COMPANY drug testing is causing employees to be unfairly sacked and creating a dangerous workplace, cannabis crusaders argue.
It comes as the Advertiser revealed a staggering half of an entire Wagga work crew was walked offsite this week after testing positive to drugs.
Despite the incident acting as a damning reminder of how entrenched the drug scourge is in Wagga, civil libertarians have dubbed the growing reality of compulsory work site drug testing as “ludicrous” and “farcical”.
NSW Council for Civil Liberties president, Stephen Blanks, said a worker could return a positive reading days, weeks and even months after using, but that their ability to work may not be impaired.
“Employers have a responsibility to make sure the workplace is safe and machinery is operated safely, but drug testing is not a satisfactory way of ensuring that and can operate to the extreme prejudice of workers,” Mr Blanks said.
“Detection of drugs in blood or saliva is not a real indication of impairment.”
The stance is being backed by NSW Hemp Party former president, BJ Futter, who said compulsory drug testing was unfairly weeding out hard-working employees.
“There is evidence that proves people who are stoned can carry out work safer than those not stoned,” Mr Futter said.
“Cannabis is not a poison. You can have it 24/7 and you cannot die.”
Mr Futter blasted reports that one in four Wagga drivers tested positive to drugs, claiming people who used cannabis drove slower and more safely than those who did not.
