Drug Testing Hackers at Startups

[omg]

Hey all,

In your experience, do startups drug test their hackers either for pre-employment screening or after they are hired?

It seems like it would be a waste of money for most startups, but I am curious to hear what the reality is.

[pg]

It might be worse than a waste of money, actually. It would tend to repel smart people.

I remember once talking to a smart hacker who was leaving a big co where he'd worked for a while. He said he was leaving because they'd instituted drug testing. He himself didn't use any illegal drugs. He was quitting because it was a sign the company had become terminally lame.

[byrneseyeview]

If Microsoft and Apple had done that, they would have had to find new founders.

[neilk → byrneseyeview]

> Interview question from Steve Jobs: "How many times have you taken LSD?"

http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&s...

[nickb]

>It seems like it would be a waste of money for most startups

It is. I've never even heard of anyone even thinking of doing anything like that.

[kf]

The only reason companies do drug testing is because insurance companies will cut them deals. By the time your company is big enough that you can save millions of dollars in insurance costs by drug testing your employees, I hope you still have a soul.

Having said that, anyone dumb enough to fail a drug test is probably not a good person to hire anyways. Drug tests are easy to pass -- don't do any of the following drugs for a week and drink a lot of water, continuously, on the day of your test.

   1. Cannabis
   2. Cocaine 
   3. Amphetamines 
   4. Opiates
   5. PCP

[icky]

Sounds like a soul-sucking corporate cesspool masquerading as a startup.

If you want to do us all a favor, name them here explicitly so that we may all avoid those assholes.