Drug Screening Questions - Essay Example

The random methods would not be efficient as it would not be possible to confirm that all the individuals from such a vast number have been tested (Wikipedia 2008). For this reason, pre-employment screening tests could be used (Wikipedia 2008). In this method, all individuals enrolling in the military would be required to test before their enrollment for drug screening, and persons with positive test results would be barred from entering the military.

All individuals would be tested once before enrollment. Followed by this screening, a post-incident screening method (Wikipedia 2008) could be used to determine drug presence in the individual after an incident has taken place, or only when an individual is suspected of drug intoxication. On-site screening would have to be followed by lab confirmation tests (Wikipedia 2008) for legitimacy. The number of such screenings depends upon and would be restricted only to the number of incidences that occurred and the number of individuals involved in those incidences. In the second scenario, where a company of 50 employees has to pay between $10 to $30 each for testing, the company could employ either of the two methods and certainly not both of them together or random testing if it has to cut back on its expenses.

B. Feedback:1) Primary data can be cheaper and certainly more reliable than secondary data, as secondary data collection can easily be influenced by the employer or the data collection authorities (Wikipedia 2008). However, during primary data collection, there can be the issue of privacy and infringement of rights as the employees may feel suspected and presumed guilty (Wikipedia 2008) by their employers.2) Yes, there are invitations for surveys on the Internet. This can be a reliable source of data collection outside of the court, and may well be increasingly popular nowadays, but the fact remains that in most US states and most non-US countries, only laboratory-confirmed tests (blood or urine) are deemed reliable and legal by the courts (Wikipedia 2008).3) Random sampling is the most controversial of all screening methods (Wikipedia 2008).

True, it does not necessarily confirm that all individuals have been tested for drugs. Moreover, the person to be screened may feel targeted and presumed guilty (Wikipedia 2008).4) Drug tests and screenings, even though failed many times, nevertheless must be carried out to keep a check on drug intoxication and discourage employees and students from taking drugs. Screening and tests also save companies from lawsuits (Wikipedia 2008). Although according to a recent study in this field named SATURN (ScienceDaily 2007) it has been shown that drug tests and screening do not deter high school athletes from drug use, these methodologies should be carried out anyhow, as they do have their pros, as discussed in this paper.