What? She wasn't tired, she was HIGH??

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

So much for me recognizing when someone is under the influence of anything other than alcohol.

A while back, I think I mentioned in a mini-rant or something that I was displeased with a work-friend who was so tired she seemed drunk. She was going to school and working two jobs, and I had heard she had sleep issues so when she would claim she was just so tired I believed her.

I ended up distancing myself from her at work (we weren’t close outside of work) because she was so frustrating to work with sometimes. She was making mistakes, having to be double-checked for anything math related, needed to be told things twice, and was sometimes just generally annoying. I would get short tempered with her because I got so frustrated trying to check her and still lead the team on busy Saturday nights.

At the end of the night, if we were leaving at the same time, she would offer me a ride home since we really don’t live that far from each other and I take the CTA. With other people, I’ve taken the offers without a second thought. With her, on nights she was like this, claiming sleep deprivation and acting like it, I said “no thank you.” I also declined on nights she seemed OK, just to keep it all the same.

Turned out, a few weeks after my frustration hit its peak, apparently our workplace did, too, and drug tested her on the spot. I heard this second hand, but she failed the test and was let go. I don’t know what she tested positive for, but I know she was on some prescription sleep meds at one point. She had a letter from a doctor (I heard second-hand) for the sleep meds, but I don’t know if it was the same class of drug she tested positive for at work. Not sure it would really matter if it still affected her cognitive abilities on the job, where accuracy and good judgement are paramount.

Proof it wasn’t all just a big misunderstanding or mistake on her part with timing doses? A trip to rehab in another state for three months.

Anyway, thought I’d splurt that out here. Anyone else have coworkers who were busted under the influence? Oh, yeah, I have another one to share if anyone wants to hear it. Much shorter story, but more spectacular ending.

#2

I notice various types of drug tests for home use, available at pharmacies, but I’ve never seen one intended to test for today’s commonly prescribed sleeping pills. So I doubt if it was that.

#3

I thought this was going to be about Dianne Sawyer.

#4

Same here.

#5

I’d like to hear the second story, though.

#6

Ha, you know, it was the Diane Sawyer hullabaloo that made me think of this.

The second story happened probably 6 years ago when an employee showed up just hammered. Apparently there had been some suspicion by coworkers that she smelled of alcohol sometimes, but no one said anything to the supervisors (!). So she showed up, totally plowed, was given a chance to fess up, have some coffee or something, a nap, some time to sober up. She denies she’s drunk, and storms out with the boss following her and saying “OK, but you won’t be able to come back,” and as she walks out the door, boss sort of laments “I have to fire you now.”

The fun part was when she got down the stairs to the sidewalk, it was winter and icy, her feet just disappeared from under her and she wiped out and slid into the driveway. Got up, brushed herself off, toddled down the walk, wiped out again, lather rinse repeat until she got to her car. We didn’t realize she had driven to work, we thought she had taken the bus and was on her way back to the bus stop. Nope. Got in, started up, and drove off before any of us could get to her. I have no idea whether she thought we were trying to stop her or wave goodbye as she drove past us down the street with us waving our arms and yelling at her to stop.

#7

I had a couple of jobs in the past that required security clearances and random drug testing, and the tests were truly random. At one point, my name popped up something like 5 or 6 months in a row, then never again for two anna half years. And they didn’t test every single month or at the same time each month, so there was no way to game the system.

As a result, I was truly amazed when I heard that someone got caught by the random test - it just didn’t occur to me that someone would be that stupid. Dude, you’ve got a well-paid job in an organization with a stellar reputation doing some really important work and you know full well they do random drug testing! :smack: People like that deserve to lose their jobs.

#8

Probably opiates or benzos.

#9

Could just as easily have been a stimulant. She gets no sleep because she’s up all night and then when she hits the slow agony that is a work desk the buzz wears off and she’s dead on her feet. Actually tired.

This sounds a lot like me when I blew my job, actually. I wouldn’t go to work under the influence, but I was nowhere near productive just because I was always so tired from not sleeping the night before.

#10

Lol! Same here. Was looking for the name but couldn’t find it. On that note, I do think Sawyer was tired because I’m sort of like that too when I get tired. I don’t think she’s stupid enough to drink while millions are watching.

#11

Similar story - I took an allergy pill right before a seminar and didn’t realize that the pill would make me drowsy. I was passing out all through the seminar and must have looked stoned as hell. There were only a few of us in the room so it was super-obvious that I was messed up. I felt terrible and learned a valuable lesson about checking medication.

#12

Reminds me of when I was on a combination of Valium & Soma for a really bad neck spasm. Neck basically locked up one night and that’s the script I got from the ER. After a few days, the boss decided I had been home long enough and I needed to get my butt to work. Coworker asked if I was OK almost right after I walked in the door; I said something about being medicated out of my gourd.

#13

Great minds think alike.

I have lost several coworkers to failed drug tests. It’s not like the tests were secret. It’s a condition of employment.

#14

This is maybe a good place to remind people that you shouldn’t drive while on legal medications that mess you up, either - impaired is impaired.

#15

At a former job, they did random monthly drug tests. It got to the point where the guys were walking in, seeing the guy set up his equipment, and call all the co-workers, half of whom would immediately call in sick. So they started hiding the tester, letting everyone come in to work, and locking the door so they couldn’t get out. And some were let go, one of whom was a good worker. He’d tried to use a drug test faker-outer and that was caught in his system.

The ex of a friend of mine was in an accident at work which left him paralyzed. They gave him a drug test and he failed it. He was let go, and never got a single dime from the employer or the insurance.

My current job doesn’t do drug tests.

#16

Who knew SeaDragonTattoo was actually George Stephanopoulos? Didn’t see that coming…

#17

Could even just be that she took cannabis in the last few weeks and it has nothing at all to do with what you were noticing.

#18

My husband works for a construction management company; their policy is to drug test for all vehicular mishaps and any other severe injuries. If you failed the drug test, however, the employee would still be covered by Worker’s Compensation (and not fired until they’re healthy). Basically, if you want coverage, better to not get injured while you have drugs in your system.

My husband is just telling me of an incident where two tower cranes came in contact with each other on site (which is A Very Bad Thing), and the crane operators were drug tested immediately. They both failed the drug test and were fired on the spot. That was not a happy workplace that day.

#19

Shhh. Keep it on the DL, yo.

Maybe? Doesn’t it have to be active in your system to show up on a pee test? I don’t really know how those tests work. But her stint in rehab wasn’t for MJ , it was for Rx drug abuse. Does anybody go to rehab for a weed problem anyway?

#20

Nope. Most drugs will show up for a few days at least, and weed is a special case in that in the extreme it can show up for months after you’ve used it. Hence the problem in producing roadside tests for intoxication.

I would agree with others here that if she was abusing Rx sleep drugs they were almost certainly benzodizapenes. Seems a strange thing to get fired for though…