With the ever increasing usage of illegal drugs with children many parents are contemplating the use of a home drug test. However parents should be made aware that a home drug test might not be the most reliable way to ease their mind. While home drug tests are an easy and usually fairly inexpensive way to determine if their children might be using drugs there are many variables that can make them rather inaccurate.
There is an assortment of home drug tests out there for parents to use, some need to be sent to a lab for testing while some offer instant results. Since testing for drugs can be difficult for a trained professional there is a high chance that a parent could be making a mistake while doing the test. Because of the possibility of parental mistakes and other variables, false positives are quite common with home drug tests. Children can also test positive for amphetamines because of high does of caffeine or from the use of cold medications.
False negatives can also occur during a home drug test. Collecting a usable hair or urine sample can be difficult for parents and there are several ways children can get a “clean” sample that would produce a false negative result.
There are also issues with home drug tests concerning a child’s right to privacy. There is quite a bit of conflicting information on whether or not it is proper for a parent to collect a sample for drug testing without their child’s consent.
If the concern of your child’s possible drug use is overwhelming it is highly recommended you seek the guidance of a medical professional. If it is found that testing is needed a health care facility would be better equipped to produce a much more accurate result then a home drug test would be able to show.