Hemp News No. 9 Compiled by Paul Stanford (treefreeeco@igc.org) The following wire stories are provided as a public service by Tree Free EcoPaper, makers of 50% hemp (cannabis) and 50% cereal straw paper. Tree Free EcoPaper is the world's only supplier of wholesale quantities of hemp paper. We offer an electronic catalog which you can receive by dropping us an e-mail request. We'll send you our free samples and hemp paper catalog if you give us a postal address. You can call us toll-free at 1-800-775-0225 from the U.S. and Canada. Our phone number for calls outside the U.S. is 503-295-6705. Our headquarters is in Portland, Oregon and our paper is produced in Asia. Without further ado, please enjoy the news: UPn 05/26/93 Texas man arrested with marijuana EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (UPI) -- Drug trafficking charges were filed Wednesday against a Texas man who, apparently intoxicated from smoking marijuana, told police he was going to his sister's graduation but couldn't remember the school. Franklin Foster, 42, of Bellaire, Texas, was charged with marijuana trafficking and faced a bond hearing Thursday on the Madison County charges. He was arrested after his car was stopped at middday Tuesday by Collinsville Police Sgt. Ed Delmore. Delmore said Foster had been driving 11 miles per hour over the speed limit on Interstate 55-70, about 10 miles east of St. Louis. Delmore said he noticed Foster's hands shook and the car smelled of marijuana after he stopped it. When asked where he was going, Foster replied he was headed to Indianapolis for his sister's graduation. "I asked him where she would graduate from, and he hesitated a few moments," Delmore said. "There was a pregnant pause. It seemed like he was trying to think up an answer, which it turned out he was. "Then he said, 'high school.' Since he's 42 years old, he looked too old to have a sister in high school. I thought it was suspicious," Delmore said. Delmore got permission to search the rental car and found 32 pounds of marijuana in the trunk. "We found three joints inside the car and a pipe in his pocket that smelled like dope," Delmore said. "I think he'd been smoking on the trip." Police said Foster, who also had $1,000 in cash on him, confessed he was taking the marijuana to Washington, Pa. Foster seemed almost relieved by his arrest, Delmore said. "He made the comment that he was more afraid of the Mexicans that he was dealing with than he was of the penitentiary," the officer said. RTw 05/26/93 OPIUM IS COLOMBIA'S NUMBER ONE ILLICIT CROP -- U.N. By Michael Stott BOGOTA, May 26, Reuter - Opium poppies, the raw material for heroin, morphine and other narcotics, are now Colombia's biggest illicit crop and their cultivation is corrupting poor peasants across the Andes, speakers at a U.N.-sponsored conference on the problem said on Wednesday. Colombia, which gained worldwide attention as a big marijuana producer in the 1970s, graduated to cocaine processing and trafficking in the 1980s. Authorities say the biggest challenge for the 1990s is to halt the spread of opium growing and heroin trafficking. "The reality is that the opium poppy is today the most important illicit crop in economic terms in Colombia," Arturo Hein, the United Nations permanent representative in Bogota, told the conference. "A kilo (2.2 pounds) of morphine is worth some $50,000 to $60,000 at present on the wholesale market while a kilo of cocaine is selling for between $15,000 and $20,000," he said. Morphine is an intermediary in heroin production. Hein said around 50,000 hectares (123,500 acres) of virgin forest had been hacked down and burned by opium poppy growers, especially in the south of the country, causing severe damage to the delicate mountain eco-system. Colombian Justice Minister Andres Gonzalez said the opium poppy scourge had already crossed the country's borders and called for greatern international support. "Drug trafficking is a trans-national industry which does not respect frontiers and which threatens us and other countries equally," he said. "An international trade of these proportions can only be overcome with a strong, solid and frank alliance of the world community." Gonzalez appealed to the world community to avoid erecting protectionist barriers against legitimate produce from Latin American countries because this encouraged peasants to turn to producing crops used to make drugs. "There is no doubt that if we open up clear opportunities for our country people to abandon illicit crops, they will do so," he said. National Narcotics Director