Pubdate: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 Source: Portsmouth Herald (NH) Copyright: 2006 Seacoast Newspapers Contact: http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/index.htm Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1157 Author: Adam Dolge DRUG TESTING TEENS AT HOME: YES OR NO? Gayle Brady didn't hesitate to take her daughter to the Kingston police station for a drug test. She had an open communication with her daughter, Caitlyn, who felt comfortable enough to talk to her mom about the drugs she had tried. So when the 18-year-old died of a heroin overdose in March, Gayle was in shock. "I was under the impression that things were starting to change," Gayle said. "I tried to be on top of everything that was going on. I thought I could always be one step ahead of her. "I tried and I tried. I really believed she was starting to make some smart choices." Gayle views the recent news that the Exeter Police Department is making free home drug-testing kits available to parents as something positive. "I think it's a good idea," she said. "They sell them at CVS; the hard thing is getting them to take it. Caitlyn was very honest. She did not carry the guilt; she would confess eventually." Gayle said one of the biggest barriers facing the parent-child relationship in regard to drug use is that a lot of parents are naive. "Do I think drug tests would work in the home? Yes," she said. "But parents are naive in believing otherwise. I would have never believed that she would have done (heroin)." On Wednesday, the Exeter Police Department started offering free home drug-testing kits as a tool for parents to ensure their children are safe from drugs. The kits are available at the police station or through the Exeter High School's resource officer. "What this is, is one tool in parenting a child," said Dawn Barnes, a social worker with Rockingham County Human Services. Barnes has teamed up with the Exeter Police Department on home drug testing. "I think that obviously every parent hopes their child doesn't use drugs and they would prefer not to have to wonder, and I think every parent has wondered at one point," Barnes said. She said by the police offering drug-testing kits, a discussion between parents and their children about drugs is opened. The key to ensuring children do not fall into damaging drug addictions is having an open communication, Barnes said. "Most adolescents take that as accusatory," she said about parents drug testing their children. "If they are using drugs, they will become defensive. Most kids are not happy about being asked to be drug tested. Parents have to be aware of that and really use it as a way to say, 'I'm concerned and this is a way for me to feel comfortable that you are clean.'" " However, the head of the New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union, who did not respond to requests for an interview with the Herald Sunday, was quoted in Foster's Daily Democrat as asking, "Are there any instructions on how to restore the trust with your child after you've asked him or her to pee in a cup?" Claire Ebel also expressed doubts that the results of tests given by parents would remain confidential and questioned taxpayer money being used in Exeter for private use But Vic Maloney, executive director of Seacoast Youth Services in Seabrook, said, "If I thought my kid was experimenting (with drugs), I would certainly be testing them. I wouldn't hesitate. Kids don't really understand what might be the consequences of drug use." When asked if drug testing is an infringement on the child's privacy, Maloney said, "I would just say, I love you and that's why I'm doing it,' end of discussion. I want to be a parent and not your friend. If more parents thought that, we wouldn't be having this discussion." Seacoast Youth Services is a nonprofit organization that primarily works in the SAU 21 school district on substance-abuse issues. The group is teaming up with Seacoast Mental Health in Exeter, and will offer an adolescent substance-abuse program. Jackie Valley, executive director of the Community Diversion Program in Greenland, said she is pleased that Exeter police are being proactive. While she does not advocate drug testing because sometimes the results are not always accurate, she said any way of opening up communication about drugs is a positive thing. "Anything that's being done is great," she said. "I think it's wonderful if parents are concerned they can use this." She said some drugs like cocaine and heroin do not stay in the system very long, so the drug tests may not always reflect what is actually happening in a child's life. "What I fear is that parents will get a false sense of security about what their kids are doing," Valley said. She said another way of looking at these tests is that for some children, it could be a good reason not to use drugs. If a child is experiencing peer pressure from friends about trying drugs, they can say they are being drug tested by their parents and therefore cannot try the drug. "Some kids use those drug tests as a way to say 'no' to drugs," she said. "It can help them save face and get them out of using. That's the best way to use those (drug tests) as far as the kids are concerned." Regardless of whether a parent chooses to use a drug test, Valley said it's always important for parents to have a constant open conversation with their children about drugs and alcohol. - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine