Thursday, September 26, 2013

Drug Test Fail to Detect Synthetic Marijuana

1.   http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/study-some-drug-tests-fail-to-detect-synthetic-marijuana/2013/09/24/33d5153a-2552-11e3-b3e9-d97fb087acd6_story.html

2. Category of issue: Drug and Health

3. Level: National

4. This article discusses the issue about some drug testing failing to detect synthetic marijuana. These drugs are harmful to individuals. 

5. How does this affect individuals/families?

 -This affects individuals on parole or on probation that are taking drug tests. As the article mentioned this drug testing needs to be updated to catch synthetic drugs now. Eric Wish says,"This is not only for the criminal justice system but the public health system as well."

6. My Views:

-   This article discusses the problem of drug testing for individuals on parole or probation as well as work places that do routine testing. They say that they often cannot detect synthetic marijuana and this is an issue that needs to be fixed. There have even been a few cases that the authorities are looking into about possible deaths caused by the synthetic drug. Adding to the statistics, the article says that in 2011 there were more than 28,531 ER admissions due to the use of the drugs. This is a major life and death situation at this time. I never agreed with the use of illegal substance such as marijuana and definitely not the synthetic versions. For whatever reason, people are still using this drug. They are not only harming their selves but they are now getting away with it in jails and at work because of the insufficient drug tests. This test is not only failing, but after testing of the synthetic drug they have seen that it is extremely hazardous. Because it contains a synthetic substance, the drug can be more potent and addictive than marijuana. And many people do become addicted to this. Authorities need to know who is using what so that they can get them treatment and put a stop to it.

  

1 comment:

  1. I agree that they should have drug tests that detect the use of synthetic drugs. People are getting in trouble for the use of drugs and think that its okay to substitute an illegal drug for a legal drug that can be just as harmful and addictive. These people getting in trouble aren't learning anything from switching to a different substance and are most likely to return to the previous drug or continue with the synthetic drug which isn't much better. This synthetic drug is affecting people who should be focusing on getting clean instead of switching to something else, most of these people probably do not even realize that it is dangerous and can be harmful to their health. I think that if they start having every drug test that detects even the synthetic drugs it will make a difference and will be helping out these people for the best even if they don't realize it. People who are on parole or probation who have to take frequent drug tests will probably think this is cruel or stupid to do but I think that this is critical for their health and possible addiction. In the end they are not trying to be mean they are just looking our for the safety of these people and their health since there are reports that people are dying or ending up in the ER because of the use of synthetic marijuana. It kind of bothers me that they keep coming up with alternatives such as things like the E-cigg instead of smoking and synthetic marijuana in place of actual marijuana. I understand the idea that they are trying to create something different because of the harm of the real things but in all actuality its causing more of a health problem than people realize. That's the only bad thing about our generation, I think they are doing too much which is causing more problems for everyone. I hope they can come up with a way soon to be able to detect the use of synthetic marijuana because the people who are getting these frequent drug tests most likely got in trouble for a drug or some other crime and shouldn't be able to have the satisfaction of using a replacement, that shouldn't be their focus. I wish that they could ban these products all together but I know that isn't going to happen anytime soon, so the best thing that we can do is regulate the use of synthetics by drug testing these people. Maybe in the end it will help them stop using the product all together and can really help them down the road with their heath and addiction problems.

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