Protect You Children From Club Drugs With a Home Drug Test
Article by Brian Reed
Club drugs aren't isolated to clubs anymore. Drugs such as cocaine and Ecstasy are moving out of the clubs and into mainstream American schools where they are increasingly becoming drugs experimented with by middle and high school students. According to the 2008 Monitoring the Future study, approximately 62.7 percent of eighth graders, 71.1 percent of tenth graders, and 61.6 percent of twelfth graders surveyed reported that taking powder cocaine occasionally was a "great risk". Additionally, approximately 82.5 percent of twelfth graders reported that taking powder cocaine regularly was a great risk. The risks were equally strong for other club drugs such as Ecstasy. In that same study, 66.4 percent of tenth graders reported that they were at great risk to use Ecstasy occasionally and 57 percent of twelfth graders said they were at great risk to try Ecstasy once or twice. The fact is, perhaps more than ever before, children have immense pressure on them to try club drugs.
With the immense pressure to use these drugs and the surprisingly large numbers of teenagers who are using these illegal drugs, even good teenagers can loose sight of the danger of these drugs. In 2006, Cocaine sent almost 550,000 people and Ecstasy sent more than 16,000 people to the emergency room.
So, how can you protect your teenager from the pressure? One way that many parents have found to help their children make the decision to say "no" to drugs like Ecstasy and cocaine is by administering an at home drug test. While this might seem like a strange correlation, it actually is a compelling reason for children to say no. Your child might feel that simply saying no isn't a very compelling reason to their friend who is eager to share drugs with them. Yet, when offered the opportunity to tell friends that they cannot use drugs because their parents regularly drug test them, the decision is much easier. Your authority becomes much more tangible and far-reaching when your kids are able to tell their friends they will be tested. You can rest easy knowing that you are helping them to avoid one more temptation. Plus, you can have the peace of mind that your child is not using drugs.
Teens understand a program is about prevention, more than anything, and lets them know they are not the only kid being drug tested.