Random Drug Testing

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- There's no need to tell Lonnie Smith, the Orioles' reserve outfielder and designated-hitter candidate, about stigmas.Eleven years have passed since Smith voluntarily checked himself into a drug rehabilitation clinic, and still nobody seems to be able to get the story straight, he says.Rather than run from his past, though, Smith talks about it, figuring it's the best means to rectify matters."Somehow, there was this perception out there that I had been through drug rehab three times and I had been caught with drugs and arrested," Smith said.

Starting in June, all 1,700 Baltimore firefighters -- including th chief -- will be subject to random drug tests, the city Board of Fire Commissioners announced yesterday.A lottery system will be used to select the firefighters who will undergo drug testing under the new policy.Currently, firefighters are required to take drug tests only when there is a suspicion or probable cause to believe that they were under the influence of drugs. They could be ordered to undergo treatment and face disciplinary action the first time they fail the test.

PHILADELPHIA -- In the prehistoric days of steroid testing -- back in 1988 -- a group of Philadelphia Eagles gathered at the home of a teammate to prepare to beat a scheduled drug test.As the National Footbal League's former drug adviser tells it, a technician, flown into town by the players, inserted a catheter into each man and drained out his steroid-tainted urine. He then pumped the players' bladders full of clean urine, which he had brought on the plane. The players immediately drove to Veterans Stadium, where they all took -- and passed -- their tests.

The Philadelphia Eagles have tested all their players and some of their front-office personnel for the AIDS virus, a member of the team's medical staff is quoted as telling The Washington Post in today's editions.Vincent J. Distefano, Philadelphia's team doctor, told the newspaper that the tests were done at the start of training camp and were part of the "routine physicals" given to each player.Distefano said that none of the players or front office people had tested positive for the disease and that everyone tested signed consent forms.

COULD A congressional bill that has been gathering dust for more than a year have saved five lives that were snuffed out in a grinding New York subway crash last month?Could all the mandatory drug testing in the world have made a difference? Could there be another way of safeguarding the lives of millions of people who use some form of public transportation each day?Perhaps, perhaps and perhaps.Mandatory federal drug and alcohol testing for airline, railroad and trucking employees has been in effect since 1990.

In the wake of basketball star Len Bias' death from a cocaine overdose in 1986, the University of Maryland College Park instituted an optional random testing policy that remains unique among American colleges and universities.In 1988, agreeing to being tested for drugs for one year became an alternative to suspension for students found guilty by a university judicial board of drug use or possession on campus. Since then, all but four of the 60 to 80 students committing drug offenses have opted for such testing.

Baltimore County's decision to begin random drug testing of its 1,581 sworn police officers and about 35 civilian employees handling sensitive law-enforcement duties is a prudent move that follows a region-wide trend.As drugs have become more common in society, so have, regrettably, temptations. A drug-free force is a must, if police departments are to maintain the integrity of law-enforcement work and assure productive narcotics investigations.Baltimore County's decision means every major police department in the area will soon be conducting random tests to detect drug use. Once the county program becomes operative in a few months, three people will be chosen each day for urine tests.

A Baltimore police officer has resigned from the department and a sergeant with 19 years on the force has been fired after testing positive for cocaine use during random drug testing, according to officials.The two are the first to fall victim to the department's drug-testing program, which was instituted in April and which has so far tested about 1,000 officers.Both of the policemen were assigned to narcotics units at the district level, police said.The officer, who was not identified because no formal charges were lodged, was a six-year member of the force who last served in a drug-enforcement unit in the Southern District, officials said.

Random drug testing of some 15,000 state employees in safety-related or "sensitive" jobs, originally scheduled to begin this week, could be delayed for two months until program administrators receive more training and a legislative oversight committee approves the rules.At a labor-management advisory committee meeting yesterday, the state personnel department agreed not to begin random testing until some 140 "technical representatives" have obtained further training in administering the program, committee members said.