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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Home drug test kits called threats to relationships
Sarah Glen The Whitehorse Star (http://www.whitehorsestar.com/)
Saturday 12 May 2001 An over-the-counter, home-based drug test marketed to parents who want to find out if their offspring are using street drugs is sounding alarm bells among those who work to combat substance abuse here and nationally. 'This is an incredibly offensive and extreme measure that I personally find very disturbing,' said Richard Garlick, spokesperson for the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse (CCSA) in Ottawa. The national non-profit organization offers education, information and support for community-based drug treatment organizations. Garlick, who hadn't heard of the test before the Star contacted him, is concerned that it will destroy the already-shaky foundation between most parents and teenagers. The KnowNow Multiple Drug Detection test works on a similar premise as a home-based pregnancy test. Six test strips, one for each drug class tested, are dipped into collected urine and after five minutes, a pink band may or may not appear on the end of the test's strips. If a band does appear, it means no drug has been found. Up to six drug classes that include the illicit drugs marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, amphetamine and PCP are tested. Mark Kelly, a Whitehorse street youth outreach worker, agrees with Garlick's concerns about the damaging effects the tests will have on the relationship between parents and their teenagers. He's also quick to highlight the glaring 'misinformation' in the test's pamphlet, which accompanies the kit. 'They are just wrong,' Kelly said of Novopharm, the company that designed and sells the test and pamphlet. He points out that the test's pamphlet lists heroin as 'the most dangerous and addictive of the narcotic drugs' something he calls 'incorrect'. There is no conclusive evidence that points to just one narcotic drug as being the most addictive, said Kelly. He also raises issue with the pamphlet's grouping of marijuana and hashish with LSD and PCP. 'To the best of my knowledge, no one I've ever known has hallucinated after smoking pot,' he said. 'Those are completely different drugs, and they shouldn't be classed together.' He notes that the RCMP's Drug Awareness Service groups marijuana and hashish in its own illicit drug category - cannabis. Even with the 'inaccuracies' included in the pamphlet, it's the adverse effects the test will cause parents and teenagers that concern Kelly the most. 'This will alienate kids from parents; it's that simple,' he said. He explains that both a 'clean' or non-drug using teenager and a drug-using teenager would feel alienated if they're asked to take the test by their parent. This feeling often leads to a breakdown in trust between the parent and teenager, said Kelly. It's a concern echoed by Garlick as well. 'Healthy parent and teenager relationships are built on open, trusting dialogues. A test like this doesn't do anything to build that type of positive relationship,' said Garlick. The test is only available in Whitehorse from the Real Canadian Superstore pharmacy, and costs about $20. That store refused comment about its marketing of the test. Peter Greenlaw, a local RCMP officer who works in the Drug Awareness division, is joining the chorus of concern raised over the test. 'As a parent and as an RCMP officer, this is not something that I support,' he said. The father of two notes that any parent who asks a child to take the test would essentially be accusing him or her of experimenting with drugs. 'If you accuse anyone, you immediately put them on the defensive, and nothing healthy can come of that.' As an RCMP officer, Greenlaw notes that most home-based tests aren't that reliable. That could may lead to a breakdown in communication between parents and teens if the test reads a positive result, when in fact the young person is drug-free. Instead of the test, Greenlaw, Kelly and Garlick all encourage parents to spend time talking to their children about illicit drugs. 'A positive relationship (between parents and children) is developed from day one, but it's never too late to start,' said Kelly. Novopharm manufactures many over-the-counter drug tests, ranging from a pregnancy test to a colon health screening test. Despite the concerns raised over the product, Dominic Romagnuolo, director of marketing with Novopharm, stresses that the entire KnowNow line of home-based tests and specifically the drug test offer consumers a 'discreet and confidential' avenue to learn more about their health. He notes, however, that the drug test is controversial because it focuses on a larger social issue, compared to a singular health problem. 'When you are dealing with drugs, you are dealing with a fundamental social issue and that in itself is contentious,' he said. 'But what we are offering here (through our tests) is self-empowerment and personal rehabilitation.' Novopharm plans to launch a home-based alcohol screening test in the fall and plans to continue focusing this line of testing on broader social issues instead of traditional health problems, he said. The pharmaceutical company is the first in North America to offer an over-the-counter drug test. Currently, the test is only available in Canada.
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