has anyone been denied employment because of a drug test?

[jaysplifferton]

Hi. I'm curious if anyone here has been denied employment JUST because of a drug test. My friends all smoke and they have jobs. I haven't been tested for my last 5 (admittedly shitty) jobs. I've been laying off of smoking weed because I'm actively seeking employment and I really miss it. Hell, I still have a gram in an altoids container on my desk.

One time when I got a job at a grocery store, they drug tested me, and must have run it and ignored it or not analyzed it, but they still hired me.

I'm looking for other people's experiences to use as a guide. Thanks for your input.

 

[andrew415]

I dont understand fully 100 percent what your asking but the reason your friends still have jobs is because obviously they are lucky and didnt have drug tests. Has anyone ever been denied employment? Fuck it happens to one of my friends every week!

I work seasonal employment (spring to winter) construction and they have the authority to come out (and they do) random field drug tests and if I am ever in an accident on company time as I am a heavy heavy equipment operator I can break a fence or something with the boom or hit a person. Its happened before and the boss drives that person right to the medicentre to see if there is any drugs or alchol in his system.

I am starting back to work in 4 weeks and I'm getting off the mary-jane in 2 weeks just in case. Its not worth a good job to risk it.

Cheers

 

[Twisted Metal]

Well if you fail before your hired then YES you will not get the job, thats the whole point. If your already settled in a job and have to take a random then I would so in most cases NO. I have had a few friends that have to take a random test, they fail but dont lose there job, all they got was a suspension. Some of them fail again and again the punishment gets worse, like one month suspension with no pay thats the worst iv seen.

 

[madrecinco]

Most employers won't hire you because workmens comp charges the employer more if they don't pre employment drug test and after an on the job accident. So basically you are screwed,,,in medical/nursing you will lose your career and be monitored with weekly drug tests [you pay] for 5 years and be monitored by Impaired nurses program. It is a biotch if you get caught....no sympathy by BPR for stoner nurses or medical personel.

 

[jaysplifferton]

Good point. I was just asking because I haven't been tested for years, and even when I was it was not a deal-breaker. I was curious if it was a bigger deal for others; basically, I'm looking for more motivation to not smoke for the time being. Thanks.

 

[madrecinco]

Well my son owns a franchise from a big chain of restaurants in the southeast. He privately is a toker, but is forced to drug test to keep his expenses down. And we ALL know restaurant workers are notorious for being tokers. He tries to ignore as much as he can because he does know just because you toke don't mean you are a bad worker or bad person. But the head of that franchise sets company policy and he has to comply as best he can.....but he does feel hypocritical as I did being a nurse in the jail. Worse things than being a toker...

 

[andrew415]

Good point. I was just asking because I haven't been tested for years, and even when I was it was not a deal-breaker. I was curious if it was a bigger deal for others; basically, I'm looking for more motivation to not smoke for the time being. Thanks.

I hear ya its hard stopping just because someone tells ya to or you have to for a stupid drug test, not because you want to. I'm in the same boat right now like I said.

I'm kinda hanging with my other friends who arent into weed and i'm setting up a new growroom, if its around you your going to smoke it!

G luck

 

[madrecinco]

That is why the young should work toward legalization changes. It was miserable for me in my career toking and drug testing and all that education down the drain after suffering through school to get a good paying job....I would quit for a while and really miss it. But things are not going to just up and change without working hard for it. the young are too spoiled and lazy to activate on the issue. So this will be your life for the next 50 years as it has been for me. Long way from retiring you young so you might as well get used to it.

 

[Teeg420]

madrecinco - the young are to lazy. are you are making this assumption based on your own personal experiences? because im sure when you were young you didnt think there would be 13 states to have medical mj. So before you assume nothing has changed i think you should go to the norml website and catch up a little.

 

[LolaGal]

YES.

Hint: When interviewing for a job, one is often asked what one's hobbies are. At that time (before peeing) say "My hobby is going to concerts. I just love to go to concerts."

Then when you fail because there is MJ in your system, Look SHOCKED! What! That damn second hand smoke at those concerts MUST be the cause. (This did not work to well for me as I pissed 629 ng/ml or thereabouts. Dr. sez, "I have never seen it so high!" I said "Must be a mistake" Deny, deny, deny. No job for me. Haha.)


I guess you could tell them you had vacationed recently in Amsterdam, where pot is in coffeehouses. Would THC in the bloodstream be considered smuggling?...lol

 

[Charg5152]

For companies, big or small, it is all about the cost of insuring their employees. Insurance would charge through the roof, or deny coverage all together, if an employer doesn't complete a pre-employment drug screen. No clean piss...no job

 

[madrecinco]

madrecinco - the young are to lazy. are you are making this assumption based on your own personal experiences? because im sure when you were young you didnt think there would be 13 states to have medical mj. So before you assume nothing has changed i think you should go to the norml website and catch up a little.

