New at Reason

Julian Sanchez | February 9, 2005

Paul Armentano reports that the nations drug cops are cooking up a whole new slew of ways to get at your precious bodily fluids.

Comments

sage|2.9.05 @ 5:50PM|#

Note to self: Eat more asparagus.

sage|2.9.05 @ 6:03PM|#

Actually, I do see a silver lining here: Maybe when people see how many lives are ruined by the drug war, and not the drugs themselves, we will see the tide turn.

CodeMonkeySteve|2.9.05 @ 6:14PM|#

Sage: It's only been seventy-odd years (more if you count Prohibition I). I'm sure people will get a clue any day now ...

|2.9.05 @ 6:55PM|#

This is a commie plot to steal our precious bodily fluids and destroy the purity of our essence!

.. P.
P.O.E.
.. E.

|2.9.05 @ 7:09PM|#

Fortunately, I only drink distilled water and pure grain alcohol.

|2.9.05 @ 7:17PM|#

I actually think improved testing on the roadside may help legalize mj. Wait, before you all freak out, hear me out.

A common concern of legalization is that people will be driving high as a kite after the laws change. If we can show that we can measure intoxication, then we can say, let's just treat it like alcohol, we can test that. One less argument for drug warriors to use on us.

Of course, these tests check for metabolites, not active ingredients, so this is virtually worthless.

|2.9.05 @ 8:11PM|#

As someone who's spent about 7 years of her career working closely with government workers before, I can't get around the irony that the gub'mint spends so much to drug-screen potential employees, yet still manages to hire some of the laziest, stupidest, borderline-literate bottom-feeders ever to walk upright. Kee-riste, at least give some of the tokers a 60-day trial period; they can't be any worse.

sage|2.9.05 @ 8:21PM|#

Monkey,

Don't excrete bodily fluids on my parade.

Zero,

Thanks for the only laugh I've had all day.

|2.9.05 @ 8:58PM|#

Robert Anton Wilson made an observation before the 'net bubble burst that the Silicon Valley would be fucked if those companies drug-tested their employees. Now I guess you could argue that by hiring a bunch of druggies (no matter how talented and skilled), they sealed their fate (ie, the bubble bursting). But I would surmise that it was probably sober CEO's that caused most of the problems. :)

|2.9.05 @ 9:17PM|#

Must be nice to have the government as a business partner requiring people to buy your service.

|2.9.05 @ 10:04PM|#

People better stop worrying about tapping some Jhadists phone line and start worrying about this. This is the biggest threat to civil liberties. Basic civil rights are not the right to plot the overthrow of the government or get federal funding for your new pisschrist painting. A most precious right is the right to go down the street unmolested by some government asshole making sure we haven't committed a crime. These people are totalitarian nitwits. They have to be stopped. Its a shame the ACLU and other civil rights groups have become subsidiaries of the Democratic Party and waste their political capital on dumb things like whether some kid can say a prayer at a high school graduation. We need them now and on things like this.

M. Simon|2.9.05 @ 11:56PM|#

Want a chill to your bones?

Read the first comment re: an article I did on the drug war.

So far no major blog (and I've contacted a lot of them) has had the courage to touch this.

The Biggest Cover Up of All.

Who wants to cover the policing of America?

M. Simon|2.9.05 @ 11:58PM|#

BTW I would appriciate any one who wants to help passing the above url around.

Here it is again:

The biggest Cover Up of All.

|2.10.05 @ 10:12AM|#

Mo,

What fanatsy land do you live in?

Seriously, the trend in the US is to continually LOWER the allowable percentage of alcohol in the body while driving; it's trending toward zero-tolerance which it already is for pot.

|2.10.05 @ 11:28AM|#

We need Joe to plan our communities so that we can walk from home to a good hash bar. Some of the best workers I've been around were potheads. Why hasn't Juanita chimed in by now?

|2.10.05 @ 3:08PM|#

Drugs are bad and they must be outlawed. People who are caught smoking joints should have their lips and fingers cut off. It's for the good of teh collektive.

|2.10.05 @ 5:24PM|#

Don't know if anyone's still reading this thread, but here's a scary thought that occurred to me today--what do you think are the chances that sooner or later the government will REQUIRE all employers to drug-test their employees, similar to the way they're required to check Social Security numbers now?

|2.11.05 @ 2:37AM|#

Jennifer: I think the chances are good and I can see it passing easily during the current administration (as well as under most other recent administrations to tell the truth).