Who Uses At Home Drug Testing?

The “At Home Drug Test” was inevitable really. With around 84% of employers having some kind of drug testing program, it was only a matter of time before kits became available to worried parents. Schools and colleges were the first to follow in the footsteps of employers. Including it in their armory of tools to attempt to control and educate our youth. The needs of worried parents was soon filled by these at home drug tests in order for them to check on their children. It isn’t all about children though, as many at home drug tests are also used between partners.

Despite what many children think, the majority of at home drug testing kits are bought by parents who want to support and help their offspring. They want to provide active intervention by adding structure and support and at home drug tests are part of that structure. In most, if not all cases, having a child on drugs is a stressful time for all involved. Therefore, having all the information is essential in order for everyone to lay their cards on the table and deal with the situation. It is unfortunate that administering an at home drug test is so adversarial, but it’s a necessary part of the data gathering process needed to provide a structure for recovery.

As long as open communication is present between parent and child, at home testing can help to rebuild the trust that that is inevitably damaged by substance abuse. The same can be said for partners who find themselves in the same situation. There are hundreds of marriages that have been saved by the use of at home drug test kits to monitor partners, and many situations where having them in place deterred young people from trying illegal substances in the first place.

It’s a hard balance for anyone to strike between wanting to intervene in a problem and not wanting to destroy the relationship between them and the person on drugs. The primary thought is that drugs will destroy that relationship far more effectively than active intervention will. And, in the end, at least the user might be alive to not have a relationship with those who intervene.

Anyone who has been aware of current affairs over the past thirty years knows that drugs are prevalent in all walks of life. Some drugs have distinct social classes such as cocaine and crack, but drugs have no pride, or sense of self worth, so will happily work with anyone of any status. So the people that use at home drug tests can be from any social class, from any walk of life. The one thing they all have in common is that they know someone who is abusing substances and they want to do something about it.

Related posts:

1. About Drug Testing
2. School district drug policies