Whether your child participates in school athletic programs, or works in a “high-risk” workplace such as construction, health care, public service or other job type where testing is likely, or you yourself suspect your child of drug or alcohol abuse, there is increasing occurrence of drug testing on children. As drug and alcohol use by teens proliferates, there has been increasing pressure on authorities and parents to root out the problem and slow down the progression of stronger drugs getting into the hands of younger and younger children. Home drug testing has become increasingly popular, and there are many types of testing kits available for concerned parents.
The question is then, Should you test your children for drugs and alcohol? There certainly are more reasons than ever to be watchful of your kids in regards to substance abuse, but suspicion should be well-founded before taking the step of doing home drug testing. Home drug testing kits that produce instant results include breath tests, saliva tests and urine tests. There are also kits that will test hair and blood samples, but those require the sample be taken at home, but results need to be sent to a laboratory for screening results.
There are kits that will detect traces of one drug at a time, these are known as single substance drug tests. There are also home testing options available that will uncover past substance abuse of multiple drugs at the same time, anywhere from 2 to 12 different drugs. Most drug testing kits will analyze the child's urine. Home urine strips are the cheapest screening option costing only a few dollars and will produce results in only 5 minutes. The alcohol detection tests are usually breath or saliva strips which are administered orally. While a tad invasive, the oral strips are the most sanitary option when compared to urine or blood. Most home drug testing kits detect the presence of alcohol or drug metabolites in urine, saliva or breath within minutes. Typically, the metabolites react with reagents and antigens on the test strips to cause them to change colors indicating either a positive or negative result in a manner of minutes.
As it stands, random drug testing in the schools can only be conducted on students who participate in competitive extracurricular activities. Reasonable suspicion/cause testing within a school requires the student to provide a urine specimen when there is sufficient evidence to suggest that he or she may have used an illicit substance. Typically, this involves direct observations made by school officials that a student has used or possesses illicit drugs, exhibits physical symptoms of being under the influence, and/or has patterns of abnormal or erratic behavior.
Parents can be understandably nervous when the subject of having their children drug tested comes up. But they can educate themselves on the subject, and understand the different types and methodologies used in the drug testing process. It is important to protect your child and put a stop to substance abuse or drug addiction at the very first signs. Implementing a home drug testing program has never been easier and the results have been proven, drug testing your children from home works!
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