DA OFFERING FREE KITS TO TEST FOR DRUG USE

Reno County's battle against drug abuse will expand from the courtroom to
the living room under a new program started Monday by District Attorney
Keith Schroeder.

Parents who suspect their children are using drugs can pick up a free
urinalysis kit from the DA's office that tests for five illegal substances.

It's Schroeder's latest salvo in a war on drugs that he admits is struggling.

"The crime rate in the county mirrors the increase in drug cases," he said.
"We now have evidence that the drug problem relates directly to other cases."

The clear plastic vials come with a white plastic insert that measures the
level of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, PCP and morphine.

Results are available within minutes, Schroeder said, similar to a
pregnancy test.

The program grew out of Schroeder's desire to attack the demand side of the
Reno County drug trade.

"Obviously, we're fighting the problem on the supply side by hitting drug
dealers as hard as we can," he said. "And on the demand side, we have some
progress through care and treatment cases, forced treatment through
convictions and DARE to reach our kids."

But Schroeder called DARE - Drug Abuse Resistance Education - a "laid-back
kind of program." The free UA kits are more of a frontal assault on child
drug use, he said.

"I consider this more of a heavy-handed approach, directed more toward the
parents," he said. "It's a case of 'Do you want to know?' and 'Do you care?' "

The initial 50 UA kits were donated to the DA's office by Pipeline Testing
Consortium, a Hutchinson-based drug-testing firm.

Further support, Schroeder said, will come from an as-yet unidentified
group of "concerned citizens" who will provide financial backing.

Adult drug cases hit an all-time high of 337 in 2001, about a fourth of a
record 1,378 criminal cases filed by Schroeder's office.

While cocaine cases are steady, marijuana cases began a steady increase in
1996 at 112, peaking at 197 in 1999.

"Clearly, those who don't think we have a marijuana problem aren't aware of
the realities," Schroeder said.

Methamphetamine possession and manufacture cases both hit all-time highs in
2001, with 47 possession and 35 manufacture cases.

Reno County filed its first two methamphetamine manufacture cases in 1998.
That number rose to 18 in 1999 and 34 in 2000.