Drug Testing / State Gov. Drug Testing Forum

[Anonymous User]

OP here.

Thanks for all the responses.

Definitely some good points made, but in the end I think the most critical responses missed the point. I was neither bragging about breaking laws nor encouraging such an action. What I was seeking was information on AGOs policies and attitudes towards drug use because that is, unfortunately, a factor that I need to take in consideration if I were to seek an internship with them. Frankly, times are changing and I doubt attitudes will be this severe a few decades from now, but it's clear that institutional change tends to lag behind popular changes. I was curious to learn more about the current approach; not in small part because it directly affects me.

So to be clear, my goal was merely to inform myself of the facts. Whether you agree or disagree with my personal decisions, I still have to maintain a career and live in these current times-- just like any member of a persecuted culture has throughout history. It might even surprise you to learn that many cannabis users would very much like to lead otherwise normal lives NOW, and not wait for the institutions to get around to allowing them to do so at some undetermined point in the future.


After posting and not seeing this thread get buried, I do regret naming the office, but the discussion has been interesting and hopefully worth the risk. Even if it does trigger some unprecedented drug testing at the AG's office, I still have enough information to avoid it. I really wish it wasn't even an issue, but I'm not in charge. I'll just have to keep an eye on the situation.

I have a feeling that MA has a forward-facing attitude, though, and the state has already manifested intentions to stop wasting resources on harassing marijuana smokers.

But anyway, sorry for ruffling anyone's feathers with this post. If I were ever to meet my detractors in real life I'm sure we'd get along fine and you'd never know that I smoke marijuana unless I told you so, but its sad that such a personal choice would stigmatize me so greatly simply because of a blind dedication to text.

I guess as an advocate you can look at your job as promoting the "law" in-and-of itself, but I look at it as promoting justice and fairness through the law, which explains why the law sometimes changes; because it is simply a medium and it is an imperfect medium. I get that the AGO is prosecutorial in nature, but you might be surprised to learn that different divisions are not explicitly concerned with prosecution! If the office offers an internship that would help me in my career, and if I can perform it competently, then why should I allow such an outdated law, based on unscientific and prejudice attitudes towards cannabis users, hold me back? Is it logical to simply conform to such a wrongheaded attack on my personal freedom simply out of fear?

But I get the general "respect" argument in either case, and trust me, I definitely have respect for the power embodied in the "long arm of the law", which is why I am disappearing into the anonymous ether now! I merely want to coexist for now until the issue is ripe, so hopefully things work out. We'll see.

So long for now, thank you for the help and discussion.

May this thread die peacefully ::::crosses fingers:::::

[Anonymous User]

Odds that someone in the MA AG's office sees this post and decides it would be a good idea to drug test all of the incoming fall interns?

Exactly what I was thinking. Not too bright, OP.

[20121109]

As a simple reminder, we generally do not delete threads unless for truly exceptional reasons.

Therefore, if OP or any other considers posting anonymously or under their official alt, it will likely continue to exist in the TLS database regardless of any regret. Please do not send the mods a report asking for deletion; it probably will not happen.

[Anonymous User]

Drug test inc. :/