WE SHOULD TRY TO LIMIT DRUGS' HARM

Re: Put it to the test, May 1.

Your editorial on attempts to update Florida's drug-free workplace
regulations was both perplexing and flawed. As a noted authority on
drug-free workplace programs, with 20 years' experience in this area, I
found your venomous indictment of this prevention tool excessive and in
defiance of reality.

Attempts to limit the harm that alcohol and other drug use inflicts on
businesses and non-drug using employees are both prudent and justifiable.
Small wonder that Rep. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach,and other members of the
House sought to improve and expand a program designed to reduce drug use
and assist Florida companies and employees. They should be commended, not
panned.

Contrary to your comment, there has been no credible research conducted
which would support your assertion that off-the-job drug use is not a
significant factor in worker safety or productivity. To the contrary, many
case studies based on the experiences of individual companies have shown
significant, ongoing reductions in accidents, filing of workers'
compensation claims, thefts, liability costs, absenteeism, etc. after they
adopted drug-free workplaces. A scientific study of airline pilots proved
conclusively that impairment lasted beyond 24 hours after smoking just one
marijuana joint. Are you suggesting that it is okay for our pilots to smoke
a joint at night and then fly our planes the next morning?

>From a workplace perspective, one of the most daunting aspects about
marijuana is the potential for users to be involved in accidents. A study
conducted at the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services tested
1,023 emergency room patients with major trauma injuries during a given
time frame for the presence of marijuana and alcohol. Marijuana was found
in 34.7 percent of the patients and alcohol was present in 33.5 percent.
The use of marijuana and alcohol in combination was found in 16.5 percent
of the patients, compared with marijuana alone (18.3 percent) and alcohol
alone (16.1 percent). It should be noted that nearly 10 times more people
are current users of alcohol as are current marijuana users, yet marijuana
played a higher role than alcohol in these injuries.

The Department of Insurance should research the benefits of offering
increased discounts for companies that qualify as Florida drug-free
workplaces. Based on the findings of the studies I mentioned, such a
cost-benefit analysis would almost surely justify an increased discount for
and expansion of the protections afforded by Florida's drug-free workplace
program.

Additionally, your casual reference to employees who use drugs off the job
simply being less than upright citizens ignores that the fact that they are
engaging in unhealthy, illegal behavior. After all, a company has a right
to expect its employees to be law-abiding citizens.

Calvina L. Fay is the executive director, Drug Free American Foundation
Inc., St. Petersburg