Urine analysis test kits may be purchased from Cowley County Youth Services, County Commissioners agreed Tuesday morning.
Youth Services will not conduct the tests but will provide guidance and instructions, said Melody Pappan, youth services administrator.
Drug use among pre-teens and teens is increasing, partly because parents don’t want to believe that their children use drugs
“I have one study that shows only 18 percent of parents believe their teens have tried drugs, but 53 percent of high school seniors admitted to using drugs,” Pappan said. “Here, we’ve had positive tests for marijuana, coke, meth, amphetamines, inhalants and the over-the-counter drugs they use. You name it. They’ve done it.”
The average age ranges from 12 and up. “I suspect they start even younger now,” she said.
The kits will be available to parents, schools, other agencies, and the general public for a $10 fee, she said.
“We here at Youth Services see the negative effects that drugs have on children and their families, and keeping teens and pre-teens away from drugs is probably the most important thing parents can do for them,” Pappan said.
The agency is currently actively supervising 120 kids. Pappan estimated 450 kids pass through the juvenile intake system each year for either committing a crime or being a child in need of care. Some type of prevention or intervention programs are also offered to area schools,
The test can give a teen an acceptable excuse to say “no” to peer pressure, according to Pappan. “They can just say ‘I can’t use; my parents test me’,” she said.
Schools are allowed to conduct drug tests now, to an extent, according to Pappan. The vision 20/20 survey indicated that drug and alcohol treatment and prevention is a priority for Cowley County citizens, she said.
“Drug testing is just one way to start the conversation about drugs. We need to talk to our kids about drug use,” Pappan said. “We do live in a world where drugs are prevalent.”
Drug testing can help reassure parents that their kids are on the right road, or it could show them they need help. It’s their (parents) job to stop them any way they can,” she said.
