DRUG TESTS DON'T ADDRESS NO. 1 PROBLEM: ALCOHOL

Re "His cup runneth over with annoyance," Current, Jan. 29

When a newspaper like The Times forces job candidates to submit to
drug tests, it is an unwitting conspirator in a culture war that
should have ended with the Vietnam War. Drug tests are essentially
lifestyle tests. Despite a short-lived high, marijuana is the only
drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a
deterrent. Synthetic drugs are water soluble and exit the body
quickly. If you think drug users don't know this, think again. Anyone
capable of running a search on the Internet can find out how to thwart
a drug test.

The most commonly abused drug, and the one most closely associated
with violence, is almost impossible to detect with urinalysis. That
drug, alcohol, takes far more lives each year than all illegal drugs
combined. Hangovers don't contribute to workplace safety, and
counterproductive drug tests do absolutely nothing to discourage the
No. 1 drug problem.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Arlington, Va.