DAWDLING ON DRUGS

It would be unconscionable if the General Assembly again fails to pass
a law that would establish a drug testing regime at Kentucky's coal
mines.

The extended dance in which labor, industry and government officials
have participated on this issue was predictable, and the details of
any eventual legislation will be difficult to negotiate. But one thing
is clear: Something needs to be done.

The state's coal mines operate in regions where prescription drug
addiction is a long-time problem, where meth labs have become a major
industry and where marijuana production and distribution have
frustrated law enforcement.

Producing coal is dangerous and stressful work, which in the past led
to increased smoking and drinking among miners. The burgeoning drug
activity in Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky creates even more
temptations to engage in self-destructive behavior.

The report of a tri-state task force on such problems is about to be
released, but its findings and recommendations, while certainly
useful, are not prioritized specifically for this state. Solutions for
Kentucky will require negotiation and action by Kentucky regulators
and lawmakers, not endless governmental choreography.

It's true that the relevant questions are not easy to answer. It's one
thing to agree that anyone who contributes to a mining accident should
be tested for drugs, but who decides who is a contributor? Everyone
agrees that those guilty of using drugs should lose their mining or
supervising privileges, but for how long? Should they be offered
treatment and rehabilitation? If so, at whose expense? Should those
who don't use drugs be penalized for failing to report those who do?

One thing is certain: It's unfair that responsible companies that
routinely do drug testing must compete for workers against the much
larger number of irresponsible firms that don't.

What's needed is a comprehensive approach that doesn't encourage
addicted miners to shop around for an employer who will let them do as
they please.

The problem is big. Consider the stunning number contained in
Courier-Journal reporter Alan Maimon's story on this subject: Some 70
percent of applicants at Black Mountain Resources fail the mining
company's pre-employment drug screening. That's huge

It's been two years since a bag of marijuana and reports of miners
snorting crushed painkillers figured into a mine blast at
Prestonsburg. But those who could do something about that kind of
workplace travesty are still waltzing around the opportunity, on tiptoe.