never in an office, but if you go on a large job site, they will drug test.

I would go on to even further say that even from what I've found in non-profits, some large corporations, government (local and state), Department of Interior, private firms (mostly planning but architectural and general design) and NGOs typically do not drug test or require drug testing unless you physically handle money.

From what I personally deduced is that it is mostly an insult to a prospective employee to drug test... although most government jobs (with the exception of some big cities {like New York and Portland}) will reserve the right to ask.

That being said, any place that asks for an application and a background check on top of a resume will likely drug test... and if they drug test, they may very well ask for your MySpace profile password.

So, it really comes down to blind faith, professionalism and how cool your bosses are.

I only design while I'm on drugs.

who has to do drugs t0 make in the archiecture world? .....go piss in your pants felllal....I have no time for ya !

i'll take a drug test.
25 percent will be multiple choice
25 percent will be fill in the blank created by the other 50 percent.

I've never heard of an architect being asked to take a drug test. I've suspected that a few principals/partners have been frequent users, actually.

I worked at a place that did a lot of both state and federal government projects and was required to take a drug test when I was hired, but never again (which was probably good for a lot of my co-workers). But, I think in the case of my firm the drug test was required because all employees also had to go through the process of getting federal clearance, where we they did a pretty extensive background check and we were required to sign paperwork saying we had never engaged in illegal activities including drug use.

I've never seen this but I can guarantee you that if you become That Guy known for pot use around the office, your prospects for advancement will be sincerely diminished. Also, sad & scary but totally true, I have yet to know a habitual user whose design ability didn't slowly but surely diminish over the years of use. Very sad as in two cases it happened to very, very talented individuals. One did kick it eventually and his work improved again. It was an interesting thing to observe. My guess, knowing the effects, is it can lead you to think you're more creative than you are, and therefore you stop trying to improve your designs as much. So just a word to the wise. You wouldn't want to wake up one day and realize you have nothing portfolio-worthy from the last few years of work.

Employee drug testing is pretty expensive, so I doubt that most small or medium size design firms do it. However, I could see large corporate firms (with high overhead) making offers of employment contigent upon passing a drug test.

Steroids is a really big drug that goes under the radar....

symptoms:-

- Aggression, smacking computer screens.

- Passing alot of wind, in the office.

- Hair falling off whilst talking to clients.

- alpha male tendancies and belittling behaviour.

testin12,
jokes aside, I think if you are employed with a temp agency, which would not be related to the employer getting workers from that placement agency, they usually do random drug tests. Some companies if they are not ONLY architecture firms, but also construction, design built etc. will also perform random drug tests and that would include all employees so they dont get in trouble for discrimination. As far as a typical architecture office, I never heard of any one of them doing it. As a matter of fact, I'm sure a lot of people would fail those anyways!

Lets face it 99% of people in the office use some kind of drugs. Caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and other performance and recreational drugs have become a normal part of modern life. Most people can use them responsibly and not have a problem. Don't go to work high, drunk or waste 5mins every 20mins smoking cigarettes, and don't miss work or let your fun effect your performance. This is how most people operate and its going to be the same in most firms.

Most drug testing situations arise from the demands of insurance agencies. If drug use could effect or endanger lives resulting in a claim against the company then it lowers their premium to be able to show that all employees are drug free. The type of work that a company being insured does makes a difference. In most design situations your creating something that will be built in the future and be looked at by a dozen eyes other then your own. It would be hard to dismiss any huge problem as "he was on drugs". If your building something, operating machinery or doing anything where someone could be killed quickly then thats a different story.

You should be able to talk to someone in HR at the company and find out their drug test policies, nobody is going to try and surprise you with one....hehe...

Great portfolio...now, could you please pee in this cup. Thanks.

actually I got surprised with one. It was a construction job though, even though I was working in the main office. I showed up for my first day and they're all like "oh, by the way, after lunch head down to this place in Redondo for your test." Didn't even say what sort of test they were talking about. Really jerky thing to do.

Yeah. Ask your firm if they drug test. They won't think anything of it. In fact, why don't you ask the other interns if they know where to get some? If I find out you're at my firm, I'll throw you out on your _ss.

Grow up.

note to self: don't work for jackalope.

what about the guy that keeps a bottle of scotch at his desk?

i've even known of firms that will have cases of beer and wine on hand at the office for those overtime evenings.

but i guess that's ok, because alcohol's a legally sanctioned drug.

why does there have to be such an extreme about this?

can we not all agree that you shouldn't show up to work stoned/hammered/tweaked?

is it any of the firm's business what i do outside the office, so long as it's not affecting the quality of my work?

as a responsible cannabis consumer, it really grinds my gears when jackasses characterize people who smoke marijuana as being immature losers.

Pot will make you so paranoid you'll start asking really stupid questions. Once you get to this point, open the window and clear your mind for a while.

I agree with jackalope. If I owned a business and found someone on drugs or boozed up, on the job, I'd fire the person. Being buzzed doesn't make one more creative, it just gives you the illusion.

yes, lets all get up in the morning, put on our khaki or navy blue pants with the white or shade of blue button down collar shirt, some times tie and head to our respective cubicle, once there lets make sure the time sheet for work yesterday is filled out. Grab the tar tasting cup of office coffee and open autocad. 59 minute or less lunch break, and back to autocad.

