Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
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Drug testing Part 7: Implementing testing is small price to pay for safety and peace of mind

Except for the fact that it is a false sense of safety and peace of mind.....drug testing does nothing to prevent someone from strapping in "under the influence".   Despite what the guy who sells the testing programs wants to tell you,  they are VERY easy to beat.  

I still think there is room to start. You can say they are easy to beat, and maybe they are, but drug testing is used as a deterrent and would serve that purpose in a lot of cases. It's funny, everyone is talking about marijuana, but if you think other drugs don't enter the equation, you would be sadly mistaken. 

I agree that nobody should be under the influence of any drug, including alcohol at the racetrack.  

I do not believe that scheduled or even random testing is a deterrent.  In real life it does not appear to have any effect on one's decisions.   

Plus, like I said in another post,  testing for marijuana does NOT tell you if someone is under the influence or not.....it only tells you what they have done in the last 3 or 4 weeks....if not masked.  

What I am trying to say is that if you feel "peace of mind" or some sense of safety because someone urinated into a bottle and someone else got paid $100 for looking at it.....you are mistaken.    

the process as a whole pretty much singles out cannabis for the simple fact that most substances only hang around in your system for a few days.  abouse alcohol 3-4 nights a week good on saturday, abuse coke 3-4 nights a week more than likely good on saturday. whats the answer for these substances?  For the most part drug testing doesn't deter most of these other substances.  thats why they are abused, ruin lives and people go to rehab for them. Ever here of someone going to rehab from cannabis or overdosing?  Ever take a look at whats in adhd drugs? I quess my biggest question... are you against driving/officiating under the influence or against personal freedom the other days of the week?????????

how many times have any one of us walked into a shop and there is a beer on the hood of a car being worked on?

You can't leave a beer on the hood of a car! It could fall and spill or (worse) in the case of a bottle hit the ground and break. We MUST prevent such tragedys!

The last sentence is missing the point and that is one of my major beef's with drug testing.  

Random or scheduled drug testing does NOT tell you if someone is driving, wrenching or officiating "under the influence".  It only tells you if they have ingested a banned subtance sometime in the last few days/weeks.   This is why I support the "reasonable suspicion" criteria currently in use.  

Good point about ADHD drugs and other big pharm creations.....apparently perfectly legal but IMHO just as dangerous  (probably more dangerous than pot).  

Key word,,banned substance. Meth, cocaine, weed, it's all illegal and would be banned. You choose to partake, you choose to be kicked out. Seems like a pretty easy choice. Drinking in the pits or have alcohol in your system, well, too bad for you.

As far as ADHD drugs or stimulants. You get tested and shows a positive,,better have a perscription. Same procedure in other sports.

I believe if you are under the influence at the track....immediate suspension.   What you do on your own time is your own business. 

Regarding prescriptions.....so it is OK to be under the influence of a chemical if a doctor gives his approval?   Big Pharm's involvement makes it safe?   

cannabis is not illegal everywhere.  Its not a zero tolerance pass/fail test in the NFL, MLB or Olympics and NCAA is going to the same policy. which is 150 nanograms per milliliter.  MLB is 50 i think.  ur standard test for employment is like 10, which would get u popped for partakaing 3 weeks prior only once.  So basically they are allowed to partake in cannabis couple times a week without going over the threshold.  basically if you don't use on the day of a test your probably gonna pass.  for sure abstaining for 2 days.  not all drug testing has the same thresholds.  anyways cannabis will probably be legal in almost 10 states by the end of 2016.  It will also be medicinally legal in close to 2/3 of the states by then too.  so if its legal in your state why should you be tested for it and if you have a perscription why isn't that good as a adhd, depression, pain, sleeping perscription that would make you flunk a drug test too?

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I get what everyone is saying about weed and the legality of it. But no matter what a state decides as far a legalization, truck drivers are held to a different standard. DOT. You can't do it. If you test positive, you will likely be reprimanded. 

It's a sticky subject, which is why I wrote the series. Learned a lot, and will likely have a follow up at some point just on the questions that have been raised. 

I think anyone who falls under DOT regulations in business no matter what it is will tell you it will be a sad day for racing, especially grass roots racing if the DOT or anything similiar takes over the sport.  DOT has damn near made it unaffordable for small business.  Most small tracks operate on a shoe string budget as it is. Every driver and pit crew member goes through the gate, signs a waiver and gets a wrist band, then has a drivers meeting.  I think there is enough officials they come across during this process and throughout the program that if they were impaired mentally or physically someone would notice.  I think if a driver was impaired another team would be smart enough to blow the whistle on him during the program.  This can be policed by drivers, crewman, and officials before some outside entity with a price tag that is going to do nothing but cost more money year after year.  Does it bother you if someone drinks a fifth of jack two days before a race?  Or partakes after a program has been completed?  What is the difference if they partake in cannabis?  Since they only will get tested on saturday or sunday would it bother you if they partake in coke thoughtout the week but cut themselves off 72hrs before the event to test clean?  Nascar has millions and millions of corporate dollars so they can do what they want. 90% of small tracks and grass root teams pinch every penny to keep the doors open or field a car.  It seems as if some are trying to solve a problem thats not there.  Some tracks are 60+ miles from a testing clinic.  With drive time etc... I seriously doubt we are looking at $150 per nite to have a professionally trained person do the testing.