Sure it is. Will the kids like it? Probably not.

Is it right to check for other diseases and ailments? Yes. Addiction is a disease and should be treated the same in every aspect of prevention even in its earliest stages.

Each parent or set of parents should have every right and a sense of duty to do what it takes to insure the safety of their children.

Drug abuse is like any other danger one would want to protect ones children from.

I would say only if the parent were reasonably sure that their child was using drugs, like if the child came home obviously stoned or they found drugs or paraphenalia laying around. Otherwise, I'd consider it an invasion of privacy and it could damage the trust between the parent and child. It seems to me that a child who had no reason to be screened, but whose parents felt an obligation to do so, would be resentful and might even be pushed into experimenting out of rebellion. I mean, if mom and dad are so worried about them using drugs, it must be fun, eh?

At some point, we have to trust our children to live up to the values we set for them. We have to set an example by keeping our own lives clean. A child who sees his folks drink away their problems or pop a pill every time they get upset and stressed out will learn to think that drugs are the answer to life's problems.

Only if you know what you're doing.

You'll loose too much credibility and respect if you take off marks for the kid saying it was Kootenay Thunderf-ck while you say it's Saltspring Skunk and then it turns out the kids was right... that's a risk you don't want to take, because if there's *anything* you must have from a kid, it's their respect.

I don't think so. Not only is it pretty accusatory, hopefully you'd be pretty sure something's going on before randomly testing them.

For a while in High School because of my behavior, my parents asked and was pretty sure I was on some kind of drug. I wasn't and told them, but even the fact that they asked drove me crazy and hurt quite a bit. If they had randomly tested me themselves, honestly I would've felt violated. Especially when in most cases it's a parent and a kid, which means the kid basically has no choice. Are you going to make me take a pregnancy test to find out if I'm having sex?

Some will say, well if you're not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. That's fine, but what are you going to say to your child when the test comes back negative? You've already shown that you don't trust them and don't believe what they say. It's hard to take that back. If you're that positive that they're on drugs you need to get them professional help and not waste time with at home testing kits. (And by you, I mean in general.) ;)

I remember once my father found a needle in my laundry and assumed it was mine despite I am petrified of needles. He wanted to me to take a drug test as he was sure I was lying. This hurt our relationship greatly as I take great insult in being called a liar, especially by my father. I felt as if he didn't trust me and thought less of me than his other children being that he didn't assume it may have been one of his other children. (I am one of 5 that were all between 16 and 25 at the time living in his home) The needle turned out to be from my sister's laundry that had been run through just before mine. She has now beat her addiction to meth. My father apologized to me, saying that he thought it being in my laundry was proof enough. Though I accepted his apology it didn't change the difference in our relationship after.

Based on this personal experience I would not drug test my child, especially not randomly. I think it important to trust in your child's word and character as you are the one who fostered it. Does drug addiction happen? Unquestionably, even more commonly in teens, however a true drug addiction is hard to miss once it gets to the point of addiction, especially in a teen. Rather than drug testing I would recommend open communication with a teen and paying enough attention to know when something is wrong without needing a test to confirm it.

I do if there has been a history of drug use. I am big on "My house, My rules". If there has not been a history of the kid doing drugs then it would be a bit extreme to do it often.

How often have we seen interviews of parents whose child died of an overdose, and the one thing that sticks out beyond the horrible grief is the often repeated comment: "we had no idea our child was using drugs". I can see where any parent, after watching a couple of those, could possibly just freak out to the extent where they felt they HAD to find out if their kid was using drugs, no matter what the cost. If they don't, their child might die, or so they believe.

Drug use is a strange trip. Some kids try a drug or a drink once or twice and honestly don't care for it. Great. No problem, they are probably safer after they tried it than before. It's on their list of "things I tried and didn't like". Other individuals seem to be able to use alcohol or marijuana socially, on a now-and-then basis. The problem here becomes a legal issue as there may be serious legal repercussions. There is a final group, kids for whom alcohol or drug use becomes a serious problem, and let me say there are certain types of drug use that ALWAYS pose serious threats. I've never heard of social meth, crack, or heroin users, or safe huffing.

Most people believe, and with good reason, that drug users and addicts are prone to be liars. Sneaking, lying, and hiding the purchase, use, and effects of drugs is part of the daily life of a drug user. So of course when you ask your kids if they use drugs, there is only one answer. "Course not Mom, you don't have to worry about that", So how do you find out?

I think that drug testing is the final step in detecting or preventing drug use in your children. Here are some steps to take first:

1. Educate yourself: learn the signs of various types of drug use. Bloodshot eyes, particular odors, burns on lips and fingers from crack or meth pipes, wanting to sleep a lot or stay up for days, whole new set of friends, sudden decline in school work, anger or crying outbursts, depression or euphoria, slurred speech or loss of balance, loss of interest in hobbies and activities, presence of drugs or paraphernalia, drastic change in musical tastes, and so on.

2. Have a conversation. Tell your child that you've noticed some of the changes listed above (be specific), and tell them you are concerned that they might be involved in drug use, and could they please talk to you about the changes? Now is the time to use your parental truth sensors. If you are not satisfied by their reaction/responses, let them know, and let them know that the subject will not be closed until you are satisfied.

3. Play detective. If you are dissatisfied with the results of your conversation, and you are reasonably sure there is drug use occurring, collect evidence. Go into the room and vehicle on the sly. This may bother your sense of violating their privacy, but remember, by this time, you have already put them on notice of their behaviors and they were unable to give you satisfactory answers. If you find evidence, confront them with it. 99% of the time it will belong to someone else. "It's not mine mom, I'm holding it for a friend." Did you ever let a non-pot smoking friend hold your stash for you? C'mon.

4. Now's the time to challenge them to drug testing. Once a week for six weeks. If I'm wrong, I'll pay you $200 cash and you will have my sincere apology.

That's just my opinion.

As a parent, it's your job to monitor your child's activity. Far too often parents forget who the boss is. By the way, the boss is YOU! Not your kids. :)
Your entire goal as a parent is to nurture, love, educate, lead and protect your children from day one until they are adults. We do this with the purpose of that child becoming the best, most successful, moral and decent person that they can be.
If you even suspect that your child is using drugs, test. Don't allow a problem like this to even start.

The perfect way to introduce random drug testing is to be very upfront with your kid(s).

Sit them down and say to them, "I'm accusing you of nothing. However, I love you more than life and have to know beyond doubt that I am doing everything I can as your parent to make sure you grow to become the person of the fullest potential. You cannot do that when drugs are in the picture. I understand your young and you will be around a lot of things that I cannot control outside this house or that I never even know about. I cannot control the things that occur outside this house, but it is not only my right, but my duty to make sure what happens within these walls is something I approve of."
Continue by saying
"I have bought several drug tests at the pharmacy. At random, I will ask you to take one for me. I expect you to do it the moment I ask without hesitation or quarrel."

I promise you, you sit a drug screening test somewhere the kids can see it, they will think before doing drugs. In the back of their mind, they'll be wondering if and when you'll test next.

Most children won't take that sort of chance!