Compulsory Drugs Testing in the British Army: Assessing the Data
Dec 2007, Vol. 152, No. 6
By Sheila M. Bird
UK commentators and politicians have described the rise in class-A drug use in the British Army as: a) a reflection of society more generally; b) selfmedication under the pressures of service; c) worsening troop shortages due to dismissals; and d) a Compulsory Drugs Testing (CDT) perversity because drugs which stay in the urine for only two to three days, such as heroin and cocaine, are the most harmful drugs. By contrast, cannabis stays in the urine for two to three weeks. Urinary half-life is uncertain for ecstasy, which is one of the least harmful drugs despite its A-classification.
When data about CDT in the British Army, as gleaned from parliamentary questions, are analyzed in a wider societal context, the first explanation – ‘reflection of society more generally’ – can be ruled out. We raise new questions: firstly, about whether CDT teams have re-targeted their testing on particular weekdays, which would maximize the cocaine positive rate; and secondly, about the rationality of military personnel’s evasion tactics.
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By Sheila M. Bird
UK commentators and politicians have described the rise in class-A drug use in the British Army as: a) a reflection of society more generally; b) selfmedication under the pressures of service; c) worsening troop shortages due to dismissals; and d) a Compulsory Drugs Testing (CDT) perversity because drugs which stay in the urine for only two to three days, such as heroin and cocaine, are the most harmful drugs. By contrast, cannabis stays in the urine for two to three weeks. Urinary half-life is uncertain for ecstasy, which is one of the least harmful drugs despite its A-classification.
When data about CDT in the British Army, as gleaned from parliamentary questions, are analyzed in a wider societal context, the first explanation – ‘reflection of society more generally’ – can be ruled out. We raise new questions: firstly, about whether CDT teams have re-targeted their testing on particular weekdays, which would maximize the cocaine positive rate; and secondly, about the rationality of military personnel’s evasion tactics.
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