Sunday, October 9, 2005

FBI radical idea: consider 'whole person' in hiring Via Cannabis News: Washington, D.C. -- The FBI, famous for its straight-laced crime-fighting image, is considering whether to relax its hiring rules over how often applicants could have used marijuana or other illegal drugs earlier in life. Some senior FBI managers have been deeply frustrated that they could not hire applicants who acknowledged occasional marijuana use in college, but in some cases already perform top-secret work at other government agencies, such as the CIA or State Department. That's right. By eliminating marijuana smokers, you're dumbing down the FBI! And of course it's true. Almost 50% of the U.S. population has tried pot. That's a huge reduction in your hiring pool. The new FBI proposal would judge applicants based on their "whole person" rather than limiting drug-related experiences to an arbitrary number. You mean you'd use actual decision-making in your hiring and find the best person for the job? What a concept! Except, that's how I've always hired people. I didn't realize I was so far ahead of the field. Maybe it would work in other areas. Private companies have wrestled with the same problem. Employers complain they can't afford to turn away applicants because of marijuana use that ended years earlier, said Robert Drusendahl, owner of The Pre-Check Co. in Cleveland, which performs background employment checks for private companies. "The point is, they can't fill those spots," Drusendahl said. "This is a microcosm of what's happening outside in the rest of the world. Yep, it's getting difficult to keep up with that zero tolerance stuff and still have a competent work force. "I don't think you could find anybody who hasn't tried marijuana, and I take a lot of credit for that," said Tommy Chong, the comedian whose films with Cheech Marin provided over-the-top portrayals of marijuana culture during the 1980s. "They're going to have to change their policy." Thank you, Tommy. 11:23:57 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

French embarrassed by science Thanks to Tim Meehan. Info at Drug Sense A major new French study of drugs and driving concludes that cannabis poses a much lesser risk of fatal accidents than alcohol, according to a report in the journal Libération. The study is deeply embarrassing to the French government, which passed a "zero-tolerance" law against driving under the influence of marijuana before results of the study were available. This is just the latest in a long line of studies indicating that marijuana is a lesser hazard than alcohol on the road, and that zero-tolerance standards for marijuana DUI are unjustified. Here's the article in French and the study. While we can laugh at the embarrassment of the French in this case, we're quickly sobered by the fact that the U.S. government in this situation would simply ignore the study and pretend that it didn't exist, or, if confronted, claim that the study was meaningless. Every major study (here are some more) has shown that driving under the influence of marijuana (while not recommended) is far less dangerous than many other influences (including alcohol or fatigue). Politicians who call for zero-tolerance driving laws (which usually include positive tests from having smoked pot in recent days) have absolutely no interest in safety. They just want to have another way to punish people who use marijuana responsibly. And to do so, they want to re-direct police resources that could be used to target impaired drivers. That's not embarrassing. That's deplorable. 4:54:30 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Thanks A big thanks to Mark for "This is Burning Man" from my Amazon wish list! I hope to go someday, but in the meantime I'll enjoy Brian Doherty's book. 4:33:43 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Cannabis leads to criminality? This is just silly. Via the always excellent >Drug Sense Weekly: Cannabis Smoking Leads To Criminality, Judge Tells Arsonist A judge issued a warning about what he believes to be a clear link between cannabis and crime when jailing a drug user. Judge Anthony Niblett told an arsonist who had set fire to his former girlfriend's house while under the influence of the drug: "Those whose minds are steeped in cannabis are capable of quite extraordinary criminality." Well, what exactly was the evidence that led the judge to this remarkable conclusion? Check this out: [West] had set light to [his girlfriend's] house in a rage fuelled by cannabis and vodka, the court was told. West, from Cowfold, West Sussex, was a heavy cannabis smoker and also used heroin, cocaine and crack. Lisa Williams, his former partner, told police that West had become increasingly moody and aggressive in the weeks before the attack. On the night of the arson he suddenly punched her and said he was going to burn down the house with all of them inside. I'm used to the idea that people automatically assume that if anybody uses pot and also does something bad that it's the fault of the pot and not the person. But to single pot out of that laundry list of problems above is just irresponsibly stupid. 3:51:57 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []