MILITARY DRUG TESTS FIND 1 IN 20 USING

VICTORIA -- More than one in 20 Canadian soldiers and sailors in
non-combat roles tested positive for illicit drug use in random tests
conducted on more than 3,000 military personnel from coast to coast.
The results provided to The Canadian Press show that over a four-month
period, 1,392 sailors in the navy's Atlantic and Pacific fleets and
1,673 soldiers in the army's four regions and training branch were
subjected to blind drug testing.

Averaged out, 6.5 per cent of those tested in the navy and 5 per cent
in the army indicated positive results, almost entirely for marijuana.

The results don't reflect the Canadian Forces' long-standing policy of
zero-tolerance for such drug use and were not received happily by the
Forces' high command. They have prompted broader testing across the
entire military - roughly 65,000 regular members and 24,000 reservists.

"Any kind of drug usage, of course, is not condoned in the Canadian
Forces," Lieutenant-Colonel Lisa Noonan, spokeswoman for the chief of
military personnel, said from Ottawa. "We have a number of programs
and policies in place to deter this drug usage and to continue to
ensure that we get it down as close to zero per cent as possible."

And, the military notes, the results are still lower than the
drug-usage rates in the general Canadian population.

The blind drug tests, which began in mid-December last year, were done
without prior notice. Testing staff moved in, they sealed building
exits or ship gangplanks and all personnel were required to provide a
urine sample on an anonymous basis. Age and rank groupings were
tallied, but gender was not in an effort to protect the privacy of the
very few women in some units.

"It really was time to start looking at this issue to see if we did
have a problem," Col. Noonan said.

But she denied it had anything to do with a series of high-profile
cocaine and marijuana charges laid after a military sting operation
that netted a half dozen non-commissioned members aboard a coastal
patrol ship based at CFB Esquimalt in early 2006.

"That wasn't the impetus for it. This has been in the works for quite
a long time because we wanted to essentially take a look at drug
prevalence in the Canadian Forces overall." The information will give
the military a better overall indication of drug use, Col. Noonan
said. "Then we can adjust our programs and policies accordingly," she
said, adding that the Canadian Forces' policy of zero tolerance won't
change.

The preference for pot was seen as a reflection of society in general,
she added. Still, she said the challenge is for the military to
"basically socialize these people to understand that is not acceptable
in our particular context."

Col. Noonan said that besides giving the military a clearer picture of
the scope of drug use within the Forces, the tests are also intended
as a deterrent, even though they are conducted on an anonymous basis
that precludes action being against any individual.

The Forces also operate a separate mandatory testing program in
so-called "high-risk, safety sensitive" military occupations, which
includes all personnel deployed to Afghanistan. That program has been
in place for two years.

Forces officials explained a positive drug use result does not
necessarily mean the end of a military career because the Canadian
Forces invests too much time, effort and money into training and
maintaining its personnel.

Results from a safety-sensitive drug test cannot be used in court. But
there is an "administrative follow-up" consisting of a medical
assessment for drug usage, a determination of whether a treatment
program is required and whether the person will be removed from his or
her position.

If such persons do carry through with the action required, they may be
able to resume their positions as before.