Adolescent Substance Abuse Articles
Should You Test Your Teen for Drugs?
By Hugh C. McBride
Once limited to a few elite professions, drug testing has, in recent years, moved much closer to the center of mainstream society.
Olympic athletes continue to be required to take drug tests, as do airline pilots and military personnel. But in more and more cases, so do corporate employees, job-seekers, and even some high school students.
Drug-testing technology has become so prevalent and affordable that many companies are marketing their devices directly to parents, claiming that the tests can ease parental stress and keep kids safe. Some of the products even allow parents to test their teens without the teens’ knowledge.
But as just about everyone with a child has advised their offspring at least once, just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should.
Most drug test kits analyze a person’s urine, blood, saliva, or hair. (Testing a person’s sweat is also possible, though relatively rare.)
Advantages and limitations of these types of tests include the following:
- Urine tests are the most popular among companies, schools, and sports agencies, though these tests are usually able to detect drugs that have been taken only within the previous seven days.
- Blood tests are the most reliable, but are also highly invasive and expensive.
- Hair tests can detect drugs that have been ingested as long as four months prior to the test, but they are more expensive than urine tests and are prone to false positives (for example, being in a room where marijuana is being smoked could trigger a false positive in a hair follicle test).
- Saliva tests are easy to administer, requiring a simple cheek swab, and are becoming more popular. However, the reliability of saliva tests varies considerably depending upon the manufacturer, casting some doubt about their efficacy.
Drug tests can analyze a sample for a wide range of substances, with nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana among the most common concerns of parents who wish to test their children. Other drugs that are often tested for include opioids (such as heroin or morphine), barbiturates, cocaine, steroids, and Ecstasy.
Making the Purchase
Home drug tests can be purchased at many pharmacies, though the explosion of online retail outlets has significantly enhanced the ease and privacy with which such tests can be purchased.
Depending upon the type of test, number of drugs to be tested for, quantity of tests purchased, and manufacturer, home drug test kit prices can range from $5 to more than $100. The testing process usually involves taking a sample, sending it to a lab for analysis, and receiving the results either via mail or online.
Though most tests involve the participation of the person being tested (as acquiring a person’s urine or blood without their knowledge verges on the impossible), some kits – primarily those that test hair follicles – have been marketed as ways for parents to test their children without the children’s knowledge. This is suggested to take place by having parents get hair from a brush or other object when the child is not around, or by clipping a few follicles while the child is asleep.
Is Drug Testing a Good Idea?
To no one’s surprise, the manufacturers of home drug tests insist that the products are excellent opportunities for parents to ensure their children’s well-being.
In a Feb. 5 interview with Brad Vivacqua of Syracuse’s News 10 Now, Chris DePerno, the president of Executive Investigation and Testing Services said that his company’s products provide parents with peace of mind while also offering young people an easy excuse in the face of peer pressure.
“It gives them a way out, it gives them the ability to say no to drugs and it gives the parents the ability to say I know what's going on with my child,” DePerno said.
Some parents and school administrators are confident that the knowledge that they will be tested can motivate young people to avoid alcohol and other drugs, while those who advocate surreptitious testing argue that the tests allow parents to get an accurate glimpse into their children’s once-secretive behaviors.
However, not everyone is convinced that drug testing young people, especially by parents, is a good idea.
Experts Advise Against Drug Testing
In the March 3, 2007 edition of the journal Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a policy statement opposing the administration of drug tests to young people at home or in school.
Citing concerns about the safety, accuracy, and effectiveness of the tests, as well as issues related to privacy and access to rehabilitation, the AAP stated that is has “strong reservations about testing adolescents at school or at home and believes that more research is needed.”
In addition to taking an official stand against this type of drug testing, the AAP also issued the following recommendations:
- The AAP supports rigorous scientific study of both the safety and efficacy of school- and home-based drug testing of adolescents.
- The AAP recommends that school- and home-based drug testing not be implemented before its safety and efficacy are established and adequate substance abuse assessment and treatment services are available.
- The AAP encourages parents who are concerned that their child may be using drugs or alcohol to consult their child's primary care physician or other health professional rather than rely on school-based drug screening or use home drug-testing products.
- The AAP recommends that health care professionals who obtain drug tests or assist others in interpreting the results of drug tests be knowledgeable about the relevant technical aspects and limitations of the procedures.
Do You Suspect Your Child Is Using Drugs?
Drug tests are not the only means of ascertaining whether or not your child is using drugs. And the conflict that may result from drug testing, especially if your child discovers that you “stole” her hair in order to have it analyzed, could create an even wider rift in your family at a time when togetherness is of the utmost importance.
The Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base offers a comprehensive look at the signs of teen alcohol or drug use, and your child’s school guidance counselor or your family physician can also educate you on what to look for (and how to respond if, indeed, your child is engaging in an unhealthy behavior).
Regardless of your decision about testing your teenager for drug or alcohol use, if your child does have a problem, know that help is available. Many young people have overcome problems with drug and alcohol use by enrolling in a wilderness program for struggling teens, a therapeutic boarding school, or a residential treatment program for teen substance abuse.
