Using Home Drug Tests: Which Home Drug Test and Strategy is Best?

By Dr. Deb Carlin

If you're not trained to recognize the signs of drug use or symptoms of drug use in your teen and are considering the idea of using home drug test kits to prevent or solve problems before they get worse, then you might be wondering what strategy is best for your teen and your family. At the risk of oversimplifying things, most kids fall into one of three categories.

The first category is made up of kids who have never tried drugs. The objective of an effective strategy for them would be to keep it that way and reward their drug free choices.

The second category is composed of what I would refer to as experimenters. They've tried drugs but haven't become addicted to them or the culture that surrounds them yet. The objective of an effective strategy for them would be to deter future decisions to try drugs by tying rewards as well as consequences to the outcomes of their home drug tests. It makes sense that testing would be a bit more frequent than it would be for kids in the first category.

The third group of kids are those that are already addicted and most likely need professional help. They are committed to continued drug use and focus on avoiding detection. I encourage parents with kids in this situation to seek professional help. Often I find that home drug testing programs are recommended by their counselors and treatment professionals as a post-treatment program to improve accountability and help influence their better choices in the future.

Some of the most commonly used, counselor approved strategies are available for parents to review at TestMyTeen.com. Additionally, choosing the right home drug test kit, and how often to administer one becomes easier as well once the options are spelled out in advance.

If you want to know more about using home drug tests or picking out the best home drug test kit for your teen, or the steps to starting a home drug testing program, then do your homework. Be sure to review things like program checklists, counselor approved strategies and educational video tutorials before implementing a home drug testing program of your own.