Gabriel de Vega Pinzon said opium poppy growing had already reached at least three of Colombia's neighbours. "The opium poppy is a crop which has developed extensively through the country and which has crossed borders, spreading to Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and possibly Bolivia and Chile," he said before the official start of the conference. REUTER MJS SR SJ UPma 05/26/93 Man sentenced for marijuana farm PITTSBURGH (UPI) -- An Allegheny County man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh to cultivating more than 1,700 marijuana plants. Robert Hazlett, 44, of Natrona Heights, entered the plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond. Prosecutors say authorities received tips in spring 1992 that Hazlett was growing and selling marijuana on his property. Authorities using a state police helicopter discovered the marijuana plants growing. Hazlett is scheduled to be sentenced July 26. He faces not less than 10 years in prison to a maximum of life and a possible fine of up to $4 million. UPwe 05/27/93 L.A. man arrested with $30,000 worth of marijuana REDWOOD VALLEY, Calif. (UPI) -- A Los Angeles man was in a Mendocino County jail Thursday after sheriff's deputies found $30,000 worth of marijuana in his car. A sheriff's spokesman said Lazaro Aquilar Amezcua, 31, was being held on $10,000 bail after his Wednesday arrest following a routine traffic stop. A deputy ran Aquilar's driver's license through a computer and discovered it had been suspended. Further investigation revealed that the license plate tags had been altered. The deputy then looked in the trunk and found 11 pounds of marijuana. UPse 05/28/93 Five defendants to be sentenced for marijuana trafficking By STEVE GLASSER ATLANTA (UPI) -- Four defendants convicted by a federal jury in Gainesville of being part of a Georgia-based marijuana trafficking ring and a fifth defendant who pleaded guilty will be sentenced on July 30, authorities said Friday. Juanita Aguilar, 40; Lionel Doria, 45; Primativo Doria, 42; and Roberto Travino, 57, all of south Texas, were convicted Wednesday in Gainesville federal court of conspiracy to deliver, transport, store and distribute marijuana in north Georgia. Rene Salinas, 34, of south Texas, pleaded guilty two weeks into the trial of possessing more than 1000 kilograms of marijuana. Aguilar, Lionel Doria and Primativo Doria were separately convicted of possessing more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in Madison County, Ga., where two used gasoline storage tanks were buried to store the substance. They were accused of transporting the marijuana from Mexico by tractor-trailer rigs to Hoyt "Ronnie" Howington Jr., who then transported it throughout Georgia, South Carolina and western North Carolina, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Travino was convicted of distributing marijuana to a drug ring headed by Gary Brown, Sr., which was prosecuted and disbanded by the U.S. Attorney's office in Greenville, S.C. Howington, the alleged principal leader of the north Georgia marijuana distribution ring, is a fugitive from justice. Gilberto Salinas, of southern Texas, is accused of being the source of thousands of kilograms of marijuana distributed to both Howington and Brown's organizations. Salinas is also a fugitive from justice. All the defendants face a minimum mandatory term of 10 years imprisonment each and could receive up to a life sentence and $4 million in fines. The two-year investigation that led to the arrests was conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force for the Atlanta area, with the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Customs Service. circa 05/28/93 [untitled - Amsterdam Coffee Shops Feel the Heat] AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- The city's famed marijuana-dealing coffee shops are feeling the heat of police scrutiny after decades of official tolerance. Only about 80 coffee shops remain in Amsterdam, with their distinctive cannabis leaf logos, down from a high of about 300 a decade ago. The crackdown threatens the image Dutch policy-makers cultivated of the coffee shops as the only safe way to regulate the trade in marijuana and its hashish derivative. Police launched raids on seven more coffee shops this week as part of a crackdown on heroin dealing and the receiving of stolen goods. Five were shut down. Police spokesman Klaas Wilting on Friday cited "`nuisance" rather than just the presence of hard drugs as the reason for the raids. But the closures have sparked a public debate on the issue, playing into the hands of other European Community countries that object to the liberal Dutch drug policy. Although marijuana and hashish are still technically illegal, Dutch authorities tolerate their sale in an estimated 1,500 coffee shops around the nation. The shops are banned from dealing in hard drugs. ------ UPce 05/28/93 Judge rescinds Weedstock ban MADISON, Wis. (UPI) -- It looks like Weedstock '93 will be more than a pipe dream. Dane County Circuit Judge P. Charles Jones' order banning Weedstock at a Town of Vermont farm was changed to only ban outdoor entertainment and camping. Organizer Ben Masel said the last-minute change he agreed to with county officials will allow the four-day celebration of pot to go on. The first band is scheduled to play at 4 p.m. Friday, with about 30 more following over the Memorial Day weekend. Masel said he's getting around the ban on outdoor entertainment by having bands play inside a farm building. Attendees will be able to see into the building through large doors and windows. Camping, he said, is hard to define. "There are plenty of reasons to erect a tent other than sleeping," he said. Masel said people would be told when they arrive that camping has been banned. County officials tried to stop Weedstock on the grounds that the farm was zoned for agricultural use only. Judges were not sympathetic to Masel's argument that his event was being singled out based on the content of political speech. Masel said no one moved to stop Farm Progress Days or rallies for Bill Clinton and Al Gore held on farm land. Weedstock is the largest annual fund-raising event of the Wisconsin chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws. NORML advocates the legalization of marijuana. About 3,000 people attended Weedstock last year. More than 100 were arrested on charges ranging from trespassing and disorderly conduct to possession of marijuana. UPne 05/30/93 103 arrests reported at 'Weedstock' VERMONT, Wis. (UPI) -- More than 100 people were arrested this weekend at Weedstock '93, a festival extolling the virtues of legalizing marijuana, officials said Sunday. Lt. Bill Ludwig of the Dane County Sheriff's Department said 103 people were cited for offenses ranging from possession of a controlled substance, drunken driving, trespassing and underage drinking. About 25 were taken to the jail, while the others were given citations. The festival was held Saturday on a farm in the town of Vermont. Ludwig said it was the first time the annual event was held in Dane County. An estimated 3,500 people attended. "It was very calm," he said. "No violence, just a lot of traffic." APn 05/31/93 Weedstock MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- They came to celebrate grass, but mud got the best of revelers at a four-day pro-marijuana rally. About 1,000 cars were stuck in the muck at Weedstock '93 on Monday, and tow-trucks and tractors were used to free them, sheriff's officials said. Police broke up a few fights as festival-goers became frustrated with their plight, said Dane County Sheriff's dispatcher Tom Prochaska. "Everybody's kind of getting ornery with all the mud," Prochaska said. "Tempers are flaring. It's a big mess." The area was hit by stormy weather during the weekend. Police estimated about 3,500 people gathered at a farm in south-central Wisconsin for the festival. More than 160 people were cited for various criminal activities, ranging from drug use to trying to sneak into the festival without paying the $25 admission fee. Six arrests involved felony weapons and drug charges, authorities said. One man who tried to swallow a plastic bag full of marijuana during a traffic stop choked and an officer had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him, authorities said. The bag was kept as evidence. RTw 06/01/93 COLOMBIAN CENTRAL BANKER CAUGHT WITH MARIJUANA IN LUGGAGE BOGOTA, June 1, Reuter - Police at Bogota airport said on Tuesday they discovered marijuana in one of the suitcases of central bank board member Carlos Ossa Escobar as he was about to board a flight for Venezuela. "A personal dose of marijuana was found on him but he was not arrested, it was just a small offence," a police source told Reuters. He said Ossa, one of the Colombia's principal economic figures, was stopped Monday evening on his way to Caracas for a meeting with the Venezuelan central bank board. Ossa, on Tuesday morning, apologised on radio saying: "I would like to take this opportunity to ask everyone to pardon me, I feel bad, I feel a terrible shame. What I am suffering now is as if I was behind bars." Asked if he planned to resign from the powerful central bank board, Ossa replied: "I'm looking at that, that's what I think I ought to do." REUTER MJS JK JAS circa 06/01/93 [untitled - Report on Weedstock] ------ MOUNT HOREB, Wis. (AP) -- A marijuana festival called Weedstock could have used a little more grass. About 1,000 cars got stuck in the mud in the fields where they were parked during the four-day pro-pot celebration, which drew about 3,500 people. Tow trucks and tractors were used to free many of the vehicles. Police broke up a few fights among bummed-out festivalgoers. "Everybody's kind of getting ornery with all the mud," sheriff's dispatcher Tom Prochaska said. Six people were arrested on drug and weapons charges. Sheriff's deputies issued nearly 200 citations for other offenses ranging from drug use to trying to sneak into the festival without paying the $25 admission fee. One man who tried to swallow a plastic bag full of marijuana during a traffic stop choked, and an officer had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him, authorities said. ------ APn 06/02/93 Drug Dog Killing DEL RIO, Texas (AP) -- A dog that sniffed out millions of dollars worth of cocaine along the Mexican border was found dead, apparently poisoned by smugglers. Duc was found dead in its kennel last weekend. Vengeful drug smugglers apparently placed a bounty on it, said Aaron Billings, supervising intelligence officer for the U.S. Border Patrol's Del Rio sector. "There have been other bounties for drug-sniffing dogs, but this is a first for our sector," he said. There was no immediate information on who may have offered the bounty or how much it was. Duc, a Belgian malanois, was a familiar sight at border checkpoints and in school classrooms, where he often demonstrated his abilities for students. Duc had been used by the Border Patrol in Del Rio for four years. The dog assisted in the seizure of 680 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of $544,440 within the last two years. Duc also helped in the seizure of more than a ton of cocaine valued at about $64 million, Billings said. "Duc's death will not slow us down. We have 10 dogs," he said. "Sentimentally, it is difficult. We get pretty close to them." Duc's body was sent to Texas A&M University for official determination of the cause of death. The dog will receive "a proper burial" afterward, Billings said. APn 06/03/93 Border Tunnel By BERNIE WILSON Associated Press Writer TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) -- Drug agents said it would have been an ingenious operation: duffel bags stuffed with cocaine, marijuana or other drugs would be lowered 65 feet into a quarter-mile-long tunnel and carted into the United States undetected. But the sophisticated tunnel, which Mexican federal police said was being built by reputed drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, was discovered Monday during the investigation of a Catholic cardinal's killing. It was shown to reporters Thursday. "They could have smuggled multi-ton quantities through that tunnel without police here knowing or we knowing it on the other side, because the cover is perfect," said U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman Jack Hook. Nicknamed "Narco-Tunnel" by agents, it begins 50 paces inside Mexico, under an empty cinder-block building in a dreary industrial section of Tijuana. It ends 40 feet short of Siempre Viva Road in San Diego County, about a mile from the port of entry. Generators provide electricity for air conditioning and lighting. The vertical shaft starts in a subterranean room with an electric-operated winch. Agents say the winch hauled up buckets of dirt and rock during the digging and would have lowered drugs had the tunnel been finished. The tunnel, cut through sandstone, is lined with cement, and six carts were ready to whisk drugs into the United States. One person ran away when Mexican police took control of the tunnel Monday night and no arrests were made, U.S. agents said. U.S. authorities say it's possible the tunnel was headed toward a warehouse under construction. Authorities were trying to contact landowners on the U.S. side. A hole was punched through the cinder-block wall of the warehouse to allow for surveying equipment, and a mason's line stretches the length of the tunnel. An orange traffic cone in a field on the U.S. side marks the spot where the tunnel ends. "It's one more blow on the war on the drugs and we feel real confident that we're going to keep knocking these guys down," said Gustavo