'IF YOU SMOKE POT, YOU CAN'T WORK HERE'

If you're looking for work in Alaska, don't be surprised to hear these
words: "If you smoke pot, you can't work here."

The folks who might say those words -- human resource managers --
screen and hire new employees for Alaska businesses, industries,
government agencies and nonprofits. Most of them want nothing to do
with you if you use marijuana and other illegal drugs.

Pot smokers and dopers can forget about another long list: The jobs
and professional careers in Alaska that automatically reject
applicants who test positive for illicit drugs. A small sample of
those careers includes barge and ferry boat captains, commercial
airline and bush pilots, police, troopers and security personnel,
heavy-equipment operators and mine workers. And the list goes on.

If you think you can just not smoke pot for a few days before going in
for the pre-employment drug screening, think again. That might work
once. But it's why employers also implement random drug screening.
Maybe tomorrow, in a week or a month, sooner or later you'll be
unemployed again and out the door. In a lot of personnel offices, that
door will slam hard and permanently behind you.

If you want information on how drug use can affect your health, talk
to your doctor. If you want to know what impact drugs and alcohol have
on crime, talk to a cop. If you want to know statistics on how drugs
and alcohol affect Alaska families, talk to the people on the front
lines of dealing with child abuse. And if you're a breadwinner, you
better think long and hard about your family's future before you make
the wrong "lifestyle choice."

I recently went on the Internet just to look for reasons why people
might want to smoke pot. One Web site listed all of the jolly rewards
of marijuana use, including "the medicinal benefits of the cannabis
plant."

But then the Web site blew it for me: "Mostly, though," it said, "it's
about the freedom to get stoned."

My message about your freedom is simple. Your lifestyle is your
business as long as your choices don't endanger the person standing
next to you on the job. But if your lifestyle interferes with
workplace health and safety, that's your employer's business.

The Department of Labor's primary interest is protecting workers'
safety on the job and monitoring legitimate claims for unemployment
benefits should you lose your job due to misconduct. The penalties
range from monetary sanctions to criminal prosecution. A very sobering
thought, indeed.

If you're looking for work in Alaska, be prepared to hear these words:
"If you smoke pot, you can't work here."

Greg O'Claray is the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor
and Workforce Development.