POLICE, SCHOOL OFFICIALS SKEPTICAL OF AT-HOME DRUG TESTS

Pregnancy tests are no longer the only over-the-counter tests
available in local drugstores.

Stores have stocked their shelves with over-the-counter drug tests
for the past four years. But in the past few months, the number of
tests being offered on shelves has doubled at some stores, and
they're even showing up in sale fliers.

By testing a urine sample, the over-the-counter tests will show in
five minutes if someone is using drugs ranging from marijuana to cocaine.

First Check, the first company to gain approval from the Food and
Drug Administration to sell the over-the counter tests, boasts a 99
percent accuracy rate.

Despite the advertised accuracy, local school officials and police
said they won't be depending on the tests anytime soon.

Michael Delahanty, Salem's superintendent, said schools will
continue their traditional policy of drug testing.

Currently, if a teacher suspects a student is under the influence of
drugs during class time, the student is brought to the principal's
office and the nurse's office for verification. From there,
Delahanty said the student and his or her parents can dispute the
school's suspicions by taking a blood test at a local hospital.

"I don't know all the details about these products, but I think the
integrity of a medical doctor or medical facility would be held in
much higher esteem than any over-the-counter product," he said.

But Bruce Glasser, director of marketing at First Check, disagreed.

"It's a very strong trend right now in schools," he said, adding
dozens of school districts purchase the tests through his company.

"People are catching on," Glasser said. "The problem (of drugs) is
not increasing at the rate of what it used to, but parents are
becoming more aware of what to do if their children are using drugs
and how to handle it."

He said drug test sales were so successful that the company created
a test for methamphetamines. He said it was created five months ago,
after surveys showed meth was the fastest growing drug.

As soon as it was introduced, a spokeswoman at Walgreens said the
product was on their shelves.

She said the store has offered the at-home meth tests since spring
for $15.99. At the same time they brought the meth test into the
stores, she said they stocked the shelves with another product that
can detect up to seven drugs in someone's urine.

"The fact that we've added two new tests this spring indicates the
continued interest in the products and the steady increase in
sales," spokeswoman Carol Hively said.

Glasser did not provide sales statistics, but said the company was
selling more products to their largest target audience - parents.

"The level of sales that we have now are much higher than when we
once started," he said. "I think a lot of that is because the stigma
is gone. In the past, if parents thought a child was taking drugs,
they'd go to their private physician or the hospital, and now
they're not ashamed to go to the pharmacy to test their suspicions."

Law enforcement officials agreed that the tests may be beneficial to
parents, but they're not yet dependable enough to be used by schools
or police.

Londonderry police Capt. William Hart said when they encounter a
suspected drug user, a member of a drug recognition team typically
finalizes their suspicions, based on appearance and behavior. If
necessary, they'll send the suspect to a hospital for a blood test
to determine what drug their suspect is using.

Hart said even though police use a Breathalyzer to give automatic
results on alcohol consumption, over-the-counter drug tests should
only be used in homes - and not police departments or schools - for now.

"We have to think is it a great enough problem to infringe on a
child's experience with this kind of a test in school," he asked.
"I'm not sure that this is a necessary thing to have right now."

Delahanty agreed and said he didn't even know the products were sold
at pharmacies until this week.

"I don't see this as being as simple as an over-the counter test,"
he said. "There are so many substances that a student can take and,
personally, if a parent wants to refute the suspicion, I wouldn't
want to do it with an over-the counter test."