"Jim Fisher" wrote in message
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Besides, I didn't know I was an idiot at the time.

I never said you knew, or should have known, it was an idiotic approach.
Just that it was.

Never smoked the stuff, have ya? Good for you, man. If you *did* smoke
it, you'd know that pot (and lots of other stuff) affects you during and
well after partaking of it. Tell your name to just about any long-term
pot smoker. Even if 's not stoned, he won't remember it next time he
meets you.

I have met plenty of long-term pot smokers, am even friends with a few, and
none have had any trouble remembering who I am the next time we meet.

But regardless, as you yourself admit, lots of other stuff has the very same
effect. If you are worried about short-term memory loss (which has nothing
to do with someone remembering my name a week later anyway), then test for
THAT. Since according to you it's such a big deal, it should be easy enough
to uncover any performance hindrance, and as an added benefit, you'll get
rid of all the other pilots who are engaging in different but equally
problematic behaviors.

Do I really have to explain the dangers of short-term memory loss to a
pilot, Bill, er, Roger, er, glancing at header oh yeah, Pete? Not to
mention the fact that a commercial pilot who performs an illegal act on a
habitual basis has no place in the cockpit, man!

"A commercial pilot who performs an illegal act?" Give me a break. I can't
name a single person who I know who is innocent of breaking ANY law. As an
obvious example, I'm pretty much the only person I know who actually aims to
drive the actual speed limit (or slower if conditions require), and even I
have been known to accidently exceed now and then.

The real question isn't whether "a commercial pilot who performs an illegal
act" should be allowed in the cockpit or not. Obviously there are some
illegal acts that really aren't that big of a problem.

I'm fine disagreeing with you on WHAT illegal acts are a problem, but don't
go around pretending that this is a black & white matter. I and plenty of
other people are of the opinion that, as illegal acts go, smoking pot is
basically not anything even remotely serious enough to affect a person's
flying career. IMHO it's not even as bad as running a red light or failure
to yield; it's comparable to speeding at best.

Basically, all you can come up with are subjective reasons for drug testing.
That's fine with me; lots of our rules are based on subjective reasoning.
But don't pretend it's anything other than subjective reasoning.

Pete