DRUG TEST KITS: SHOULD PARENTS USE THEM?

Some Say They Don't Always Work And That Talking To Children About Abuse Is
The Most Effective Way To Prevent Abuse. (first And Third Editions)

Drug Test Kits: Should Parents Use Them?

Some Say They Don't Always Work And That Talking To Children About Drug
Abuse Is The Most Effective Way To Prevent It. (second Edition)

Is keeping your children off drugs as simple as an at-home test kit? A
national drugstore chain is promoting just that.

But a Dane County doctor and others are cautioning parents that the
tests don't always work and that talking to children about drugs is
still the most effective way to prevent abuse.

"My nightmare is a parent getting one of these false positives and
doing something abusive to a child," said Dr. Teresa Darcy, medical
director of clinical labs at UW Hospital. Darcy said drug test results
are often tricky to decipher.

Walgreen Drug Stores is promoting the At Home Drug Test kit as a
deterrent parents can use to keep their children drug free.

Local Walgreens pharmacists referred questions to the company's
Deerfield, Ill., office. A spokesperson there did not return phone or
e-mail requests for comment made since Wednesday.

The ad, which ran in the Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times
on Wednesday, argues that the test could keep children drug free
without parents even opening the kit. "And, simply knowing you have it
gives your kids a powerful weapon to fight peer pressure and avoid
substance abuse," the ad reads.

Teens here were quick to disagree.

"If somebody wants to do drugs, nobody can stop them," said Adam
Albright, 16, a sophomore at Madison's Memorial High School.

San Diego-based Phamatech, which makes the tests advertised by
Walgreens, markets them as a way to stop drug experimentation.

"We feel the At Home Drug Test gives parents a convenient and
inexpensive method to open communications and, if necessary, use the
product as a tool to confirm suspected drug use in their children,"
Phamatech Vice President Carl Mongiovi said in a statement announcing
the kits in 1999. "Hopefully it can deter kids from experimenting with
drugs at all."

Though the tests still aren't big sellers here, Madison pharmacist
Peter Kiesch said more people are becoming interested in the tests
because their costs are coming down and many can now offer nearly
instant results instead of waiting for mail-in lab results. The
Walgreens products to test for cocaine, marijuana and other drugs cost
between $15 and $30.

"I think rather than resorting to (testing) it's more important to
work on communication and the root of the problem," said Mary
Whitcomb, whose three teens attend Memorial High School. "I think it's
pretty sad for a kid to feel like their parent doesn't trust them."

It has nothing to do with trust, said Kathy Sorenson, program director
of the non-profit Project Hugs, a group that advocates for parents of
children with drug and alcohol problems.

"Some of these ads almost make you feel like you're a bad parent if
you don't (test)," Sorenson said. "I just say save your money."

That's because, Sorenson said, even a positive drug test won't tell
parents what's wrong with their child because it doesn't answer why
the child is using. And she doubted that troubled teens would comply
with the test anyway.

Sorenson and Darcy both encourage parents to seek professional help by
calling their child's school or family doctor.

The Phamatech tests advertised by Walgreens were among the first
at-home drug tests approved by the federal Food and Drug
Administration in 1998.

"FDA approval doesn't mean they have to work, it just means whatever
the manufacturer claims (in terms of accuracy), the government can
reproduce," Darcy said.

For FDA approval, manufacturers list a percentage of the time the test
can determine if the particular drug is present. But certain foods and
other drugs can easily throw that off, Darcy said.

In a lab, doctors and others are trained to look for that and can
often determine if the result is false, Darcy said. To prevent these
false positives, some of these drug tests can also miss smaller
amounts of the drug.

"What we see is a huge number of tests being marketed over the
Internet that are not being approved," Darcy said.

Phamatech makes tests for marijuana, cocaine and multiple drugs. Their
tests, which Walgreens keeps near the diabetic testing supplies, use a
test strip that changes color in urine to indicate the presence or
absence of drugs.

Tests can be mailed in for laboratory confirmation, and parents can
call a toll-free phone number for referrals to drug treatment
professionals.

Phamatech company officials could not be reached for
comment.

Their tests are not the only versions available.

Larger pharmacies often carry the tests and smaller independent
pharmacies can often order them, said pharmacist Tony Peterangelo of
McFarland Pharmacy. Peterangelo, who has worked at 10 Dane County
pharmacies, said he can recall being asked once a couple of years ago
about the tests.

The various tests can use test strips that change color in urine,
mouth swabs or even hair samples sent in for laboratory analysis. At
Community Pharmacy, 341 State St., the do-it-yourself drug tests cost
anywhere from $21 to about $57.

"We don't sell many of these," pharmacist Peter Kiesch said. "Mostly
these are used by people who want to make sure they're clean for a
job."

Lt. Brian Ackeret of the Dane County Narcotics and Gang Task Force
said law enforcement hasn't had much of a problem with people trying
to use these products to defeat police tests.

But Ackeret offered this advice to parents trying to steer their
children away from illegal drugs.

"The one thing that seems to be the biggest success in terms of teens
or pre-teens and drug use is parents communicating with their
children," Ackeret said. "Keep your eyes open and lines of
communication with your children."