thedrifter
03-07-04, 11:00 AM
Are drugs worth your career?
Few are approached; the proud walk away
Pfc. Matthew K. Hacker
Combat Correspondent
Many Marines and Sailors are propositioned with drugs at some point during their military career. Some are more exposed than others. Only the strong-willed and dedicated will stand their ground when cornered with peer pressure.
Department of Defense labs test approximately 60,000 urine samples each month, said Lt. Cmdr. Richard A. Gustafson, of the Naval Drug Laboratory in Jacksonville, Fla. The test is administered to all active-duty servicemembers at least once a year and is given to members of the guard and reserves once every two years.
There are many protections implemented into the system to guarantee accurate results.
First, all test takers initial the label on their own bottles. The sample bottles are boxed into batches, and then the test administrator begins a chain-of-custody document for each batch.
The chain-of-custody document is a legally binding document. Anyone involved with any individual sample signs all documents concerning it.
The involvement may entail the person observing the collection of the sample, placing the sample into the box, taking it out of the box and all the people at the lab as well.
Regardless of what the involvement, there is always a written record of those individuals.
Gustafson, who holds a doctorate in toxicology from the University of Maryland in Baltimore and a master's degree in toxicology from the University of Arizona, said, "The most important thing about forensics is documentation. If there's no documentation, it didn't happen."
After the batches arrive at the lab, the samples undergo an initial screening test using the Olympus AU-800 Automated Chemistry Analyzer. This standard screening tests only for traces of drugs.
"This test gives a presumptive positive and a definite negative," said Gustafson, meaning that the standard test may detect the remnants of a drug, but the exact type of drug is unknown.
A sample which tests positive for the presence of drugs undergoes the same test again. If a sample comes up positive after the second screening test, it is then put through a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry test.
This test is 100 percent accurate and will identify specific substances within the samples and break the specimens down into percentages of individual drugs, Gustafson said.
The labs' tests can detect marijuana, cocaine, LSD, PCP, opiates, amphetamines and barbiturates; however, not all samples are tested for all of these.
"Every sample that makes it into our labs is tested except when the sample is adulterated, meaning something has been added to tamper with the detection equipment, such as kerosene or vinegar, or the quantity of urine is not sufficient," said Gustafson. "We need enough urine in each sample to be available for testing four separate times."
Every sample is tested 100 percent for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamines and ecstasy.
Upon a commander's request, any servicemember may be tested for steroids as well. These samples are sent to the Olympic testing laboratory at the University of California in Los Angeles for a monetary charge, said Gustafson.
Seventy percent of all positive drug test results here are due to marijuana, and 30 percent involve the use of cocaine.
The Marine Corps, the smallest and the most frequently drug-tested service, lost about one percent of its forces to drug offenses last year - the largest percentage in the military.
Some nervous servicemembers awaiting a urinalysis may be inclined to purchase an over-the-counter 'masking substance', which is said to ensure against the detection of certain drugs in urine.
In fact, these substances can actually make drugs easier to detect. These particular substances are diuretics, and when taken before giving a urine sample, they flush chemicals out of the body. The chemicals are exported right into the collection bottle. This happens because the drugs are normally more concentrated after taking a masking substance.
Some test takers have even gone to the extent of drinking vinegar or bleach. These methods will not defeat the detection of drugs before a urinalysis either.
Other over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements may also cause a screening test to come up positive, but the secondary test would definitely identify each medication. If this happens, the report goes back to the commander as negative.
If the testing results come back positive after all the necessary tests, punishment will start to take effect.
The Marine Corps policy concerning drugs states that, "Distribution, possession, or use of illegal substances is not tolerated."
Earlier this month, the Marine Corps released the results of a two-year drug investigation here, in which 82 Marines and Sailors have been convicted. Offenses involved distribution and use of designer or club drugs such as Ecstasy, Ketamine and GHB. A total of $1.4 million worth of drugs was confiscated
A Marine charged as a trafficker will be disciplined to the fullest extent possible. If, for some reason, punitive discharge is not awarded, the command could administratively separate the offender.
Disciplinary action and processing for separation are appropriate, regardless of rank, and will take place immediately after the positive results are confirmed.
Following separation, all Marines must be provided the address of a local Veteran Affairs Hospital where they will be afforded Level III equivalent rehabilitation treatment.
After disciplinary action and processing take place, the servicemember will begin to receive administrative action. This may entail denial of base driving privileges and eviction from government quarters for married members, including their families. Unmarried servicemembers may be forced to move into barracks.
Commanders are required to site an entry on pages 11, 12 and 13 in the servicemember's Service Record Book.
Depending on the commanders' decision, the servicemember may receive an expeditious discharge.
