POLICE OFFER HOME TESTS FOR DRUGS

Free Kits for Parents Seen As Preventing Abuse

In a program thought to be the first in New Hampshire's Seacoast,
the Exeter Police Department is providing free drug test kits to
parents who want to know if their children are using illegal drugs.

On Wednesday , the department made available 50 kits to test for
alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine, and opiates
through simple saliva or urine tests. The results are available in minutes.

"We're giving parents another tool they can use to fight drug abuse
before it becomes a problem," Exeter Police Chief Richard Kane said last week.

Kane said the kits were bought with police funds from Law
Enforcement Against Drugs, a program he read about in a police trade
publication touting its success in Swanzey.

Law Enforcement Against Drugs and a sister group, Local Educators
Against Drugs, are subsidiaries of Total Diagnostic Services of
Livonia, Mich. , a distributor of testing kits to drug store chains
and rehabilitation programs, which has been offering test kits at a
discount to police and educators since 2000.

A spokeswoman said the company provides kits to about 300 police
departments, primarily in the Midwest. Several departments in New
Hampshire already participate in the program, but none in the
Seacoast. The company is negotiating to provide equipment to one
police department in Massachusetts.

"Our drug problem isn't any worse or better than any other town, "
said Kane, "But I figure any program that puts another tool in
parents' hands is worth trying."

The kits, which cost the department from $4 to $12, depending on
which drug is targeted, are available at the police station or
through the school resource officer at Exeter High School.

Kane said he hopes the program will help students deal with peer
pressure that prods them to experiment with drugs. "Now a student
can just say no to drugs by telling their friends that their parents
are testing them at home."

He said the department has no interest in knowing the results of the
tests. "That's up to the children and their parents."

The department's offer has raised concerns in some quarters.

"Administering a drug test shouldn't be the first resort," said Dawn
Barnes, a social worker with the Rockingham County Department of
Human Services. "I think parents have a gut feeling about whether or
not their child is abusing drugs."

She said parents should be involved in their child's life enough to
notice if there is a problem. "Have there been changes in the
child's behavior, attitude or dress? Do they have new friends? Is
their school work suffering? There is no replacement for good communication."

She said parents should not administer a drug test without first
thinking about its repercussions. "Every parent wants to believe
that their child isn't using drugs, but what if they are? It's
important to have a plan, and we can put them in touch with people
who can help."

The Police Department would refer parents to the Rockingham County
Department of Human Services for help in dealing with issues that
might arise if they take a home test.

But what do teenagers think about this?

Hannah Caporello, president of the student senate at Exeter High,
said she was skeptical of the program when she first heard of it.

"My first reaction was that it wouldn't facilitate communication
between parents and their children, but the more I thought about it
I think it can be a good thing. The student won't be arrested and
they won't be taken out of school and I think that will give them
the chance to seek other options."

Kane said 50 test kits are now available, but if the program is
successful, he might ask the Lions Club or other civic groups to
underwrite the purchase of more.