There are several approaches to drug testing – depending on who requires the test it can be done by military approach, legal approach, business approach,  security approach or medical approach.

Military approach – unlike pre-employment testing the military does not do a drug test prior to enlisting a person. The military believes that recruits can be “re-shaped” into good troops even if their life before enlisting was far from innocent. However, once in service any person can be drug tested without prior notice. This testing program is very strict and rigorous, and follows the military’s own legal system – “military justice” – and can hardly be applied to any other drug testing approaches. Any commanding officer who thinks there is a probable cause can have any of his subordinates tested; also, any individual can be selected for a random test at any given moment. A person with a failed test is random given a second chance.

Legal approach – this approach has nothing to do with the actual drug testing, but with the legal protection of both company (organization requesting a test) and an employee (a person who is subject to testing). Every person’s right has to be observed, but also a company has to be protected from any liabilities that can be raised with an issue of failed drug test, or a liability for accidents happened on the job by an employee who had abused illegal substances in the recent past. The legal approach pretty much just deals with planning and developing an all-inclusive drug testing program for a company, covering all the basics and making sure everybody gets what they want.

To be continued…