The Incidence and Role of Drugs in Fatally Injured Drivers, Washington, DC: Department of Transportation (1994).

79. Brookoff, D. et al, "Testing Reckless Drivers for Cocaine and Marijuana," New England Journal of Medicine 331:518-22 (1994).

80. Kv'alseth, T.O., "Effects of Marijuana on Human Reaction Time and Motor Control," Perceptual and Motor Skills 45:935-39 (1977); Hansteen, R.W. et al, "Effects of Cannabis and Alcohol on Automobile Driving and Psychomotor Tracking," Annals of New York Academy of Sciences 282:240-56 (1976); Moskowitz, H. et al, "Marijuana: Effects on Simulated Driving Performance," Accident Analysis and Prevention 8:45-50 (1976); Moskowitz, H. et al, "Visual Search Behavior While Viewing Driving Scenes Under the Influence of Alcohol and Marijuana," Human Factors 18:417-31 (1976).

81. Stein, A.C. et al, A Simulator Study of the Combined Effects of Alcohol and Marijuana on Driving Behavior-Phase II, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation (1983).

82. Robbe, H. and O'Hanlon, J., Marijuana and Actual Driving Performance, Washington, DC: Department of Transportation (1993).

Why don't you go look into the amount of times a UPS driver has crashed because your management put so much stress and pressure on them that their focus was not on the road but meeting your asinine expetations of productivity? Or how about those drivers speeding home to get home to their familes after going over 9.5 yet again? It's so easy to blame accidents on workers lighting up when in reality it's a stress releiver that would make them drive safer after dealing with all the bull on a day to day basis!