TRUST KEY TO FIGHTING SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Expensive Testing Will Not Uncover the Reasons For Drug Use

A recent report in The Wall Street Journal indicates that more and more
parents are purchasing home-testing drug kits to learn whether their kids
are using drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and opiates. The maker of one
brand, At Home, reports sales 60 percent higher than last year.

Arizona's Department of Public Safety currently is distributing 30,000
alcohol drug-test strips to high school students. The message attached to
these strips is direct: "Don't let your friend be dead wrong. Test your
friend before it's too late."

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer recently told a group of students that
school drug testing is an effective means of preventing young children from
trying drugs. He was explaining last year's Supreme Court decision that
allows schools to conduct random drug tests on students who take part in
extracurricular sports activities.

But testing may not be a cost efficient or effective approach to preventing
alcohol and other drug use by our nation's youth.

The True Cost

Testing for the presence of drugs is not cheap. According to industry
estimates, revenue from home-testing drug kits alone is $10 million to $12
million a year. The collective cost to school districts across the nation
for drug-screening must be enormous.

But regardless of the cost, test findings may not be accurate. A range of
error exists in all testing; false positives and false negatives both can
occur. That means youth who use drugs may not be detected and those not
under the influence may be incorrectly identified.

Just as important, the very act of testing may undermine the trust between
parent and child, or teacher/coach and student. Finally, there is little
proof that drug testing is an effective prevention tool.

Identifying Individual Causes

A recent national study of 76,000 students reported that school
drug-testing does not discourage students from using drugs. The article,
published in the April issue of the "Journal of School Health," concluded
that drug use was just as prevalent in schools with drug-screening programs
as those without testing procedures.

According to the study, 37 percent of 12th-graders in schools that tested
for drugs said they had smoked marijuana in the past year, compared with 35
percent in schools with no screening. Similar results were found for
cocaine, heroin, and other illegal drugs on all grade levels.

Perhaps the reason that drug testing is so ineffective is because, even
when accurate, it simply confirms the symptom but doesn't identify the
individual causes of underage alcohol and drug use. And without an
identified cause, there can be no effective treatment.

Everyone Isn't the Same

Adolescents use alcohol and other drugs for various reasons.

Some use these substances only in a social context, as part of peer-group
acceptance and as a rite of passage toward adulthood. They responsibly
designate sober drivers, stay out of risky sexual situations and don't
commit criminal acts while under the influence.

The lure of experimenting with illegal substances generally subsides once
they reach their early 20s.

Other adolescents use alcohol and other drugs to medicate deep emotional
pain. They consume to excess, both socially and alone, engage in risky
sexual acts, drive while under the influence, and may deal drugs or engage
in other criminal acts.

Without appropriate psychological help they may not "mature out" of their
problematic relationship with illegal substances; they may become
alcoholics or drug addicts.

Unfortunately, we, as adults, may not be able to tell the difference
between social alcohol and drug users, and self-medicating abusers. And
drug testing does not help us make this important distinction.

Trust is the Test

It is only by learning skills of actively listening that an adult can begin
to understand what function alcohol and drug use serves for an individual
teen. Conversations with teens must involve mutual trust and a
nonjudgmental atmosphere.

For parents, the groundwork begins long before a child takes his or her
first drink or drug. It starts with designating a regular and quiet time
for talking and sharing feelings, one in which the TV, phone and computer
are turned off, and in which all family members participate. No questions
are off-limits and promises made by adult or child are held accountable.

It continues by setting boundaries and limits for pre-adolescents and
carrying through with announced consequences when rules are broken. It
means talking about being mad, sad, glad and other basic feelings, even
when the parent-child relationship is sorely strained.

And it means that these conversations and special family times continue to
and through the turbulent teen years.

Finally, it means a parent must have the humility to seek professional help
- -- for self, child or the entire family -- when emotional problems do not
resolve easily; when depression lingers or manic behavior dominates; when
the family goes through times of extreme stress, such as unemployment,
divorce or death.

Developing New Strategies

My suggestion is that we take the billions of dollars spent on drug testing
and invest in teaching families the basics of communication during the
preschool years, with remedial workshops during elementary and secondary
school.

Parents, educators and other community members would sit down and develop
strategies for their local community, and then pursue grant funding to make
such models a reality.

It is not an easy process, but it is the true test of how much we care
about our kids.