(taken from L. Christopher Smith, Rolling Stone)
drug tests may soon be ocming to a highway near you. Under "drugged-driving initiatives" passed in 11 states, cops can already test motorists involved in an accident to see if they're under the influence of an illegal substance. But within a year, the police may be armed with a new generation of devices- and a new FEDERAL LAW- that make it possible to test drivers right by the side of the road.
With help from the Bush Admin. the drug-testing industry is developing saliva kits, which use a toothbrush-shaped swab to instantly analyze a drivers spit for drugs. The kits eliminate the need for blood and urine samples making it easier for police to test drivers on the spot. But the test doesn't simply determine if yuo're high- it tells the cops whether you've done illegal drugs at anytime in the past week, meaning that someone who smoked a joint at a party Saturday night could fail a drug test while driving to work on Monday.
"We could start seeing people getting pulled over simply for having a Grateful Dead sticker on their car," says Graham Boyd, director of the drug law reform project of the ACLU. "These people could get tested right there on the road, and it would have nothin to do with driving under the influence of drugs."
The push for roadside drug testing is being driven in large part by Michael Walsh, a former associate director to the drug czar who now runs his own drug-test company. Backed by federal funding Walsh is currently testing saliva kits for widespread use and is pressuring Congress to extend workplace drug regulations to all U.S. drivers. In 2002, Walsh and the White House lobbied states to enact "zero tolerance" laws that treat drivers who test positive for drugs as criminals-even if they have only trace elements of marijuana in their systems.
"The point of this legislation is to get drugged drivers off the road," says Ed Orlett, a former Ohio legislator who is fighting a drugged-drivers bill up for a final vote in the state House. "But the laws are written in such a way that they have nothing to do with impairment. It's just a way to punish social drug users"
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And yet alcohol is legal.......and yet prescriptions drugs are legal.......I swear the Bush Admin. is waging a war on pot...being they can't stop the Columbian drug lords, or the Middle Eastern Opium and Hash...I suppose they are just gonna wage war on stoners.....
drug tests may soon be ocming to a highway near you. Under "drugged-driving initiatives" passed in 11 states, cops can already test motorists involved in an accident to see if they're under the influence of an illegal substance. But within a year, the police may be armed with a new generation of devices- and a new FEDERAL LAW- that make it possible to test drivers right by the side of the road.
With help from the Bush Admin. the drug-testing industry is developing saliva kits, which use a toothbrush-shaped swab to instantly analyze a drivers spit for drugs. The kits eliminate the need for blood and urine samples making it easier for police to test drivers on the spot. But the test doesn't simply determine if yuo're high- it tells the cops whether you've done illegal drugs at anytime in the past week, meaning that someone who smoked a joint at a party Saturday night could fail a drug test while driving to work on Monday.
"We could start seeing people getting pulled over simply for having a Grateful Dead sticker on their car," says Graham Boyd, director of the drug law reform project of the ACLU. "These people could get tested right there on the road, and it would have nothin to do with driving under the influence of drugs."
The push for roadside drug testing is being driven in large part by Michael Walsh, a former associate director to the drug czar who now runs his own drug-test company. Backed by federal funding Walsh is currently testing saliva kits for widespread use and is pressuring Congress to extend workplace drug regulations to all U.S. drivers. In 2002, Walsh and the White House lobbied states to enact "zero tolerance" laws that treat drivers who test positive for drugs as criminals-even if they have only trace elements of marijuana in their systems.
"The point of this legislation is to get drugged drivers off the road," says Ed Orlett, a former Ohio legislator who is fighting a drugged-drivers bill up for a final vote in the state House. "But the laws are written in such a way that they have nothing to do with impairment. It's just a way to punish social drug users"
__________________________________________________________
And yet alcohol is legal.......and yet prescriptions drugs are legal.......I swear the Bush Admin. is waging a war on pot...being they can't stop the Columbian drug lords, or the Middle Eastern Opium and Hash...I suppose they are just gonna wage war on stoners.....
I keep the RS out in the smoking lounge (garage, and it's tobacco only) so it takes me a bit to work my way through it.
