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Bhutan to require mandatory drug testing for government employees

In support of Bhutan’s effort to discourage drug use and keep the civil service drug free, the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) has announced that all current government employees and applicants for government jobs will undergo mandatory drug testing from 1 January 2018.

The announcement stated that the drug testing system supplements the requirement that all civil service applicants have a certificate of fitness before being hired.

Current civil service regulations state that all government employees must refrain from using intoxicating substances on government premises, and from drinking alcoholic beverages to excess after normal office hours. Regulations also prohibit civil servants from using habit-forming drugs unless medically prescribed.

Tashi Pem, the director of the RCSC, said that, while only a few government employees abuse drugs, the drug testing system is necessary to ensure that all civil servants in Bhutan are “clean and stable.”

Employees wishing to apply for a scholarship and take leave to enrol in a long-term education program will also need to pass a drug test. Those who fail will have their request to take education leave denied and will be subject to corrective measures, although will not lose their jobs.

Employees and candidates will have to pay for the drug test, which must take place at a laboratory approved by the Bhutan Narcotics Control Authority (BNCA). Drugs in the testing regimen include marijuana, cocaine, SP+, and N10.

There are approximately 27,000 government employees in Bhutan.

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