PARENTS CAN TEST KIDS WITH DRUG TEST KITS

MCAS may not be the only test that some Cape adolescents will need to be
concerned about passing. New England Drug Test Consulting, an Eastham-based
business, is marketing a home drug-testing kit for concerned parents. "I
thought I could do well by doing good," says owner Nancy Zarchan, an
accountant, who purchased the franchise from The Drug Test Consultant
Inc., a nationwide company based in Los Angeles.

The company provides kits that test for marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy,
methamphetamine and opiates. The package, which can be purchased on-line
for $52.95, includes one saliva test kit and one urine test kit. The tests
do not have to be sent out for analysis and the results are available
within two to five minutes, depending on the type of test.

Ray Tamasi, president of Gosnold on Cape Cod, a Cape Cod addiction
treatment center, says that while he understands why parents would want to
know for certain if their child was using drugs, "I'm not sure what
springing drug tests on your kids does to establish an open relationship."
Tamasi cautions parents that testing alone is not the solution. "We
use drug testing in our programs, but not very much. We use it randomly,
but it's always in concert with more substantial treatment," he says "No
single thing by itself is a magic bullet to resolve all the problems or to
resolving the stress that families may have."

Zarchan says her company provides more than a means of testing. "What
we offer is a 60-page detailed program manual on how to deal with this
problem, how to talk to your kids." A list of local agencies,
rehabilitation centers and other professionals is also provided along with
program counseling service.

"We give them two free counseling sessions via e-mail through the home
office," Zarchan adds.

While Zarchan and others are providing parents with the means to test
their children, other companies are marketing products on-line that will
make drug use undetectable in these type of tests. These blockers are
advertised as being effective for up to four hours.

"That's why random drug testing is an antidote," Zarchan says. "He or she
doesn't have time to mask."

Tamasi warns that drug tests can also result in a false positive and that
it sometimes takes more than the testing done at home or at a lab to be
certain. "If a test comes back positive, we usually then send it out to a
professional lab to substantiate it," Tamasi says.

Negative tests are also sent to a lab for more sophisticated testing if
it's suspected that the result was due to the use of a blocker. "They
can pick those up," Tamasi says. "They can tell what kind of adulterant
they used."

While drug testing may be effective when combined with a comprehensive
treatment program, Tamasi advises that the best drug plan is the one
that's in place before the problem begins.

"The issue is probably best addressed by connecting and communicating with
kids at a very early age and having open discussions about it," Tamasi says.