Teenage drug abuse is at an all-time high. No pun intended. Youth between the ages of 12-17 are being reported using illegal drugs If you are a parent, you know that teenage drug abuse is not an imaginary problem in our society, but instead is a very real, dangerous and quite far spread activity amongst teens. Unfortunately, to their child's detriment, parents sometimes like to delude themselves with the fantasies that a good private school, active participation in the church or synagogue's youth group program, strict curfews, and parental generosity will somehow deter their growing child from the dangers that lurk amongst peer groups, pushers, and the darkness of the dance clubs. Teenage drug abuse is a commonplace occurrence, and parents as well as caregivers need to be alert to the signs thereof, even in the most innocent of settings.

Frequently, you can hear teens making statements to their parents, "it's not like I am smoking crack" or "it's just a little pot, it can't hurt me". If you're suspicious about your teen's drug abuse or illegal drug usage, the best way to find out is by administering a teenage drug test from home.

If you're hesitant to attempt testing your child and suspect that your teen is abusing marijuana (aka pot, maryjane, chron, weed, herb, bud, dope, grass) there are simple THC (Tetra Hydro Cannabinol) detection wipes that you can purchase. These wipes can be used on any surface which your teen son or daughter may be smoking near, such as the walls of their room. If the test comes up THC positive, the next step would be to administer a drug test either through saliva, hair, or urine. If you're not sure what drug your teenager is abusing, there are Drug Detectors & Drug Identification Kits for Drug Testing available.

Not only can you test for THC found in marijuana, you can also test for other common drugs such as; cocaine (aka coke, snow, crack), ecstasy (aka XTC, X, Adam), opiates (aka heroin, codeine, opium, brown sugar), amphetamines (aka speed, whizz, amph, billy, phets, sulph), methamphetamine (aka speed, meth, chalk or in its smoked form, it is often referred to as ice, crystal, crank, or glass), barbiturates (aka barbs, downers, barbies, barbita, seconal, red devils, blue devils and yellows), benzodiazepines (aka tranks, downers, benzos), oxycodone (aka oxy, hillbilly) and phencyclidine (aka PCP, angel dust, supergrass, killer weed, KJ, embalming fluid, rocket fuel and sherms). Other drugs that teens may be addicted to and can be tested for are propoxyphene (PPX), tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) methadone (MET), morphine (MOP) and the popular LSD also known as acid.

Not only can teenagers abuse illegal drugs but they can also abuse and become addicted to prescription drugs found in your medicine cabinet. Commonly misused prescription drugs are Vicodin, Xanax, Valium, Adderall, Ativan and Fioricet.

The more that teenage drug abuse will continue to claim many victims, the more teenage drug testing kits will become popular. The most important step in helping a teen to avoid becoming another statistic is simply by not allowing rationalization of drug abuse to take root in the mindset of your growing child. Instead, children should be taught from the earliest years to take responsibility for their own actions, and thus many of the drug myths so prevalent in today's teenage society will not find any more believers. This approach will not eradicate teenage drug abuse but it will close off one more avenue by which teens and their pushers have been able to delude themselves into using substances.

There are many pros and cons in the school drug testing debate that is a hot topic of discussion in schools and amongst parents, teachers and students these days.

Some say that the main purpose of random school drug testing is not to catch kids using drugs, but to prevent them from ever using drugs, illegal or not. Once teenagers are using drugs it is much harder for them to break their addiction. Maybe it's the issue of peer pressure, which is the greatest cause of kids trying drugs. If by testing the athletes or other school leaders, we can get them to say no to drugs, it will be easier for other kids to say no.

On the other hand, one of the fundamental features of our legal system is that we are presumed innocent of any wrongdoing unless and until the government proves otherwise. Random school drug testing of student athletes turns this presumption on its head, telling students that we assume they are using drugs until they prove to the contrary with a urine sample.

"If school officials have reason to believe that a particular student is using drugs, they already have the power to require that student to submit to a drug test," said ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney David Rocah.

The constitutional prohibition against "unreasonable" searches also embodies the principle that merely belonging to a certain group is not a sufficient reason for a search, even if many members of that group are suspected of illegal activity. For example, even if it were true that most women with red sports cars were drug users, the police would not be free to stop all women who drive red sports cars and search them for illegal drugs.

Students who participate in athletics, music programs, and after-school activities could increasingly be subject to random drug testing under a program promoted by the Bush administration.

There are some parents, teachers and school officials who are calling it a heavy-handed, ineffective way to discourage drug use that undermine trust and invades students' privacy.

In many workplaces and in the military, there's been drug abuse testing going on, but courts have ruled that public schools cannot impose random tests on an entire student body.

