RANDOM DRUG TESTS NET 2 POSITIVES

Since January this year, the Alcohol and Drug Free Workplace Division has
conducted 40 random drug tests among government personnel, of which two were
found positive for illegal drug use.

ADFW coordinator Frances T. Salas said that corrective actions have already
been taken on the two employees found positive for drug use.

Salas declined to specify these actions but the ADFW policy manual provides
that anyone found positive for drug use would be subjected to a graduated
series of disciplinary actions, depending on the circumstances.

At a minimum, the employee shall get a formal reprimand and referral to a
substance abuse professional for assessment and treatment. "We follow
basically what is authorized by the policy," she said.

Salas also clarified that the random drug testing has not been suspended and
has, in fact, been ongoing. At some point, she said there were short
interruptions due to lack of funding but this has already been addressed and
the random testing is back on track.

"It [random drug testing] goes on throughout the year. It has never stopped.
We may have probably not done as much because of the funding but it still
continues," Salas said. Funding for the random drug testing comes from the
appropriated budget of the Office of Personnel Management.

Last year, the division conducted a total of 67 random drug tests among
safety-sensitive positions. She declined to disclose how many of this number
were found positive for drug use but Office of Personnel Management director
Juan I. Tenorio had said in a July 21 letter to the Legislature that an
estimated 9 percent of tests implemented in Fiscal Year 2002 yielded
positive results for illegal drug use.

This translates to almost one in 10 employees who were found positive, which
Tenorio had described as an "alarming" trend.

The ADFW drug testing policy tests for five kinds of drugs-cocaine,
marijuana, opiates, amphetamines, and phencyclidine-technically referred to
as the NIDA-5 drug panel.

Based on the steps outlined in the ADFW manual, Salas said the random drug
testing method involves getting a list of employees who are in
safety-sensitive positions throughout the different departments.
Safety-sensitive describes activities that directly affect the safety of one
or more persons, including the operation of motor vehicles or heavy
machinery or the carrying of firearms.

From that list, the names are plugged into the computer and the computer
randomly selects-using an Excel random program-the persons who are supposed
to take the drug test.