de la Vina, San Diego sector chief for the U.S. Border Patrol. Guzman was the intended target of a hit by a rival cartel May 24 at the Guadalajara, Mexico, airport. But gunmen mistook Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo's car for Guzman's and shot the prelate 14 times at close range. Mexican agents found documents indicating the tunnel's location at a Tijuana safe house on Monday as they investigated Ocampo's killing, Hook said. APn 06/03/93 Inviting Arrest SOUTHBURY, Conn. (AP) -- Two teen-age brothers showed up at a state police barracks to deliver medication to their father, who was being held on larceny charges. Mistake A: They parked their car in a spot marked "Reserved for Duty Sergeant." While Michael Murphy Jr., 19, and Eric Murphy, 16, waited in the lobby Wednesday, the dispatcher ran a computer check on the car's registration number. Mistake B: Police said the car was stolen Tuesday in nearby Cheshire. After taking the teen-agers into custody, police said they discovered yet another problem: Eric Murphy was carrying a pipe packed with marijuana. Troopers then found 18 bags of marijuana in the car's glove compartment. The brothers were charged with second-degree larceny, possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia. Each was released on $2,500 bond. UPn 06/05/93 Crew ditches 7,217 pounds of marijauna MIAMI (UPI) -- Federal agents recovered 7,217 pounds of marijuana that had been ditched by the crew of a Colombian ship after the vessel ran out of fuel in the Yucatan Channel, the Coast Gaurd reported Saturday. Crewmen aboard a U.S. Navy plane first spotted the freighter Samson sitting dead in the water about 50 miles north of Cabo San Antonio, Cuba, on Tuesday night. The Coast Guard cutter Sitkinak and a Navy ship were sent to investigate and discovered the freighter had run out of fuel and had a dead battery. They also found 120 bales of marijuana floating in the water around the ship. The bales weighed in at 7,217 pounds, Petty Officer Simone Adair said. The Coast Guard asked permission from the Colombian government to seize the vessel. While the boarding party waited for an answer, the vessel's master asked for help and the Navy ship took the Samson under tow. When the Colombian government gave permission for the seizure Saturday, the ship was towed to Key West, where the contraband was turned over to the Customs Service. The ship's Jamaican captain and four Colombian crewmen were arrested on smuggling charges. UPwe 06/09/93 Pot smokers run risk of illness, injury, study shows SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- Bay Area researchers said Wednesday that people who smoke marijuana every day but don't smoke tobacco run a higher risk of illness and injury than non-users. The scientists said this was the first study to compare the medical records of heavy pot users who did not indulge in tobacco with those of people who smoked neither. The study of 900 subjects found those who used marijuana frequently suffered a 19 percent greater risk of respiratory illnesses, such as colds, flus and sore throats than non-smokers. The pot group also stood a 32 percent greater chance for injuries and 9 percent higher odds for non-respiratory disease. The scientists said daily marijuana smoking appears to be associated with respiratory conditions even among persons who never smoked tobacco. Frequent marijuana use also appears to be intimately linked to alcohol consumption as a risk factor for injuries and other non-respiratory medical care. The researchers surveyed 452 heavy marijuana users who did not smoke tobacco and 450 people who inhaled neither. All were patients at Kaiser Permanente's Oakland or San Francisco medical centers between 1979 and 1985. One odd finding, was that those who smoked marijuana for more than 10 years reported fewer respiratory illnesses, possibly because they are 'survivors' of a selection process in which people prone to respiratory illnesses were more likely to quit smoking. UPsw 06/09/93 Fast-living drug buyer nabbed at Fed-ex counter QUINCY, Ill. (UPI) -- Haste made waste for an accused drug buyer who tried to pick up a package stuffed with 22 pounds of marijuana at a Federal Express office in Quincy. Police say the suspect, a 32-year-old man with a record of drug convictions, was too stunned to speak when he was nabbed at the package pickup counter. Bradley Schlueter of Knox City, Mo., was charged Wednesday in Adams County Court with felony drug trafficking and possession with intent to deliver cannabis. Bond was set at $200,000. Schlueter