Well you are correct on that and that IS PROGRESS INDEED! I guess I feel that maybe my generation were failures and hypocrits mostly. because we snuck around and smoked.... I guess I should not complain because I have just now myself become involved in the weed movement. But I did heavily involve myself in the Second Wave of The Feminist Movement and gave quite a bit of myself to that cause....And you can't fight for ALL CAUSES and have 2 careers a husband and raise 5 kids. Our generation got Civil Rights and Feminists Rights and some progress in the weed movement.....I don't see the passion in you young for your cause. It is just my opinion. No MLK Jr types to lead that are not out for their own greed like Mark Emory for example...


But you are right FO SHO!!!

 

[madrecinco]

For companies, big or small, it is all about the cost of insuring their employees. Insurance would charge through the roof, or deny coverage all together, if an employer doesn't complete a pre-employment drug screen. No clean piss...no job

EXACTLY! They mostly wish they did not have to deal with it;

The insurance company gives employers no choice and employers have to comply....Do you really think that ALL of those employers don't smoke????


Many execs toke. Some of the biggest heads of companies do....it is just the whacked up system we fight.

 

[Charg5152]

and no one has brought the most "wack" part about the whole system, and that is that the drug testing world is n for profit industry and employs lobbyst's who convince our politians to strengthen drug testing policies at the workplace, courts, & schools to increase profit margins.

 

[madrecinco]

Yes lots of money in drug testing as it is so wide spread and not to mention the military alone spends a fortune on it. Somebody is getting rich off it fo sho!

 

[jaysplifferton]

Well, I definitely want a job with insurance. I haven't seen a doctor in like 8 years; there's probably a lot wrong with me : )

Guess I'll have to stay off of weed for a bit. It's weird being high around my parents anyways!

andrew415: glad I'm not alone in this mess. I keep kicking myself because it's so hopeless looking for a job right now that I might as well just be a stoner again, but then I'm like, that would be giving up which is bad. I'm going to get noticed soon, I can feel it. Plus, as of today I haven't smoked cigarettes for 6 months and I feel great about that.

madrecinco: you're totally right. youth generation doesn't stand for anything; by and large, we're mostly just materialist whores. All the straight-laced "smart" kids from high school, the ones who get salaried jobs, they all don't smoke pot because of the image of it. It's easier to thumb their noses at stoner losers than try to understand another segment of humanity. At least that's my impression...

 

[wastekan]

Jaysplif, congratz on kicking the butts!

I know a person who was unable to hire quite a few people that had job offers but failed pre-employment drug tests. She felt badly but felt it was more of an IQ test, knowing that they knew when it was taking place.

 

[Beowulfagate]

I worked on cell towers, first company I worked for didn't care, second was a huge corporation and they tested everyone. Pre-employment and randoms, plus immediately after every accident (vehicle or equipment) about 75% of employees had cleanser drink in their duffels and crew chiefs were pretty cool about giving you time for the shit to work before dropping you off at a med center. Wherever we were in the US they could send us someplace nearby & if you failed then you were gone. I got seriously hurt and overheard my boss talking with VP saying "I know that guy's a pothead and when he fails we'll deny his worker's comp claim" but I drank that shit immediately and passed with flying colors. Wound up getting a great settlement too! Be prepared!

 

[SpacedCWBY]

Would THC in the bloodstream be considered smuggling?...lol

If the gov't had it there way, yeah, they'd beat everyone who came back from a-dam to a bloody pulp before putting them through customs.

Just get a little bottle of synthetic urine man, no stressing that way. If some douce wants to watch you piss for a pre-employment screening there is something fishy and he's probably a pervert - I've not seen this happen yet, only for court ordered.

Live by this - FUCK 'EM - PULL THE WOOL OVER THEIR EYES AND SCREW THEM AS BAD AS THEY'LL SCREW YOU ONE DAY. They're not going to be loyal to you, so just pretend to be loyal enough to get and keep that job, but fuck 'em every chance you can without them knowing who it was. Unless you're working for a SMALL setup who are actually capable of appreciating (and showing you that they do) what you bring to the table, FUCK 'EM.

I've been pointed at by my boss (in talking to his boss) and refered to as "this resource" when I was standing 3 feet from them. Yeah, that really shows me how valuable people are to them. I used fake piss to get the job and smoke or ate pot daily before and sometimes during work. Fuck 'em....

 

[oldschoolfarmer]

My friend got fired for failing a drug test. The employer was JCPenney's.

I've never been denied. The last job I got, I went 3 weeks without smoking and drank a shitload of cranberry juice/water (cranberries naturally clean out your kidneys). Passed the test with flying colors.