Many employers
who are considering drug testing for their businesses tend to think of
marijuana use, especially in states with legalized medical marijuana.
Oftentimes, marijuana is more plentiful in these areas than elsewhere. The
overflow from medical marijuana distribution centres is bound to hit the
streets, and care takers who raise the plants themselves may just raise a few
extra plants for friends and acquaintances.
Methamphetamine
use is also very common across the U.S., and it has side effects that are far
worse than those of marijuana. Meth users can become paranoid, aggressive, and
violent as a side effect of the drug. No employer wants to deal with an
employee with attitude problems or one who is ready to argue or fight while on
the job. Yet, meth is readily available everywhere. Lab busts have happened all
over the country - in Adams County and in Denver, Colorado, in Arkansas, and
even in Chicago where meth has been greatly overpowered by marijuana, heroin,
and other drugs. Recently, the largest bust ever occurred in Sacramento,
California where $200 million dollars of crystal meth was found. Meth labs have
been discovered all across the U.S.
A standard
5-panel urine drug test will easily detect methamphetamine in an employee's
urine. By doing random testing four times a year, employers are able to
discover whether or not any employees are using methamphetamine. Meth will show
up on a urine test for 3-7 days after its use, and is extremely addictive.
Chances are that if an employee is a regular meth user, he or she will have
smoked, snorted, or ingested it recently allowing for it to show up on a test.
A street name for methamphetamine is "working man's cocaine," so
there are many workers in the country who apparently abuse this drug.
The use of methamphetamine
does not just affect the employee who works at a business. It also affects
other employees who must cover for the person who is high on drugs if he or she
has a bad attitude and slows down production. Meth users can cheat their
employers in other ways. They may steal from the company and take items that
can be sold to buy more meth. Although methamphetamine provides energy to the
person taking it, their rational thinking is affected. If a person in a
supervisory or management position is using the drug, they could make poor
decisions that could cost the employer thousands of dollars.
Meth affects
every person in the community and across the U.S. When meth labs are busted and
shut down by police, it takes special procedures to clean up the area. The
house or building must be roped off and signs posted warning others to stay out
of the area. Touching any of the equipment or remnants of the drugs could be
extremely harmful.
Another matter
of concern to communities is the disposal of the meth by-products or waste that
is produced when "cooking" meth. According to a report by the
Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, illegal producers often dump this
waste on the curb where any child or animal can come by and touch it or eat it.
The negative effects
of methamphetamine use in the country are widespread and deeply rooted,
affecting thousands of people. If more employers require random drug tests at
work, there will be less meth users.
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