Posted: 2/15/2008 8:43:46 AM EDT
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DoD stops testing troops for LSD By Andrew Scutro - [email protected] Posted : February 18, 2008 So few service members were testing positive for LSD in recent years that the man-made hallucinogen was dropped from standard urinalysis screenings, according to the Pentagon’s head of militarywide drug testing. “It’s a business-practice decision,” said Army Col. Ronald Shippee, director of the Defense Department’s drug testing and program policy office. “I don’t have unlimited resources to run these labs.” In a recent interview, Shippee said the military’s six drug-screening labs nationwide test some 4 million samples every year for illegal drug use. For standard screenings, the labs test for cocaine, heroin, marijuana, amphetamines and methylenedioxymethamphetamine — commonly known as MDMA or Ecstasy. Other drugs can be added in random “pulse” tests or requested specifically by a command. LSD “had been part of the standard panel under the ‘pulse’ category,” Shippee said. “That’s why, in the last three years, we did about 12 million specimens, but probably only 2 million were screened for LSD. Over the past three years, only four LSD specimens have been identified in over 2 million specimens that were screened for LSD.” With the increasing prevalence of other drugs susceptible to abuse, such as the prescription pain medication Oxycodone, the additional cost of testing for LSD could not be justified by the low positive results. “When we say we ‘drop a drug,’ we don’t drop it off the radar,” he said. “So if you’ve got a drug like LSD which we saw ... four positives in three years, that’s a lot of expense and a lot of work for nothing. So we drop it from the panel.” Shippee also noted that testing for the hallucinogen presents a “technical nightmare” to screeners. Due to its man-made, chemical nature, LSD leaves the body quickly, unlike cocaine or marijuana. Shippee works closely with the various criminal investigation agencies in the military, which often provide advance insight into looming problems. In the mid-1990s, for example, investigators stationed in Germany were reporting on the growing use of a new party drug among youth, now known as Ecstasy. Shippee said the military was far ahead of the public on awareness of the problem. “When the big peak hit the country in 2000, we were already looking at it,” he said. Lately, a drug blend of Ecstasy laced with methamphetamine has made a comeback, announced as a new Canadian import by the Office of National Drug Control Policy on Jan. 3. A policy board that examines drug testing may decide to sample drug screens for its prevalence. “There’s no screen, so we’re thinking of taking a look and seeing what’s in the population,” Shippee said. “When we find it that way, we don’t use it to discipline anybody. We just use it to set policy.” Another relatively new adjustment is testing for Oxycodone, known by the brand ame OxyContin. Shippee said it was added to drug screenings in August 2005 after being detected in random testing. Shippee’s forensic pathologists are often called to testify at courts-martial. He said some drug use by service members reveals a full spectrum of abuse. “You’d be amazed. I could show you urine that has Ecstasy, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana,” he said. “We hear it all in court. It all comes out.” Overall statistics for drug testing in the military are not readily available but soon will be. Shippee said he is in the process of placing a vast accumulation of drug testing data on the Internet for public access. “We’re not hiding anything,” he said. |
A government entity showing fiscal responsibility? Someone catch me, I think I'm going to faint! 
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The funnest thing I did when I was the UPL for my USAR unit was a 100% urinalysis one Saturday morning. Followed by a 100% urinalysis Sunday morning.  Nabbed 3 who went out and "partied" that night figuring they were safe for a few months from being tested again. |
As is, it's probably difficult to detect due to the low doses from 25 to 80 micrograms. I knew one soldier who got kicked out of AIT for LSD in '89 who claimed to be a regular user that had passed random screening as soon as three weeks after dosing-the test that he claimed got him was a week after dosing. |
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My understanding is that there's no LSD being made domestically, and very little LSD being smuggled into the US now. The main guy (that various sources claimed was singly responsible for creating 80%-95%+ of all the LSD in the US at the time) got busted some time ago. One page with the trial story: www.bluelight.ru/vb/archive/index.php/t-109455.html LSD was never that popular to make, because it's complicated to do and requires quite a bit of lab equipment. ------ I don't have much personal interest in the stuff, but I do think it's pathetic how LSD got politicized in the US. Some of the early stories of what it did for psychiatric patients are pretty amazing. ~ |
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When I was in the Army, they claimed the test in use at the time (EMIT?) would only detect LSD within 24 hours of use. I never heard of anybody getting popped for it. We were stationed in the NETHERLANDS. We tended to get tested a lot. Like, nearly daily. I had a friend who was NCO in charge of testing. He knew I was clean, so he had me piss EVERY damn time (catching someone was a PITA, there was a LOT of paperwork involved). So damn many troops got caught there. And, it was a "special weapons" unit. 
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He was one fucked up individual. I later heard he got busted with over 100 sheets.