already is on parole on a Missouri charge of LSD possession. Illinois State Police Sgt. Mike Hernst said a Federal Express worker became suspicious and notified police after handling a large, aromatic box express shipped from Tucson, Ariz. Inside the tightly sealed box were bags of marijuana. Ernst said express shipments of drugs are not uncommon but rarely will dealers send such a large amount. UPf 06/09/93 Computer groups mark National Computer Virus Awareness Day WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The National Computer Security Association marked the first National Computer Virus Awareness Day Wednesday by urging federal action to curb computer viruses. Viruses are hidden programs designed to sneak into computer systems and carry out the author's instructions, whether benign or hostile. Some simply display a message, like "legalize marijuana." Others destroy data and can even cause physical damage to the computer. UPce 06/09/93 Man arrested after advertising marijuana trade MILWAUKEE (UPI) -- A man who allegedly advertised his marijuana trade on a poster in a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee dormitory was arrested after an undercover police officer answered the ad. Justin "Dave" R. Mallory, 20, who is not a student, appeared in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Wednesday on charges of felony delivery of marijuana. Mallory is accused of putting up a hand-made poster in a dormitory bulletin board that read: "Yo Life Got Ya Tired? Need Some Weed? Beep Me, Dave." The poster listed a phone number, which a UWM police officer called. "We were skeptical about it," said Lt. Richard Sroka. "We didn't know if this was on the up-and-up, so we thought we'd give him a call. To our surprise, he went through with it." An officer dialed the number on Sunday and spoke with a man who identified himself as Dave. After discussing the purchase of a quarter ounce of marijuana, the two settled on a price of $60 and agreed to meet in a parking lot. The two met and the purchase was completed. The officer then arrested Mallory, who is not a UWM student and not affiliated with the school. OTC 06/09/93 PSYCHEMEDICS' COCAINE TESTS OF EMPLOYEES' HAIR CHICAGO (JUNE 9) BUSINESS WIRE - Cocaine use among employees in the nation's business arena may be more hidden than any other form of drug abuse, according to recent studies released Wednesday by Psychemedics Corp., the Hoffman Estates-based drug screening services company. The announcement was made by Raymond C. Kubacki, president of Psychemedics Corp. (NASDAQ:PCMC), who noted that in two separate 1992 side-by-side studies using hair analysis versus the more traditional urinalysis drug screening process, "a significant number of subjects were found to be cocaine users with hair analysis. These same subjects had escaped detection with urinalysis." Kubacki noted that the side-by-side studies were conducted by the Sheraton-Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas and a major manufacturer. Potential applicants for employment were tested for the presence of drugs of abuse (cocaine, marijuana, opiates, metamphetamines, and PCP) using both urinalysis and Psychemedics' proprietary, proven RIAH method of hair analysis (radio-immunoassay of hair). "At no time among the total of 258 applicants did urinalysis uncover cocaine use, while the hair test revealed a total of 26 cocaine users," Kubacki said. "That is a significant and disconcerting result," Kubacki stated, in that "if urinalysis alone were used to determine whether an individual was abusing drugs, 26 individuals who are cocaine users, would have been hired." Kubacki noted that in one of the studies, the one for the major manufacturer, 108 applicants were tested. Urinalysis did not uncover a single individual who used cocaine, while 7.4 percent of the individuals tested or eight individuals, were identified as cocaine users by hair analysis. "Our RIAH hair analysis test significantly uncovered more drug users than urinalysis," Kubacki said, noting that overall Psychemedics uncovered a 14.8 percent positive rate of drugs in the system among those tested, as compared to a 1.7 percent rate for urinalysis. In the Sheraton-Gunter Study, conducted in San Antonio in 1992, the positive rate for all drugs of abuse resulting from the RIAH tests was 18 percent, while urinalysis indicated a seven percent positive rate. "For example, at the Sheraton Gunter, 18 individuals were found to be cocaine users when tested with the RIAH analysis. Again, urinalysis did not uncover a single individual