However, the Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that schools could randomly test student athletes who are not suspected of drug use. In 2002 it was ruled that all students who participate in voluntary activities, like cheerleading, band, or debate, could be subjected to random tests as well. Since then, the Bush administration has spent $8 million to help schools pay for drug testing programs. The White House hopes to spend $15 million on drug-testing grants in the next fiscal year.

There are about 600 school districts in about 15,000 nationwide that use drug tests, according to officials from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. White House officials liken drug testing to programs that screen for tuberculosis or other diseases, and said students who test positive don't face criminal charges.

Others believe that if parents would just take the time to talk with their teenagers about drug abuse and if they suspect their teen is abusing drugs, the parents need to take actions beginning in the home. There are many teen drug testing home kits on the market these days. If parents upheld their roles as parents, then teachers, coaches and the government wouldn't need to step in and push the issue of school drug testing.

Employer drug testing has become an important safety issue in the workplace not only for employees, but for human resources and safety professionals as well. It is estimated that over 98% of all the Fortune 500 companies conduct drug testing. The purpose of employer drug testing is to lessen the impact from drug abuse in the workplace. This includes tardiness, absenteeism, turnover, attitude problems, theft, deceased productivity, crime and violence. The US Department of Labor has estimated that drug use in the workplace costs employers anywhere from $75 to $100 billion dollars annually in lost time, accidents, health care and workers compensation costs. Sixty-five percent of all accidents on the job are related to drug or alcohol abuse, and substance abusers utilize sixteen times as many health care benefits and are six times more likely to file workers compensation claims then non-drug abusers.

Drug experts are debating on whether drug abuse has fallen, or drug abusers simply avoid employers that test and instead apply at companies that do not test. Either way, most human resource and safety professionals have found drug testing to be a valuable and cost-effective risk management tool.

When implementing a drug-testing program, policies and procedures should be established. Pre-employment drug testing is the most common type of testing program. Courts have consistently upheld the legality of requiring a pre-employment drug testing as a condition of employment.

However, if a firm plans to conduct post-hiring drug testing for current employees, then the employer should include training and education for supervisors and employees, as well as guidelines for discipline in the event of a positive test.

Post-employment drug testing includes random testing for safety sensitive positions, individualized suspicion testing, post accident testing, and testing that is legally required in certain industries, such as Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements concerning truck drivers. Each of these types of testing is legally sensitive, and an employer should have a program in place before starting.

Most drug testing is done by sending an applicant to a collection site, where a urine sample is obtained and sent to a certified laboratory for analysis. Negative results are normally available within 24 hours. There are also instant drug testing kits and alcohol testing kits on the market that are available for employers to use. These are similar to home pregnancy tests and require the employer to collect a urine sample. These drug tests and alcohol tests are considered accurate for immediate screening at the convenience of the employer.

Most employers utilize a standard five-panel test of "street drugs," consisting of marijuana (THC), cocaine, PCP, opiates (such as codeine and morphine) and amphetamines (including methamphetamine). Some employers use a ten-panel test, which includes prescription drugs that are legal to possess and use. Employers can also test for blood alcohol levels through alcohol testing kits.

Although each drug and person is different, most drugs will stay in the system for 2-4 days. For chronic users of certain drugs, such a marijuana or PCP, results can be detected for up to 14 days, and sometimes much longer. Sedatives, such as Valium, may stay in the system for up to 30 days. When the more expensive hair testing method is used, drugs can be detected for a 90-day period. To avoid the complications from "second hand" marijuana smoke, most labs will set a higher threshold before reporting THC in the system.

Testing labs have extensive procedures to re-confirm a positive test before reporting it. Most drug testing programs also utilize the services of an independent physician called a Medical Review Officer (MRO) to review all test results. In the case of a positive result, the MRO will normally contact the subject to determine if there is a medical explanation for the positive results. For example, eating poppy seeds before a test can result in a false positive for opiates. However, an MRO also knows that poppy seeds cannot cause certain levels of opiates, and certain additional testing can eliminate that.

There can also be tests that are "negative' but show an abnormal result, such as a "low creatine level," which can indicate an applicant attempted to dilute the sample by the excessive drinking of water or some other form of alteration. That is also a result that a MRO would examine.

Employers who conduct employer drug testing will find that a drug testing program will eliminate people with a drug abuse problem. Drug tests generally cost in the $50-$70.00 range, including collection of the sample, laboratory analysis, services of a Medial Review Officer, and communications of the results in the manner most convenient to the employer. Compared to the cost of even one employee with a substance abuse problem, most firms find eliminating the problem in the first place is well worth the time and money involved in an employer drug testing program.