Is Drug Testing Teenagers a Bad Idea?

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement yesterday saying that drug testing teenagers at home or at school is generally a bad idea.

I agree.

However, if you look the AAP’s concerns closely, it wasn't so much the idea of drug testing teens that was the problem. It's the urine tests schools and parents use to conduct the testing that's the problem. The AAP pointed to problems with false positives and false negatives, teens using the web to get information on how to beat the urine tests, and a short window of detection (most drugs only stay in the system for just a few days after use).

I first read the report when a friend of mine e-mailed me a link to a story about it saying "this probably isn't good for your business." Actually, I think it's GREAT for our business.

That’s because most of the concerns the AAP raises about drug testing teenagers are eliminated by using DrugWipe.

False positives and false negatives? Not an issue a DrugWipe.

Teenagers beating the drug tests? Not with DrugWipe. Parents use DrugWipe to swipe down surfaces their kids have touched when the kids aren't even around. There’s no room for any adulteration or substitution.

Short detection window? DrugWipe can detect drug residue on surfaces up to three months after use.

Another main issue that the AAP brings up is that drug testing can create a climate of “resentment, distrust, and suspicion” between a parent (or school) and a teenager.

There may be some truth to that, but isn’t that about par for the course when it comes to teenagers? Eventually, they’ll get over it.

That type of argument reminds me of something I’ve heard from a number of drug treatment specialists. They say “if you ask parents whose teenagers have battled drug addictions, they all wished they had intervened sooner, rather than later or not at all.” When it comes to drug use, there's simply too much at stake to worry about offending your teen.

Leaky Drug Testing

Here's an investigative report about the problems of urine testing from a Minnesota TV station. The video can be viewed here. The story can be read here.

The technology that certified labs use to conduct urine tests good, accurate technology. But if lab personnel aren't following the proper guidelines to insure urine samples are not being adulterated, or substituted with clean urine, what good are these tests doing??? Garbage in, garbage out.

Many companies who do extensive urine testing of their employees are often shocked when a facility-wide audit with DrugWipe indicates widespread drug use. After seeing a story like this one about the "leaks" in the system, they shouldn't be.

Beating a drug test with an Elmer's Glue bottle

Yes, our video is really based on a true story. Here it is . . .

The story came to us from someone who works at an oil refinery. There was a worker there, a frequent drug user, who had an interesting morning ritual. Every morning, when he got dressed he would strap an Elmer's Glue bottle to the inside of his thigh with an ace bandage. The Elmer's Glue bottle was filled with clean urine (usually drug users either buy clean urine over the internet or get it from a friend or family member). Whenever he got pulled for a drug test, he provided a sample that looked and sounded like an actual urine stream and was the appropriate temperature for fresh urine (labs will often test the temperature of urine samples to try to catch those providing fake samples).

This guy got away with it for a couple of years. The only reason he eventually got caught was that his wife got fed up with his drug addiction and called to tell her husband's supervisor what was going on. If she hadn't done that, he'd probably still be getting away with it today. That is providing he didn't kill himself and/or someone else in the interim.

"A Drug Test With a Twist"

Check out the new IDS video, "A Drug Test With a Twist" (click the video screen above to view it). We didn't have $7.8 million to run it during the Super Bowl, so we decided to post it on the internet (for considerably less money) instead!

You can also view our video at any of the following sites by clicking on a link below:

YouTube
Google
Yahoo!

24 Things Drug Users Take To Beat a Drug Test

Drug use is a way of life. So is drug testing. Where the two meet, there's a never-ending Cat and Mouse game between the users and the testers. It's enlightening reading through message boards where drug users share information about how to beat these tests. Here's a list of 24 things I came across in just a few minutes of skimming the message board thread I posted about recently:

1. water
2. fishoil
3. niacin
4. Tums
5. salt
6. Cranberry pills
7. Green tea pills
8. multi-vitamin pills
9. aspirin pills
10. creatine pills
11. exercise
12. Mountain Dew
13. Gatorade
14. Powerade
15. beer
16. coffee
17. Qcarbo juice drink
18. McDonald's cheeseburgers
19. Philly cheesesteaks
20. lysine
21. Vitamin B
22. Vitamin C
23. Vitamin E
24. apple cider vinegar

There were seemingly infinite combinations of which items listed above were used and how much of each item was used. These people have this down to a science. And I didn't even get into the things users do to smuggle "clean" urine in for a drug test. That's another post in itself.

Wouldn't you think it would just be easier not to use drugs in the first place?

How To Pass a Drug Test

Think you're getting accurate results with that urine test you're using on your teen or employee?

The technology you're using is pretty sound, especially when a certified lab is administering the test. However, drug users are pretty savvy. Substitution and adulteration are the most common tricks they use to "beat" traditional drug tests. And the frequent users, the ones who generally pose the greatest risk to themselves, and others, are the ones that have these tricks down to a science.

Don't take my word for it, though. Take theirs. Keep in mind this is just one thread, from message board topic, from one website.