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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-18-2016, 02:21 AM
Here's how it works currently, from the article-
Quote:Quote:
According to the contract, tests are only allowed (it's required, actually) under three circumstances: If an officer is suspected of being under the influence while on the job, fires a weapon or is involved in a vehicle crash.
This is a very common practice in government and non government work, similar to the circumstances under which I would have had to take one at previous job years ago. It's reasonable and makes sense to be tested in these circumstances.
However,
random drug testing without suspicion or reason is something done to people on probation, not non criminals. It is not a common thing to have done in a job, even law enforcement. I can understand opposing it.
Americans are dreamers too
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-18-2016, 03:05 AM
Any police department that opposes these kinds of measures better have a damn good history of defending the civil liberties of the rest of the citizenry.
Pittsburg, though? Doubt it.
My guess is that most of them would be scared the tests would pick up steroids, as steroid abuse is a serious issue among cops in bad crime areas and absolutely affects their judgement on the job.
Secondary thought. A lot of cops are going to be on pain-killers for injuries they've picked up (or just because driving around in a car all day and being tense screws up your back) and drug tests typically test typically do not discriminate between someone using pharma pills and being a heroin addict. Cops that get their meds under the counter are often doing so because if they go through legal channels it will flag them to be removed from active service and be put on disability or desk duty.
So I'm not entirely unsympathetic, but I'm not completely sympathetic either.
I suspect if they instituted this then they'd be left with a skeleton force after a portion were fired and a wave of officers suddenly got a doctor's appointment and ended up on disability pensions.
The public will judge a man by what he lifts, but those close to him will judge him by what he carries.
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-18-2016, 07:59 AM
As someone who regularly has to piss in a cup for work (five times so far this year), I am 100% against random testing.
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-18-2016, 08:44 AM
Perhaps we should give them roadsides and subject them to the same pseudo science quackery that constitutes DUI Probable cause?
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-18-2016, 09:23 AM
My beef with piss tests is that THC can be detected up to a month after use so stoners like me can't get baked on our days off. They're starting to use saliva tests which only detect THC use up to 48 hours before, which is better but I still prefer that they didn't. In Canada this is entirely driven by the big US oil companies in Alberta, piss tests don't exist in neighbouring BC, even at oil refineries as they wouldn't be able to man the jobs there because everyone in BC is a huge pot head.
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-19-2016, 08:24 AM
Mythbusters already did an episode that should have ruled irrelevant any positive test for opioids for the standard saliva test.
The so-called myth that eating food with poppy seeds would give a positive reading turned out to be true, if I recall correctly.
The public will judge a man by what he lifts, but those close to him will judge him by what he carries.
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-20-2016, 03:10 AM
Anticol cough lozenges.
Smash one in ya gob, let it sit on your cheeks awhile and bobs your uncle.
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-20-2016, 04:30 AM
Scotion, do you partake daily regarding such "things"?
I've always wondered what the effectiveness of those drink products was for those that partake daily.
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-20-2016, 06:54 AM
For the habitual user it comes down to dilution and replacement.
Dilute your system with water, replace it with a flushing product. I've used Omniclean with great success many times. Some with as little as two hours notice.
For those pre employment tests my preferred method is to wake up and drink water until I pissclear. Usually 3-5 times, then I drink my bottle, piss 2-3 more times until the colour comes back and bam! good for like 4-6 hours oluntil testing. Remember, your not flushing your system like you think. Your diluting your system. Because most lab rated tests won't measure anything under 15 Mcg's as a positive, Youre avoiding suspicion of further testing by making the sample appear with normal colour.
In many cases, simply drinking water and pissing clear can be seen as an act of tampering. In places where funds are limited to dip stick tests, i.e., probation testings, its highly unlikely theyll be sent to a lab. More lilely to be asked to piss again.
You can forego the drink kits with multivitamins if you'd rather. Theyre essentially the same thing. Just note that vitamin pills will take longer to break down and restore normal colour to theburine than a liquid kit. If you have the time to prepare and don't want to spend 30-50 USD then this is a good option. Just remember, Dilute your sample, replace the vitamins (color).
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-20-2016, 08:18 AM
Opiate, cocaine, meth, and steroid use should be monitored because of the greater possibility for addicts to be corrupted and the change in the behavior/brain that the last three can cause. Almost everything else should not be tested for. Cops have one of the hardest jobs in the nation. Subjecting them to the indignity of random drug testing isn't right. Let them have their weed and other such things if they need it. I'll take a cop with a weed habit over one who sits in a bar any day.
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-20-2016, 04:53 PM
I will give my opinion and experience here. When I was hired I was tested and there was a test at the end of probation.They do the hair test. A lot of that makes sense. Problem is the random tests are not really as random as they would like you to believe.
Basically, most cops go their whole careers without getting called(except right before retirement) and apparently the same few get called all the time. When a cop "makes waves" or pisses off a boss, they seem more likely to get called for a so called random drug test. In my dept they are used punitively.
Another problem is it seems they randomly call most cops who are about to retire. Why? Well because if we are caught they can fire us without a pension. Again, it is used for the city to save money..unjustly. Who cares if a cop starts smoking pot on his last week? The pension section does apparently.
I was afraid when I was called. I don't do drugs but the testing company has been known to have false positives in their samples. The company is deep in controversy. There are cops fired without a pension who swear they never did drugs and who have character references, etc. But they are shit out of luck.
On that note, when I retired I worked nights so they had to pay me OT to go to get tested since it was after tour when testing is done. I made sure I couldn't piss and ended up getting about 7 hours OT at 60 bucks an hour before they got a sample from me. That time was pensionable and probably is the easiest 8k I ever got(calculated by expected lifespan).
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-21-2016, 03:25 AM
Jimukr has some pretty solid points.
Another reason why most large police departments need to fire their union and start all over again, with a mind to protecting the rights of good officers, turfing out the bad ones and rebuilding the trust of the community.
The public will judge a man by what he lifts, but those close to him will judge him by what he carries.
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-24-2016, 08:56 PM
Quote:Quote:
Quote: (07-20-2016 05:37 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:
Quote: (07-20-2016 05:13 PM)AneroidOcean Wrote:
I made sure I couldn't piss and ended up getting about 7 hours OT at 60 bucks an hour before they got a sample from me.
Isn't this just sticking it to your community who pay your overtime/pension?
The same community that that allows us be abused the way we are? ..
I worked those hours fair and square. Not my fault if they expected me to piss in a cup at the time I am usually in bed asleep.I don't usually get up to pee when I am asleep.I just didn't have to go!
Right. You know if you feel that you're being treated unfairly on the job you can always quit. That's what everyone else does. You should count yourself lucky. Very few American workers now have the benefit of a union to stick up for them.
"Those who will not risk cannot win." -John Paul Jones
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Pittsburgh Cops Oppose Drug Testing For Themselves
07-27-2016, 04:32 PM
Hate the game , not the player bro!