ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM PITCHED TO WR CHAMBER

WARNER ROBINS - The director of a state program to eliminate drug use among
Georgia workers brought his pitch Thursday morning to the International City.

Chuck Wade, director of Drugs Don't Work in Georgia, told about 80 area
business leaders that the United States is fighting a losing battle against
drug suppliers in foreign countries.

He said stopping drug dealers means eliminating demand for their product.
That can be done in the workplace, Wade said, through the Drugs Don't Work
program.

Through the program, businesses become certified as drug-free workplaces
and in exchange get a 7 percent discount on workers' compensation insurance
premiums.

Certification is a five-step process that requires implementing a
substance-abuse policy, conducting drug testing, educating employees and
supervisors and offering an employee assistance program.

Wade works for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and his program is
administered through local chambers.

Michele Callahan, president of the Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce,
said her organization wants to offer the program to members and is
evaluating how to cover the costs. Wade spoke Thursday at an Early Bird
Breakfast program offered by the chamber.

Chambers of commerce provide support by offering the employee and
supervisor training and by offering resources for drug testing.

Lance Randall, vice president of existing industry at the Greater Macon
Chamber of Commerce, said the Macon chamber has offered Drugs Don't Work
support for about 10 years. Between 80 and 100 Macon chamber members are
certified drug free, he said.

"We also try to encourage other companies who are not drug free yet to
consider the program," Randall said. "It's a pretty easy sell."

Wade said it's an easy sell because employers get the insurance discount
and because drug-free workers are more productive workers.

He said 77 percent of drug users in the United States are employed, and
dealers like selling at work because they're less likely to get caught.

"Law enforcement does not police the workplace, they police the streets and
they've got their hands full," Wade said.