tuscl

Addictions of another kind: Drugs...

shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
Last week a coworker asked me if I knew what what was going on with D**? his name was on the work schedule but he was not there and another coworker was covering his desk. I had no clue. Saturday when I came back to work from 3 days off, I had an email from the company saying that he was retiring effective APR 30th. Now this guy was in his mid 40's, divorced, and making somewhere between 90 and 100K a year. Not the sharpest guy doing the same job that I do but still well liked. I asked my coworkers what was up. The rumor was that he had failed a random drug test. Today a got an email from my union confirming that one of our members has failed a drug test and was being terminated. (forced retirement0 But it sounds better than fired for drug abuse. All members of my union have been subject to random drug/alcohol testing for the last 20 years or so. This is a serious safety profession. I myself have been tested 10 or 12 times. Never worried. Always knew that I was clean. I just took the hour of overtime pay, 1 1/2 normal rate to go spend 15 minute pissing in a jar.This is the only case that I know of in my job classification. He is truely lucky that the company let him resign rather that fire him. He fucked himself out of a great paying job. Maybe now he can become a stripper....

16 comments

  • FONDL
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    17 years ago
    My ATF was subjected to random drug tests for 5 years and passed every one of them. We're both very proud of that, given her history. During the first 2 year if she had failed a test she would have immediately gone to jail. How's that for incentive?
  • chandler
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    17 years ago
    Don't forget that failing a drug test and addiction to a drug aren't necessarily the same thing. At most any time in my life, I might have failed a drug test, yet the only drug I've ever been addicted to was nicotine.
  • casualguy
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    17 years ago
    I wish I was making that kind of money. Except for an occasional beer on my time off, I'm about as clean as they come. Someone offered me a cigarette last night but I certainly didn't want it. He asked why? I didn't want to go into details. Dying of cancer and suffering from cancer would be one. Decreased health would be another. My high school actually had some drug education to teach us why drugs were not healthy. If you use certain drugs, it releases some chemicals (perhaps it was endorphines) but the problem with drug use is that your high you first experience can never be as good as the first one. It's all downhill from there. Drugs alter your brain. I'd rather get a natural high from exercising. That kind of natural high can repeat over and over again. Of course you have to be a bit careful that you don't exercise too much. Most people don't have that problem.
  • casualguy
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    17 years ago
    When I'm referring to altering the brain, I think that refers to the more serious drugs. I really don't know if pot does that or not. Haven't experienced that either except for some heavy second hand smoke at a rock concert. I wonder if you could fail a drug test by going to a rock concert and inhaling the second hand smoke?
  • shadowcat
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    17 years ago
    casualguy: Not that I want to test this but I have been told by a friend of 30 years and an ex alcoholic and was the union rep in charge of alcohol and drug abuse untill he retired 2 years ago, that they don't even test for pot.
  • FONDL
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    17 years ago
    Shadowup, my ATF was tested at random Several times a month for both pot and other drugs - they were two separate tests given on different days.

    Chandler, I agree that failing a test doesn't necessarily indicate addiction. But the legal system doesn't care.
  • Book Guy
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    17 years ago
    "retiring effective APR 30th. Now this guy was in his mid 40's, divorced, and making somewhere between 90 and 100K a year. Not the sharpest guy doing the same job that I do but still well liked. ... confirming that one of our members has failed a drug test and was being terminated. (forced retirement)"

    Sounds wonderful. What do I need to do in order to get 90 to 100K a year, then get stoned, then get to retire?
  • shadowcat
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    17 years ago
    BG: If you really want to know. To be considered for my position, you have to have a minimum of 7 years with the company and be working in supervisory position. When there is going to be an opening, they post it on our internet site. You then get interviewed my boss, his boss and the VP of Human Resources. If you pass, next comes a general knowledge test, If you pass that, then you get interviewed by the companys shrink. If you pass that and get chosen over 20 other candidates, then you have to go piss in the cup. If you pass that you get promoted to assistant at a salary that is probabbly less than what you were making. Then you go through 6 months of training. First classroom for 3 months and then OJT for 3 months. You must pass your FAA test to get your license before you start OJT. These classes usually have a minimum of 5 students and a maximum of around 20. Then you have to wait for one of us to retire or kick the bucket.Then it takes a minimum of 5 years expierence and one of my coworkers or me has to be eliminated for you to have a chance to move up to where I am. A manager. It takes 12 years to make it to the top of the pay scale. I have been for over 20 years. I am the most senior man at my level. Well, I have done it for 40 years.
  • Book Guy
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    17 years ago
    No, I don't like that answer. Give me a better one, that gets me more money more easily. :)
  • shadowcat
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    17 years ago
    FONDL: I just caught the shadowup. Funny! I bugged founder for a long time to reinstate shadowcat but he just couldn't. Igaveup but I will never let let shadowcat get forgotten on this site. I did over 100 reviews and pissed off some people along the way, for which I am sorry for.

    I don't understand why they had to test your ATF on 2 separte days. I had my anual check up at the Doc's office two weeks ago and with 3 tubes of blood and a cup of piss they were able to do 50 or so tests.. I got the written copy in the mail the other day. Didn't understant 98% of it but I know that I am not going to die soon. Got a high blood pressure problem that he is trying to correct with MEDS. I blame that on strip clubs... shadowcat.
  • casualguy
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    17 years ago
    I've been told I have really good blood pressure. I blame that on strip clubs and drinking.
  • FONDL
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    17 years ago
    Shadowup, I'm glad you like the name. To answer your qeustion about drug testing, my ATF was arrested in a drug bust. As part of her plea bargin she was given 2 years probation subject to random testing. After completing her probation she moved to another state and applied for a license to pursue her career there. And made the mistake of answering "yes" to the question of "have you ever been arrested." The state granted her a provisional license based on her participation in a program that required two different drug tests on a random regular basis, one test for marijuana, another for other drugs for another 2 years. She had to pay for all the tests plus extensive legal fees. The moral of the story is that getting arrested for drug possession can really screw up your life.
  • Book Guy
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    17 years ago
    I would think strip clubs would lower your blood pressure, not raise it. Relaxation, circulation to other joints and tendons, that sort of thing ...
  • casualguy
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    17 years ago
    Book Guy, maybe some strip clubs do. However the strip club IGU goes to is more like sitting on the front row at Talladega with the noise factor. Then, you have all sorts of exciting things to watch. They usually come in pairs and bounce around if they're natural. :)
    Of course maybe IGU was joking.
  • shadowcat
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    17 years ago
    BG: Why does a dick get hard? increased blood flow! The 3 enhancers try to further this. They check your blood pressure on your arm, not your dick.
  • Book Guy
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    17 years ago
    Yah, unless you're caught by the highway patrol ... :) ... and you're blonde.
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