DO THE RIGHT THING: Drug treatment specialists are warning parents against using DIY drug- testing kits, even if they suspect their children are using drugs. "It's very dangerous and can break down trust within the family," says Veronica Mangan, of the Aislinn Adolescent Treatment Centre, Co Kilkenny, winner of the AIB's Better Ireland Awards.
"If a child does run into trouble with drug abuse, the family is the only place they have to return to after they've recovered," she says.
Steve Rowan, of the Rutland Centre, Dublin, also believes that home-testing kits are a "mistake". "The relationship between parents and teenagers has to be handled with great care. When you introduce drug testing, you are giving your children the message that you believe they are not going to tell the truth and that the relationship between parent and child is not sound or safe," he says.
John Mullee, father of two teenage boys from Naas, Co Kildare, has introduced home drug-testing kits here through a website, www.huntersurescreen.ie The drug strips test for six different drugs, including cocaine, when dipped in urine. Mullen became concerned when he learned that teenage boys in his area were smoking cannabis. Since launching his product, he says he has been overwhelmed by enquiries.
He doesn't buy the argument that parents who test their children for drugs are damaging the relationship through mistrust. He believes that "a relationship between parent and child can always be repaired", but that if a child is using drugs and consequently underperforms in the Junior or Leaving Cert, that is "un-repairable".
He suggests that parents who test for drugs give their children an easy way out of peer pressure, as in "I can't use drugs because my Da is testing me tomorrow".
Personally, I would rather hear my child say, "I don't want to use drugs because I care about health." The panic about drugs is out of proportion to the danger, Rowan says.
Alcohol is the most damaging drug for adolescents. One in 10 who drink will become addicted. One in 100 who smoke cannabis will become addicted. The home test kits do not test for alcohol.