Rinse and repeat.

Because its the grown up and responsible thing to do.

sheesh...come on jack, every employee has a right to know when a company wants to dig into their personal life. ALL substances show up on a drug test, even doctor perscribed. Maybe an employee doesn't want their boss to know they take pills for depression, or erectile dysfunction.

and I agree that yes, someone under the influence of booze or illegal substances WHILE ON THE JOB should receive some sort of disciplinary action.

In every office I've worked at lots of people were pretty open about their use of recreational drugs OUTSIDE working hours. I for one would be dead meat if I got tested...

I'm not advocating the use, granted I've seen my fair share of it ESPECIALLY on job sites here. But I think if someone isn't coming to work high, using it at the job, or in any professional capacity then go ahead. I'm curious if jack...on the fence actually own firms. Because unless you actually have a formal policy on drug use firing someone because of your knowledge of their use could come back and haunt you legally.

Anyway the damn thing might become legal soon.

But testing the number one reason NOT to high is that it DOES cause long term damage to your libido - just wanted to add that throw this convo left field

And cookies can make your dick shrink and cigarettes are a factor in lung cancer...

So what? If anything, not wanting to do it might be a good thing. I'd like to point out that cannabis smokers are something like "8 times more likely to engage in sexual activities" because all drug users are "risk takers."

Your anecdotal evidence is probably related to the University of Melbourne study-- the structure of that study involved "men who smoked more than five joints daily for more than ten years."

Five joints is A LOT. And smoking 4.5 grams a day of good American weed is an EXPENSIVE habit.

That's an $1800 a month habit. Give anyone else $1800 dollars worth of any other type of drug and they'll be dead in three years max. I don't think a crack addict could live to see the end of a $210,000, 10 year crack binge.

But in other words, find a whole percentage of the population that's willing to contribute $21,000 a year to the local economy-- at least buying drugs has a 'trickle down' effect. I don't know of very many, if any adults who spend $21,000 in cash to local businesses that aren't business owners themselves.

Take a look around, ask people who work in drug rehab fields, prescription drugs are the most abused drugs (f'ing "doctors") Then alcohol. Then heroin, coke, meth. Not pot. 

Couple things;

Check your licensing board.  Many have things in there like 'no felony arrest' or 'addictions' (where that can be very open to interpretation).  So, it's possible to destroy your career.  As a licensed professional, we are entrusted with public safety and well being. Sort of a ethics thing.  So, if you are regularly doing something illegal, it somewhat speaks to your ethical sensibilities, and the board (representing the public) will remove your license or bar you from taking the exam if they so wish and can point to a ethics rule you broke.  

Certain kinds of insurance (like my disability) can decline you if you test positive; those do blood test.  It's sort of totally up to them and some are run by very conservative mindsets.  

And well... you need to be careful.  Even here in Colorado where weed is legal, I know a person who was held and nearly charged for possession when she visited a Army base to teach a class (substitute teacher).  That was for 'residue' in her pipe.  Luckily, her boyfriend is a criminal defense attorney and got to the base commander before the paperwork was formalized.  She's also nearly lost her job for school districts, because they have their own rules and drug policies; so she can't use Doctors through their health program because they have to report drug use...  National companies are notorious for terminations after positive drug test (my wife works for the Fed and in banking).   Things can get tricky when it's legal AND illegal.

Yes!....hire the intern with the best "drug score".....wink, wink....

you necroed a 7 year old thread

i have never taken a drug test for work.  my trash company did drug test, now they can't pick up the trash on time.  how fucking stupid was that?  they pick up trash.  let them self-medicate a bit if that's what they have to do.  don't fire them ffs.

I've never heard of anyone in architecture getting drug tested or large architecture firms generally do drug test their employees. I don't think this field require drug testing.

So, all this talk about the health, safety, and welfare of the public is just hot air? You can get stoned and specify an undersized beam for a building. The inspector in your office is also stoned and passes it. The damn thing gets built and......

Vol

Do you tackle HSW issues when you're drunk?  If not, why would you assume a smoker to always be high when he/she is doing their job?

Unless you're out playing Escobar, you're most likely not going to 'lose your license' as was stated earlier.  A casual smoker is no more unethical than a casual drinker.  Ethics is not about choosing between right and wrong.  It's about knowing when to make the right choice and when the wrong choice can be made without great consequence.  Either way, what I do at home in my Lazy-Boy is none of the bosses' business.

I've never known a small/medium firm to even inquire about testing . . .

I worked in the architecture division of a large (>10k people) multi-disciplinary company in Massachusetts that had drug testing as a policy in its handbook, both for pre-hire and ongoing after hire - but I was never actually tested.  I don't know if anybody else there was.  Having it in the policies probably makes it easier to do and defend if somebody comes under suspicion for erratic behavior or something - they can't say they weren't warned and they can't really refuse to submit to it since they signed that they agreed to all policies when they were hired.  I did have to do a drug test once as part of getting clearance to enter the premises in order to work on a project for a regional government entity, along with fingerprints, criminal background check, etc. Overkill considering I was just going to meetings.

Wall Street as a whole should be drug tested, their cocaine and money habit is even celebrated in film. But I guess that's OK with the conservatives, as long as you wear a suit and a tie and your hair stays glued 24/7.

So drug testing may lead to my next promotion :D