Overall, every one of these disciplinary actions could be prevented if more Marines and Sailors would take the initiative to avoid drug contact at all costs.
http://militarynews.com/globe/mainside.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Few are approached; the proud walk away
Pfc. Matthew K. Hacker
Combat Correspondent
Many Marines and Sailors are propositioned with drugs at some point during their military career. Some are more exposed than others. Only the strong-willed and dedicated will stand their ground when cornered with peer pressure.
Department of Defense labs test approximately 60,000 urine samples each month, said Lt. Cmdr. Richard A. Gustafson, of the Naval Drug Laboratory in Jacksonville, Fla. The test is administered to all active-duty servicemembers at least once a year and is given to members of the guard and reserves once every two years.
There are many protections implemented into the system to guarantee accurate results.
First, all test takers initial the label on their own bottles. The sample bottles are boxed into batches, and then the test administrator begins a chain-of-custody document for each batch.
The chain-of-custody document is a legally binding document. Anyone involved with any individual sample signs all documents concerning it.
The involvement may entail the person observing the collection of the sample, placing the sample into the box, taking it out of the box and all the people at the lab as well.
Regardless of what the involvement, there is always a written record of those individuals.
Gustafson, who holds a doctorate in toxicology from the University of Maryland in Baltimore and a master's degree in toxicology from the University of Arizona, said, "The most important thing about forensics is documentation. If there's no documentation, it didn't happen."
After the batches arrive at the lab, the samples undergo an initial screening test using the Olympus AU-800 Automated Chemistry Analyzer. This standard screening tests only for traces of drugs.
"This test gives a presumptive positive and a definite negative," said Gustafson, meaning that the standard test may detect the remnants of a drug, but the exact type of drug is unknown.
A sample which tests positive for the presence of drugs undergoes the same test again. If a sample comes up positive after the second screening test, it is then put through a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry test.
This test is 100 percent accurate and will identify specific substances within the samples and break the specimens down into percentages of individual drugs, Gustafson said.
The labs' tests can detect marijuana, cocaine, LSD, PCP, opiates, amphetamines and barbiturates; however, not all samples are tested for all of these.
"Every sample that makes it into our labs is tested except when the sample is adulterated, meaning something has been added to tamper with the detection equipment, such as kerosene or vinegar, or the quantity of urine is not sufficient," said Gustafson. "We need enough urine in each sample to be available for testing four separate times."
Every sample is tested 100 percent for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamines and ecstasy.
Upon a commander's request, any servicemember may be tested for steroids as well. These samples are sent to the Olympic testing laboratory at the University of California in Los Angeles for a monetary charge, said Gustafson.
Seventy percent of all positive drug test results here are due to marijuana, and 30 percent involve the use of cocaine.
The Marine Corps, the smallest and the most frequently drug-tested service, lost about one percent of its forces to drug offenses last year - the largest percentage in the military.
Some nervous servicemembers awaiting a urinalysis may be inclined to purchase an over-the-counter 'masking substance', which is said to ensure against the detection of certain drugs in urine.
In fact, these substances can actually make drugs easier to detect. These particular substances are diuretics, and when taken before giving a urine sample, they flush chemicals out of the body. The chemicals are exported right into the collection bottle. This happens because the drugs are normally more concentrated after taking a masking substance.
Some test takers have even gone to the extent of drinking vinegar or bleach. These methods will not defeat the detection of drugs before a urinalysis either.
Other over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements may also cause a screening test to come up positive, but the secondary test would definitely identify each medication. If this happens, the report goes back to the commander as negative.
If the testing results come back positive after all the necessary tests, punishment will start to take effect.
The Marine Corps policy concerning drugs states that, "Distribution, possession, or use of illegal substances is not tolerated."
Earlier this month, the Marine Corps released the results of a two-year drug investigation here, in which 82 Marines and Sailors have been convicted. Offenses involved distribution and use of designer or club drugs such as Ecstasy, Ketamine and GHB. A total of $1.4 million worth of drugs was confiscated
A Marine charged as a trafficker will be disciplined to the fullest extent possible. If, for some reason, punitive discharge is not awarded, the command could administratively separate the offender.
Disciplinary action and processing for separation are appropriate, regardless of rank, and will take place immediately after the positive results are confirmed.
Following separation, all Marines must be provided the address of a local Veteran Affairs Hospital where they will be afforded Level III equivalent rehabilitation treatment.
After disciplinary action and processing take place, the servicemember will begin to receive administrative action. This may entail denial of base driving privileges and eviction from government quarters for married members, including their families. Unmarried servicemembers may be forced to move into barracks.
Commanders are required to site an entry on pages 11, 12 and 13 in the servicemember's Service Record Book.
Depending on the commanders' decision, the servicemember may receive an expeditious discharge.
Overall, every one of these disciplinary actions could be prevented if more Marines and Sailors would take the initiative to avoid drug contact at all costs.
http://militarynews.com/globe/mainside.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: