Home drug tests are an unfortunate reality for teens

It would be nice if schools didn't have to have programs like the one going on Thursday at McCook Junior High.

Parents and children should be able to communicate and trust each other. The worst substance abuse teachers would have to worry about would be about kids drinking too much soda. Junior High would be a great time of learning and growing.

But it isn't a perfect world, and there are more dangerous drugs available than parents and grandparents would ever dream of.

In a cooperative effort between the McCook Public Schools and McCook Police Department, Project 7th Grade will be presented in the junior high cafeteria during parent-teacher conferences, at 6 and 8 p.m.

The voluntary program for parents includes a presentation informing them about current substance abuse trends.

The rub is, the program is sponsored in part by a home drug test company and parents will be given a free test kit and shown how to use it at home.

Principal Dennis Berry and Police Chief Ike Brown say the program encourages "proactive parental involvement" and offers kids a socially acceptable reason to say "no" to drugs -- they might have to face a drug test after the party.

None of us like "big brother" chemical tests, and using them raises red flags for those of us who are concerned about civil liberties. Unfortunately, freedom suffers for all of us when some choose to abuse it.

Drugs are an overriding issue, especially when it comes to junior high-age children, whose brains are still forming and can suffer irreparable harm from substance abuse, whether drugs, alcohol or tobacco.

According to a 2004 study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, 37 percent of teens have tried marijuana, and 19 percent in grades 7 and 8 report using it in the past year.

Ten percent have tried cocaine and nearly a third have close friends who have tried it.

Four percent of teens have tried heroin, and 16 percent report having close friends who have done so.

Of special interest in the Midwest, 8 percent of teens have tried methamphetamine, 6 percent in the past year and 4 percent in the past month.

It's sad and frightening that any parent would have to resort to drug testing of their child.

In light of today's realities, however, private home drug testing can be another weapon in a responsible parent's arsenal.