The FBI recently announced it is changing its policy of not hiring people with a history of marijuana or other illegal drug use because the policy disqualifies so many people the agency cannot fill needed positions. Asking job applicants about past drug use during polygraph tests was “tripping people up” said Mark S. Zaid, a defense lawyer who works on FBI employment disputes. According to Zaid, in an interview in the August 7, Washington Post, the FBI realized that their drug policy was causing them to “lose too many good people.”
Despite 30 years of “Just Say No” rhetoric and the “Drug Free America” fantasy, an estimated one out of three adults have tried marijuana. Millions of people have smoked more than the previous FBI limit of 15 times. It would be hard to fill almost any position in any sector of the economy if people who have used marijuana or others illegal drugs were barred from applying. Take for instance the president of the United States. If the previous FBI rules applied to people who are or have run for president, we would likely have to bar Democrats like Sen. Obama and former Vice President Al Gore and Republicans like President George W. Bush and New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. [via HUFFINGTON POST]
RELATED: LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Aug. 25 — Afghanistan produced record levels of opium in 2007 for the second straight year, led by a staggering 45 percent increase in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province, according to a new United Nations survey to be released Monday. The report is likely to touch off renewed debate about the United States’ $600 million counternarcotics program in Afghanistan, which has been hampered by security challenges and endemic corruption within the Afghan government. [via NEW YORK TIMES]
LOU REED & JOHN CALE: Heroin
[googlevideo]-3292319510081235768&q=velvet+underground+heroin&total=66&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4[/googlevideo]
Bataclan Club, Paris 1972