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tlgh
on the Job
T
wo decades ago illegal
drug use at the
workplace was almos!
unheard of. Today, it has
spread to almos! every
occupation, from the
boardroom to the shop.
This should come as no
~
surprise. The drug-culture
i
generation of the late '60s
~
and early '70s is growing
O
~
older and bringing its habits
"Seed Wars''
Loo
m
l
f U.S. farmers were
limited to growing crops
native to their country, they
wouldn't be harvesting
wheat , barley and soybeans
but merely lndian corn,
cranberries, blueberries.
Jerusalem artichokes and
pecans. But with. the
introduction of imported
plant varieties , such as
Chinese soybeans , Latín
American maize and Middle
Eastern wheat varieties, the
United States and other
industrial ized nations have
become majar food
producers.
Developing countries are
rich in the native genetic
diversi ty of many majar food
28
to the workplace.
Having smoked marijuana
in high school or college the
young adult is incl ined to
continue this practice on the
job. Sharing an after-lunch
" joint" on Wall Street
happens every workday.
In California' s high-tech
Silicon Valley- where a ton
of cocaine is consumed
every year-deals are
sometimes sealed by
passing around a bowl of
cocaine, not a handshake.
Sorne companies, it is
reported, refuse to allow
their executives to make
decisions after lunch.
The cost to the U.S.
economy of drug abuse in
business and industry is
enormous. Thousands of
millions of dollars a year
vanish in lost productivity,
increased absenteeism.
injuries, illness, theft , along
with higher insurance rates
and increased turnover .
Some experts go so far
as lo say that one reason
the United States is losing its
industrial leadership is that a
significan! part of its work
force is high on drugs .
The plight of one
crops. By contras!,
developed lands, including
the United States, are
paupers. Crop breeders
everywhere depend on seed
banks with seeds originating
from native areas to develop
new varieties and upgrade
existing ones. Their
beneficia! qualities include
resistance to disease and
the potential to increase
productivity.
Developing nations.
however, charge that prívate
seed companies collect wild
plants from them, modify
them, and then sell the
seeds back at unreasonable
prices. They believe that
plant germ plasm should be
considered a common
heritage. They are pushing
for international resolutions
that would make all germ
company in the highly
competitive car rental
business highlights the
problem. Says its personnel
director : " 1can 't even
estímate what drug use has
cost this company. 1think
it ' s the biggest problem in
lmmigration
TimeBomb
T
his year marks the one
hundredth anniversary of
the famed Statue of Liberty
in New York Harbor. The
" lady" has undergone
considerable refurbishing
and a structural overhaul for
the occasion.
The anniversary also
brings with it
disturbing- some say
alarming-developments
about today' s immigration
patterns into the United
States.
According to economist
Walter E. Hoadley,
" Two-thirds of all global
immigration is now into the
U.S. " He adds that the
upsurge in immigration, with
"much more to come,"
represents the " most delicate
yet ... potentially disruptive
issue facing America." The
nation must realize that " a
time bomb is ticking . .. we' re
on a collision course." The
question is how to assimilate
a wide variety of cultures and
languages, now
overwhelmingly from Latín
America and Asia. At the
plasm. including the privately
developed commercial
varieties, freely available to
all countries.
The United States
vigorously opposes this idea
because it is inconsistent
with U.S. laws concerning
patent rights and product
development. Severa!
developing nations have
taken steps to bar or limit
the shipment of native germ
plasm outside their
borders. •
industry today. Nothing else
is even in second place
compared to it. · '
The crisis is finally being
recognized by industry and
commerce and is spawning
numerous rehabilitation
programs. •
time the Statue of Liberty was
presented as a gift from
France, European nations
provided the bulk of
immigrants.
Most disturbing is the
influx of illegal aliens, up
sharply this year over 1985,
says the U.S. lmmigration
and Naturalization Service.
Nearly
1
Opercent of the
population of El Salvador
now lives in California. The
vast majority of infants at
public-supported hospitals in
Los Angeles are born to
mothers who are in the
country illegally. Such infants
are considered U.S. citizens.
lmmigration, as
symbolized by the Statue of
Liberty, " was once an asset
to this country, helping make
us strong," write Colorado
Governor Richard D. Lamm
and Gary lmhoff in their new
book
The lmmigration Tíme
8omb.
" But its curren!
uncontrolled state," the
authors continue , " will
seriously harm this country
and its institutions. This is
not easy for Americans to
accept. The Statue of
Liberty is deeply embedded
in the American psyche and
American institutions." •