Drugs? Alcohol? What damn difference does it make? The extra board generally puts people into a constant state of jet-lag. Some people would be better off on drugs. Operation Stop might be nice, but when you're short rested and second out- still with grocery shopping to do and the lawn to mow, it doesn't matter if the guy coming at you in the siding at track speed was smoking dope if you can't stay awake either even though you're clean.

And what are drugs anyway? Is Marijuana worse than Alcohol? How about a whole lot of caffeine to keep you awake? How about OTC things like Super Mini Thins at 7-Eleven? How about drinking a fifth of Vodka at the Away From Home Terminal to help you get to sleep off the caffeine at 11:30 in the morning because you know you stand for an 11-hour return trip starting at 21:30? Alcohol's legal, right?

People are going to do what they're going to do, regardless of laws and regulations. No one wants to work with dope-smoking idiots, unless they're sharing, and they'll be just as sneaky about smoking dope behind closed doors as someone drinking themselves blind on their rest cycle. Where is the real difference? There isn't one. Short of an Orwellian overlord, it's always going to happen.

Better to present to your students the reality of it: Some railroad jobs are nine-to-five, some work 70 hours a week, some have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off, and sometimes you have to work out of town to stay employed. Where do I stop...it's not like working anywhere else. Tell 'em to go for it if they've shown themselves to already be responsible in your class- the rest, tell 'em to join the Army.