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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Parents offered kits to give children secret drug tests
Lewis Smith The Times
Wednesday 19 May 2004 HOME-TESTING kits that will allow parents to check if their children are taking drugs are to go on sale in chemists at the end of this month. However, a parents' group gave a warning that they could destroy trust within families and the Home Office advised parents to think twice before using them. The kits, which will sell for UKP12 each over the counter, can give a positive or negative result from a urine sample within seconds. They test for cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, Ecstasy, heroin and Diazepam and the makers claim that they are 99.98 per cent accurate. "Every responsible parent has a niggle about drugs," said John Mullee of Hunter Diagnostics, which makes the kits. "Nobody knows for sure what their kids are doing." The kits are already on sale in Ireland. However, Margaret Morrissey, of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, said the kits could destroy trust within the family. "Parents will want to do it for all the right reasons but youngsters will see it as a big threat," she said. "The majority of parents would find it very difficult to say, 'I don't trust you, take this test'. It could cause a breakdown in family relationships." The Home Office gave a warning that parents needed to "consider very carefully" the effect a test would have on their relationship with a child. Ms Morrissey said that parents who felt the need to test their children would have gone beyond the point where they could deal with the problem without expert help. Mr Mullee said that having a kit in the house, without using it, could act as a deterrent. He said that its presence could help children to circumvent peer pressure to use drugs by claiming their parents tested them at home. He dismissed suggestions that testing with the kits could push young people into using heroin, cocaine or amphetamines, which only remain in the body for up to six days, in place of cannabis, which can be detected for up to three weeks after use. The kits have been available in Ireland for a year, with 11,500 sold. Parents were the main buyers, although children anxious to prove that they were free of drugs also bought them. Irish police are considering dropping drugs charges against young people who test negative for six months using the kits. Peter Stoker, of the National Drugs Prevention Alliance, welcomed the DIY kits: "Parents shouldn't be frightened of using it as an available tool." Damien Young, of Hunter Diagnostics, was anxious to reassure parents: "A positive test doesn't mean you have a raving drug addict on your hands. Don't panic. This is an early warning radar." Tony Blair called recently for random drugs tests in schools.
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