Does Gibbs Know That Drug Testing Is A Scam Of Uber-RightWing Origin?

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

I realize this is just a sidenote to the whole "with us or against us" meme floating around at the moment, but I wanted to drop a post to remind folks that the whole urine testing industry is essentially the creation of a fella by the name of Carlton Turner, who was Reagan's Drug Czar (recommended by Bush the Elder, natch) beginning in 1981.

Turner was the asshat who sprayed marijuana crops in Mexico and the US with a poison named Paraquat; he told people whenever they asked that he hoped American children died from smoking the poison so that it could wipe cannabis use from our culture. Later, Carlton went on to sell fake 'Paraquat Testing' kits to scared suburban teenagers. The test kits were an obvious, cheap fraud; Turner was never anything but a scam artist.

He was asked to resign as Drug Czar when he claimed that cannabis smoking caused homosexuality and HIV/AIDS. After he left the white House, he started the first major urinalysis company in the US which was "coincidentally" given a huge boost when Nancy Reagan mandated that all companies with federal contracts drug test employees regardless of the nature of the work.

Knowing all of this has made Mr. Gibb's comments even more depressing. They need to be going after the GOP, not taking cheap shots at a rather disenfranchised minority of Democrats.

(Note: all this info comes from Jack Herer's "The Emperor Wears No Clothes", which you really should read.)

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[GreenArrow]

2. Drug testing is as American as apple pie.

Insititutionalized ignorance.

[Blue Owl]

3. That's what's so maddening about it, IMO

Gibbs is gonna go home, plop "Reefer Madness" in the DVD, and feel all smug and self-righteous about his sold-out crony ass.

[MajorChode]

4. Wasn't the military drug testing back in the 70's?

I thought that's why Shrub suddently dropped out of the TANG after being very active, because they had adopted the active duty military's drug testing program.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. Do you realize he is not actually calling for drug testing?

You seem to be illustrating his actual point rather strikingly.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

6. Yes, Genius, I think he's actually calling for drug testing.

Your powers of analysis are as sharp as your spelling skills.

[phleshdef]

7. I'm against drug testing. I'm also against misinterpreting a figure of speech to make a dumb attack.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

8. I think it is you who is misinterpreting.

Yes, I know Gibbs doesn't want to test people.

My point is that the administration is speaking from a perspective that takes Right Wing talking points for granted. Why the hell are they coming after progressives with this nonsense -- it actually sounds very similar to the stuff Glen Beck says about that very same group.

[phleshdef]

10. The "right wing" does not own the "you must be on drugs"-esque figure of speech.

From pop culture, television, music, movies, every day people making conversation, that is something that people of all political persuasions have used to make a point about someone's state of mind. Its not ideological. This is a silly argument.

[LostinVA]

9. Drug testing is free under the Canadian healthcare system

i just made that up.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. lol

so far, the best post of the day..