Drug Testing From A to Z

We as parents desperately want to protect our kids from the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and we know that the years of adolescence are a time of experimentation, and a time when as much as we’d like to, we can’t always believe everything our children tell us. Drug tests promise us the peace of mind of knowing for sure, and that’s a pretty attractive sense of security for parents anxious over the risks of abuse and addiction.

Drug tests do give us concrete knowledge, they may act as a deterrent to use and they will allow parents to take action quickly in the event of a positive test result. However, the issues surrounding their use are not quite as clear cut as those selling the test kits would have us believe and there are some risks associated with drug testing your teen. You need to get educated to the risks and benefits, and make an individual and informed decision about what’s best for your family, and for your teen.

Positives

You will enjoy peace of mind from a negative (no drug use detected) test result, and can reward kids who do resist temptations for their good behaviors.

You can act quickly and with concrete knowledge in the event of a positive test result, and since with substance abuse and addiction intervention is always better sooner rather than later, this can make all the difference. The tests may acts as a deterrent to use. If kids know that they have a random drug test to submit to every month, they may be less likely to experiment with drugs or alcohol, knowing that there is a good chance that they will get caught.

Negatives

The parent child trust relationship can be a bit tenuous during the years of adolescence, and when you refuse to take them at their word, this may erode further your relationship. Drug tests are not as accurate as they claim, and independent laboratory testing of home drug testing kits shows that up to 40% of the time, these tests do not show drug use when more sophisticated testing will reveal it.

Kids can beat the tests. There are easily bought products that can obscure drug metabolites, and if kids do beat the test, you may ignore other signs of use; relying on faulty informational and ignoring your intuition. It can be tough to test a non compliant teen. Are you willing to watch them in the bathroom giving a urine sample? Are you willing to remove a hair from their head?

Should you be testing?

It comes down to a very personal and individual decision, and there is no clear or easy answer to this question. The tests are not perfect, and there are risks associated with the testing process, but if you don’t think you can keep your kids safe any other way, then maybe testing is worth doing. If your child does have a history of drug use or substance abuse problems, then the arguments towards testing get a lot more compelling, and if your child has a history of lying to you about their substance use, then you may not need to worry much about eroding your trust relationship.

If you do decide that you need to test your child, make sure you have a reasoned talk with them explaining why you’re are doing it, and explaining that you are only testing them because you love and worry for them. Parenting teens is a tough job, and there are rarely easy answers.