Exploring another side of the NASCAR drug policy

FONTANA, Calif. – It’s hard to take any position that even suggests opposition to drug testing in any manner, and it’s hard to try to have any kind of nuanced opinion on the matter, either.

Like a lot of things in our culture, people want to keep things simple on this issue. If you’re using drugs, you should be punished. If you’re not using drugs, you should be absolutely willing to be tested at any time for any reason. Otherwise, you must have “something to hide.”

On Thursday NASCAR revealed the name of a Sprint Cup team member who had been suspended for violating the sport’s substance abuse policy following new, stricter drug testing implemented this year.

On the one hand, you have to understand why NASCAR released the name. One goal of any drug policy is deterrence, and the idea of having yourself identified as a violator would seem to have that impact. If you don’t want to have your name announced, don’t use drugs.

Another reason is that if NASCAR hadn’t announced the name and then someone had found out about the suspension, it might have been a much bigger story than it is.

But there is another side to this.

We don’t know what substance it was that this person was found to have used that violated the policy. NASCAR hasn’t come out with a specific list of what’s OK and what’s not, and there are people in the garage who’re scared to take just about anything for fear of winding up being singled out as a “druggie.”

What if you’ve got a runny nose and you decided to take cold medicine? Will that trigger a positive if you happen to be selected for random testing that day?

Another question is whether the true intent of a policy should be punishment instead of treatment. If a crew member tests positive, should the first action be to suspend him or her indefinitely or should it be to try to work with that team employee to address whatever situation he or she might be in?

I know that a lot of you will say that the first thing ought to be getting an offender out of the sport, and if you’re talking about a driver or somebody who has his or her hands on the race car that’s going to be on the track with 42 others, then there’s a safety issue involved. So it is hard to defend someone who tests positive. That’s not my intent.

But I am just wondering if it wouldn’t be more productive, in the long run, to have a policy that doesn’t have “indefinite suspension” as the penalty for a first offense. Maybe the first offense should trigger some sort of mandatory counseling and/or treatment program, paid for by NASCAR, to address the issue while not necessarily turning every positive test into a media event.