who used cocaine," Kubacki said. Kubacki noted that these results graphically illustrate one of the tremendous benefits of hair testing as a means of screening potential employees -- and in some cases existing employees -- for the use of illegal drugs. "Because the hair is nourished by the bloodstream, any drug residue is immediately trapped in the hair follicle and remains there as the hair grows. Hence, we are able, through the use of an inch and a half of hair, to look at a person's 'history' for a three month period, compared to only two to three days for urinalysis," Kubacki said, explaining that hair grows at a rate of approximately a half inch a month. "Urinalysis, on the other hand, while an excellent means of determining if drugs are in the system at a given moment, cannot determine if there is a historical pattern of drug abuse." Kubacki explained that this is most important when it comes to detecting cocaine and crack abuse. "Because cocaine is a drug that is quickly excreted through the body, it's not surprising that urinalysis would miss its presence. An individual who is a cocaine user can beat a urinalysis test simply by abstaining for a couple of days prior to taking the test," Kubacki said. One of the largest samplings that Psychemedics undertook to compare the detection of drugs with hair analysis versus urinalysis was with the Steelcase Corporation in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1990-91. In this study, 774 samples were compared, with Psychemedics hair analysis detecting an 18 percent positive rate for the use of drugs, as compared to the 2.7 percent uncovered by urinalysis. Kubacki noted that these separate studies, from three separate locales and types of businesses, demonstrate the advantages of hair analysis for corporations. "One of our primary advantages and the reason that we tend uncover a higher incidence of drug abuse among those tested," Kubacki said, "is that we offer a 90-day window of detection for the use of drugs, as compared to the two-three day window that is available with urinalysis. "If drugs are being ingested on a regular basis, the residue will be trapped in the hair," Kubacki said. "We clip the hair from the individual to be tested in an unobtrusive manner," Kubacki said, noting that the hair is then sent, after being sealed and initialed by the person being tested, to the company's lab facility in California, where the actual analysis occurs. "Unlike urinalysis, which can be easily tampered with unless an individual is viewed while providing the specimen, snipping an inch and a half of hair is far less embarrassing and is virtually tamper-resistant." Kubacki also notes that another benefit of hair testing is that should there be a question as to the results of a test, a retest can be conducted that will measure the same period of time. "If there is a question of whether a result is correct, we are able to go back to the person, take another sample, and check the results, whereas with urinalysis, if a positive result occurs, the employer will find that frequently the person with the questionable result will be delighted to re-take the test. Because of the three day window of detection for urinalysis, all the individual needs to do to pass the retest is to have abstained since taking the first test. As a result, the re-test is one that the individual is happy to take because by abstaining from drugs beforehand, the test will be clean." Kubacki notes that more and more companies are pre-screening potential employees for drug use. "Sadly, drug abuse is a reality in the workplace and a major threat and cost," Kubacki said, adding that according to the 1993 American Management Association's Survey on Workplace Drug Testing and Drug Abuse Policies, the number of firms testing for drug use rose to 84.8 percent in January, 1993 from 74.5 percent the previous January. In 1987, when the AMA carried out its initial survey only 21.5 percent of the companies surveyed tested for drug use. "Drug testing will continue to grow, as employers come to terms with the high cost of drug abuse in the workplace," Kubacki said, noting that government estimates indicate that one employee who abuses drugs can cost a company an average of $7,000 annually. Kubacki says, "We are hopeful that as more and more companies use hair analysis as a screening method for employees, those who are abusing drugs will find it more difficult to escape detection and will seek the help that they so desperately need. That is our ultimate objective." [End] This URL: http://www.pdxnorml.org/HN_09.txt