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NORML E-Zine

Volume 7
Issue 14
April 8, 2004

The NORML E-Zine is a free weekly compilation of major news items
regarding marijuana policy. Text of archived stories is available on
NORML's website at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3442

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TOP STORIES

* Feds To Employ Hair, Sweat And Saliva Testing For Government Workers
* Internet-Based Home Drug Testing Kits Unreliable

____________________________________________________________________
Feds To Employ Hair, Sweat And Saliva Testing For Government Workers
New Technology Is Expensive And Not Without Serious Flaws, Concedes HHS
    Washington, DC:  Guidelines proposed Tuesday by the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) would allow federal agencies to collect
samples of employees' hair, sweat and saliva to test for illicit drugs. 
The proposed changes, which are expected to become final in 180 days,
significantly alter existing federal regulations that allow drug testing
programs to only collect and screen urine for evidence of illicit drug
use.
    About 400,000 federal workers are subject to federal drug testing, and
stand to be impacted by the new regulations.  In 2000, the most recent
year for which figures are available, urine tests were performed on
106,493 federal workers at a cost of $6.1 million, according to the
Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) - which
sets and oversees the federal drug testing guidelines.  Of those tested,
532 persons tested positive for illicit drugs, as a cost to taxpayers of
$11,466 per positive test result.
    Alternative testing technology, specifically hair testing, is more
expensive than urinalysis.
    NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre criticized any
expansion of the current federal regulations, emphasizing that the changes
will neither increase workplace safety nor production.  "These tests, in
particular hair testing, are for the most part unproved procedures
unsupported by the scientific literature or well-controlled clinical
studies," he said.  "In addition, these tests do little, if anything, to
detect an employee's actual impairment on the job - which should be the
employer's primary concern.  Rather, these tests allow employers to go on
a virtual fishing expedition of their employee's private, off-the-job
personal habits and practices, none of which are the employers' business."
    According to SAMHSA, hair testing, saliva testing, and sweat patch
testing all have significant limitations regarding their real-world
application.
    In the case of hair testing, which detects drug metabolites that have
passively diffused from the blood stream to the base of the hair follicle,
the agency warns that both environmental contamination and hair color can
significantly impact the accuracy of the test.  "The role of hair color is
... a major concern," SAMHSA says, noting that "data show that higher
concentrations of some drugs are found in dark hair when compared to blond
or red hair."  Nevertheless, the agency concludes, "Despite these
suspected limitations, the department still proposes to go forward with
incorporating this new technology as an alternative to urine for Federal
agencies," which engage in pre-employment and random testing.
    Environmental contamination also may negatively effect the accuracy of
oral testing, which detects the presence of parent drugs in the saliva.
"Further scientific study is needed to be able to differentiate between
whether the parent drug was present in the oral cavity due to drug use or
environmental contamination, i.e. the individual was present in a room
where others smoked marijuana, for example," SAMHSA says.  As a result,
the proposed regulations encourage agencies to also collect a urine sample
"at the same time the oral fluid specimen is obtained" for confirmation
testing.
    Regarding the efficiency of sweat patch testing, which detects the
presence of both parent drugs and drug metabolites in the sweat while the
patch is applied to the skin, SAMHSA notes, "The Department knows from
direct experience ... that some individuals may not be able to wear the
sweat patch for the optimal period of time."  The agency further noted
that the majority of sweat patch technology is not FDA-approved.
    Other proposed changes to the federal government's workplace drug
testing guidelines include encouraging the use of rapid-response, point of
collection devices for immunoassays, rather than certified laboratory
technology.  Specimens that test presumptively positive for drugs on these
initial tests would then be referred to confirmatory testing at a lab. 
The new guidelines also mandate that all federal agencies must
henceforward test for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and
phencyclidine (PCP), and possibly MDMA (Ecstasy).
    Urine cutoff levels for cocaine metabolites and amphetamines will also
be significantly lowered under the new guidelines.
    For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul
Armentano of the NORML Foundation at (202) 483-5500.  The proposed federal
workplace drug testing guidelines are available online at:
http://samhsa.gov/hottopics/click_drugtesting.html

____________________________________________________________
Internet-Based Home Drug Testing Kits Unreliable, Study Says
    Boston, MA:  Home drug testing kits sold online provide insufficient
information regarding how to use the products properly, and downplay the
possibility of inaccurate results, according to the findings of a study
published in this week's issue of the journal Pediatrics.
    "Parents who are anxious to know whether their children are using
drugs have easy access to kits sold on the Internet.  But home drug
testing is not consistent with the guidelines of professional medical
organizations," the study's lead author, Sharon Levy of Harvard Medical
School, said in a prepared statement.
    More than 200 types of drug testing products are available for home
use, according to WebMD.com, though few of these are FDA-approved.
    A total of eight websites that market home drug testing kits were
reviewed in the study.  "All sites claimed that drug testing was a way to
know with certainty whether a child has used drugs," authors wrote. 
"[Yet,] little information was presented on valid specimen collection
procedures and the risk of false-positive and false-negative tests.
    "Pediatricians should advise parents of the limitations and potential
risks associated with home drug-testing products," authors concluded.
    For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul
Armentano of the NORML Foundation at (202) 483-5500.  Abstracts of the
study, entitled "A Review of Internet-Based Home Drug-Testing Products for
Parents," are available online at:
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/113/4/720


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NORML Media Watch
NORML was featured prominently in several media outlets this week,
including Government Executive Magazine, The Michigan Daily, and The Press
Journal.  To read these articles or about other NORML media appearances,
check out "NORML in the Media" at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5481

Sign up for NORML's monthly pledge program today!
https://secure.norml.org/join/pledge.html

Smokers vote in 2004! Check out the candidate's updated positions on
marijuana policy.  If you have not already done so, register to vote or
change your voter registration address at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5916
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