Newsgroups: alt.drugs
From: [an 33156] at [anon.penet.fi]
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1993 18:05:36 UTC
Subject: Re: United Way supports Drug Testing

   I'll leave the editorializing to others, suffice to say that
the bad taste left in my mouth after reading this will prevent
me from giving to United Way for a long long time.
  =============================
Reprinted from the Arizona Republic/Phoenix Gazette (without permission)
August 30, 1993 Monday, Final
Mesa Community Section; Pg. 2

          CHAMBER SEEKS GRANT FOR DRUG-DETECTION PLAN ;
              SMALL BUSINESSES BELIEVED AT RISK


   A project to help small-business owners detect drug use by employees is the
basis of a $50,000 federal grant sought by the Mesa Chamber of Commerce.

   The chamber has teamed with the Mesa Project, an anti-drug effort, and the
Mesa United Way to apply for the federal money.

   John Dickinson, assistant chamber director, said he was unsure how big of a
problem drug and alcohol abuse is in small Mesa businesses. But small-business
owners are oblivious to it, he added.

   "Guys who run small businesses will shake their heads and say, no, they don't
have a problem," he said. "But, statistically, we know they do."

   National surveys show that 70 percent of drug users are employed, Dickinson
said. The false presumption is that those people work for large corporations, he
added.

   "One of your most trusted people might be abusing drugs," he said. "It's
costing them productivity and quality of life for the individual employees."

    As a way to counter ignorance or disbelief, the chamber plans to implement
an "awareness campaign," including help in detecting drug use and drafting of
employee manuals to protect owners who fire drug-using employees.

   "The biggest obstacle is that small-businessmen refuse to believe it could be
going on in their shop," Dickinson said.

   The program could range from bringing business owners together to get group
rates on  drug testing  to writing employee guidelines barring drug use.

   The hospitality industry in Mesa is particularly susceptible to drug use
among employees, Dickinson said, adding that among high-risk jobs are those in
restaurants, bars and hotels.

    The chamber will learn next month whether it will succeed in obtaining the
grant. Only five such subsidies are handed out each year, and the competition
for the money is keen.

   If it is approved, Dickinson said, the first phase of the chamber program
would entail a survey of 1,000 small-business members.

   Ironically, he said, the chamber does not require pre-employment  drug tests
of its employees and does not require them from existing workers.

    "We're typical," Dickinson said of the chamber's lack of a drug policy.
"The way we hire people is not too different than the way many of our members
hire -- by judgment and referrals."


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