ALT-4 Is Drug Testing an Invasion of Privacy
Of course it is, but when is it justified? We are living in a world where our rights to privacy are being taken away one by one. Is our privacy violated when we're photo'd when in banks and 7-11 stores? Is our privacy violated when we're frisked at airport check-ins? Is our privacy violated when cops on the highway stop us or check our speed with radar guns?
Yes, but we've learned to live with those and others that have become everyday experiences. They are inconvenient, and sometimes infuriating, but for national, personal and public safety, we accept them.
There are still areas where privacy violation is questioned. One is drug testing. My company began doing it to all employees several years ago. There were protests, but the reason given was that drivers and other operators of mechanical equipment put themselves and others in danger after taking illegal drugs. Was that order necessary? For the sake of public safety, of course it was, and the company rule survived court actions.
The most publicized area of drug testing controversy has been in professional sports. Even those who seem to be obviously guilty of illegal drug use and failed tests are defended by advocates and attorneys who fight the legal charges against them. Race horses have been drug tested without their permission for decades. Does that mean athletes are in the same category?
