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| Testing for Pot Left Out of Pact |
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Posted by CN Staff on September 20, 2002 at 07:28:46 PT By Jon Heyman, Staff Writer Source: Newsday 
Major League Baseball officials are concerned enough about drug use to have proposed random testing for recreational drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine and Ecstasy, during the collective bargaining talks with players. But when the new deal was reached, baseball and the players agreed to test only for steroids.That doesn't mean MLB officials are pretending the sport is exempt from the societal problem. "We are a manifestation of what's going on around us," baseball commissioner Bud Selig said yesterday. Stories of marijuana use in particular have hit the newspapers in recent months, from Jeremy Giambi's arrest on possession to testimony of a marijuana "cloud" following new Yankees pitcher Jeff Weaver out of the bathroom on a Tigers team plane to the revelation that a trace of marijuana was found in Darryl Kile's body after he died from coronary artery blockage in June to former Mets prospect Mark Corey's scary seizure blocks from Shea Stadium following pot smoking. And now, stories of fairly widespread marijuana use among Mets organizational prospects have been uncovered by Newsday. Coincidence or not, Giambi, Weaver and Corey all were traded after their incidents. Some baseball executives privately acknowledge that they are hearing more about drug use in recent days, and many suggest testing is needed at the major league level. One manager said he has heard of pitchers using Ecstasy on days they pitch. One general manager said he proposed trading one player he suspected of drug use for another trailed by drug rumors because he felt he'd have more control over a recently acquired player. Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd argued hard for drug testing after seeing all the recent reports. "I think casual drug usage is maybe a little more prevalent," O'Dowd said. "But without true drug testing we don't know. I am concerned about the players' well-being and the industry. Anything we can do that's preventative in nature will benefit the industry as a whole." Mets GM Steve Phillips said he'd also favor testing at the big-league level. "If we were able to do it at the major league level, we'd do it at the major league level. Unfortunately, the rules don't allow that right now." While negotiating with players this summer toward a new collective bargaining agreement, baseball officials saw steroids as a greater threat to the game's integrity, and testing for recreational drug use was taken off the table. "There's a big difference when you're using a substance in the workplace, as opposed to off-duty misconduct," baseball's lead negotiator Rob Manfred said. Prominent Tigers players have been linked to marijuana use at least twice, once in the Arizona Fall League and again on an ugly plane episode. A flight attendant accused some Tigers of sexual harassment and said smoke that smelled of "burnt marijuana" followed Weaver out of the plane's bathroom. Tigers players did not deny the allegations, which U.S. District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff deemed "shameful and disgraceful." Giambi, then of the A's, was cited for a misdemeanor offense when caught with marijuana at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport. Marijuana traces were in the toxicology report of St. Louis' Darryl Kile, although marijuana played no role in his June 22 death, which was attributed to coronary artery blockage. Until there is testing, it is only guesswork how prevalent marijuana use is in baseball. "With any segment of society, you're going to have issues with respect to drug usage. In my experience, in baseball it's probably less prevalent than in the general population," Manfred said. Major leaguers can be tested only with reasonable cause, and the new collective bargaining agreement includes written guidelines. Baseball sources indicate about 40 players are currently being tested based on reasonable cause. Source: Newsday (NY) CannabisNews Drug Testing Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #6 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on September 20, 2002 at 10:13:27 PT |
| The story includes a poll as to whether MLB players should be tested for drugs including marijuana. The yes side was ahead. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by Dark Star on September 20, 2002 at 09:52:38 PT |
| Vicious/Visous: mean, thick and greasy [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by CorvallisEric on September 20, 2002 at 09:47:26 PT |
| though "viscous" may also be an apt description of most prohibitionists. If I had to rely on the internet for spelling I'd be using "cannibus" (4640 Google listings and a recent Washington Times article) and "alchohol" (42600) and "marajuana" (5010). [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by p4me on September 20, 2002 at 08:24:39 PT |
| The prohibitionist would have you to believe they are concerned about drugs. I say they want a climate of fear and terrorism so that drug prices remain high. That is why there are unbelievably visous (I looked for this at dictionary.com and know it is misspelled. It does not appear enough anywhere for me to remember its spelling so please tell us all how to spell this very important word, please and thank you very much)laws regarding growing MJ. They have to limit supply and any forces that push the price down. All the prohibitionist that control the situation want is high prices, period. Besides that, if you grow your own the subvert forces never get ahold of your cash, which is what some powerful group wants. Look at it this way. Who gets the money from marijuana. Say the guy I buy quarter from for $30 bought his ounce for $100. He is only trying to pay for his pot. Marijuana around here has gotten better and it does sell for $100 an ounce mostly, but it is never a full ounce of course and it can be higher if you can get talked out of your money of course. It used to be an ounce would be $120 and a quarter $40. What I am saying is that for collecting the $100 or $120 the dealer gets what? A quarter ounce of pot that cost about 25 cents to grow in Mexico. The system has the cheapest labor going because people do not even get cash. Move higher up and four ounces is $300. So that dealer passes up a weeks take-home pay to someone else, finds customers and sells 3 ounces to get his $300 back, and what does he get. WOW, a whole ounce that cost a dollar to grow in Mexico and get here. If the Post Office wouldn't sniff this stuff out they would just mail that ounce, because it always gets pinched by a gram or two, for 37 cents from any border town. Somebody is taking in huge sums of money and having all the retailing done by people that work figuratively for peanuts or literally, for grass. Prohibition is about maintaining that profitable business and no more concerned with minimizing harm to society, than Dim Son is concerned with the welfare of the American people. The top prohibitionist are not crazy or stupid. They like things the way they are. The largest industry in international trade is the $800 billion arms industry (Military Industrial Complex). The next is the illegal drug trade at maybe half that and still larger than oil. The powers that be are not interested in making it a safer world. They are interested in war and killing people. Drugs let us puppet Columbia and everyone else we want with the hidden money of the second largest industry on the face of the earth. And they say they want to protect us from drugs. Like hell that is true. The powers that be want to control who gets that $400 billion, see that the price stays astronomical so that profits do also and that the marijuana distributors keep working for peanuts, I mean weeds. 1,2 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by st1r_dude on September 20, 2002 at 07:48:51 PT |
| "But when the new deal was reached, baseball and the players agreed to test ONLY for steroids." so what kind of message is this sending to our youth - to quote our favorite DEA moroooons....hmmmmmmm ? so john walters, why don't you go chase a few baseball athletes around and test their urine for cannabis - oh, that's right - they make too much money for big business, and are thus exempt from laws that apply to us commoners... anybody here on CN read noam chomsky ? also check out the book from michael moore on the same page... st1r [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by Dark Star on September 20, 2002 at 07:45:54 PT |
| Doesn't this story just prove that money rules? Where is George Will when you need him? He's probably cowering in some corner shaking with acute embarassment. I don't care what these immature overpaid brats do with their time, although I object vociferously to them harassing flight attendants. What I can't stand is the double-standard in this country that allows and encourages the urine testing of Little Leaguers or Chess Club members. America prefers to persecute the weak, and ignore the transgressions of those in the power elite, whether they be Noelle Bush, or this year's slugger studmuffin. [ Post Comment ] |
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