IS JOHNNY OR SUSIE USING DRUGS?

New Tests Allow Local Parents to Administer Tests at Home

ESCANABA - Thanks to local law enforcement and participating schools,
drug testing is now available in a new setting - residents' homes.

The Delta County Sheriff's Department has teamed up with Big Bay de
Noc, Mid Peninsula, and Rapid River school districts in LEAD - Law
Enforcement/Local Educators Against Drugs. As part of the program,
school liaison officer Deputy Don Brockway has distributed several
drug testing kits to the schools. Parents can receive the kits free
from school staff. A limited number of kits are also available at the
sheriff's department in Escanaba.

There are currently two kits provided to residents, both of which may
be performed confidentially in the home. Parents can test their
children via a saliva or urine sample for either alcohol or marijuana use.

Parents may be unaware of what different drug substances look like or
what symptoms point to drug use, said Julie Peterson, K-12 principal
at Big Bay de Noc School. They may overlook unusual behavior if they
believe children are just going through a phase.

"It's an opportunity for parents to have more knowledge and insight
into what their children are doing," said Peterson. "It really
empowers the parents."

Brockway agreed. The kits allow parents to test their children for
drug use in the privacy of their own home, without involvement of the
police; he said.

"I'm trying to prevent it from the point where it does become a law
issue," said Brockway.

The option for suspicious parents to use drug testing kits encourages
families to talk about the issue, said Kris tie Stenlund, school
nurse at Rapid River School. "So many times it's just suspicion, but
it gets the parent and the child to communicate." she said.

Parents are concerned about peer pressure affecting their children,
said Peterson. They worry children will be coerced into trying
harmful substances by other students or friends. The kits, however,
provide children with an excuse for abstaining from drugs.

"When kids have an out, it really works quite well for them," said Peterson.

Mid Peninsula School Principal Michael Loy believes the kits will
also be useful for teachers and administration. The kits can be an
important tool for staff to make sure students aren't attending
school-related functions under the influence of drugs, he said.
Throughout his career, for example, Lo has been weary of letting some
students into school dances because they appeared intoxicated with
alcohol. The use of the kits would "take the guesswork out," he said.

Although the sheriff's department supplied Big Bay de Noc, Mid
Peninsula and Rapid River schools with drug testing kits, there
remains only a limited amount at the department. The department
purchased the kits with funds donated by the community. To buy more
would require additional funding.

School districts can order drug testing kits directly from the
company that makes them.

Brockway is working on a grant to provide funding for more kits to
local schools.

Otherwise school districts and local parents can expect to be charged
anywhere from $4 to $12 for them, depending on the particular drug
being tested for.