Home Drug Tests

Home Drug Tests - The Facts!

Home drug tests can represent a lifeline for concerned parents who worry that their child / teenager may be using illegal drugs.  Parents are often reluctant to initially seek help, perhaps because they fear to accept the possibility that their children could use drugs. Fortunately, the internet now enables parents to find information and advice about drug use anonymously and this level of anonymity can be maintained by using home drug testing kits to determine whether their child requires professional help.

Please also see our Tackling Drug Addiction - for Parents and Families page or our Home Drug Test FAQ page.

In the NHS report ‘Statistics of Drug Misuse and Young People: England 2006’, 19 percent (almost one in five) of secondary school children claimed to have used illegal drugs within the last year. 4 percent of 11 year olds had abused a volatile substance and 1 percent had experimented with cannabis / marijuana. In children aged 15, this figure was much higher - 27 percent had used cannabis / marijuana.

Perhaps of greater concern was that 4 percent of secondary school children in 2005 claimed to have used a Class A drug within the last year (heroin, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, amphetamines when injected, LSD, methadone and magic mushrooms). 12 percent admitted to having used cannabis / marijuana, which is currently a Class C drug.

Bearing these statistics in mind, it is understandable that any parents would be concerned about their son or daughter using drugs.  Drugs have a negative impact their children's lives, including poor school performance, social / behavioural problems and severe health risks - not to mention the simple fact that they are breaking the law.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 clearly states that it is an offence to unlawfully possess or supply a controlled drug, even if the drug is supplied free of charge rather than the traditional ‘dealing’ whereby drugs are exchanged for money.  Many young people do not realise this and can inadvertently put themselves in a more precarious legal position.

The penalties for dealing in a Class A drug can incur a sentence in prison of up to life. Possessing a Class A drug such as cocaine, ecstasy or heroin is up to seven years imprisonment or an unlimited fine, or both. Dealing in a Class C drug such as cannabis / marijuana, currently carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both. Possessing cannabis / marijuana can result in a prison sentence of up to two years or an unlimited fine, or both.

Notable results from an ICM Research poll which previously was presented in the News of the World on Sunday demonstrated that 82% of parents and 66% of children support drug testing in schools and of the 1,000 parents surveyed, 96% said they would want to know if their son or daughter was taking drugs.

This is understandable, but unfortunately, few schools are yet signed up to testing pupils in any way, so many young people remain vulnerable to exposure to drugs with no formal programme to identify problems in their early stages.

Home drug tests can offer parents the opportunity to test their child in the privacy of their own home as an initial step to determining if their child is at risk.

The simple knowledge that a testing programme is in place at home can be an effective deterrent for recreational drugs use, plain old curiosity or peer pressure to share drugs handed out amongst friends. A negative home drugs test result can bring peace of mind to anxious parents and if a home drug test is positive, then parents / familes are forewarned and forearmed with the information required to seek confidential, professional help from a doctor or a drug treatment centre.

Please visit our Tackling Drug Addiction - for Parents and Families page if you would like some further support in this area.

Home Alcohol Tests

We also offer a range of alcohol test kits to detect alcohol in breath, saliva or urine.  These tests are in the form of either test strips, disposable breathalyzer units or electronic breath alcohol tests.  If you would like to buy alcohol testing kits online, please visit our alcohol testing page.

Alcohol Facts Relating to Young People

If you would like to read some of the most recent alcohol facts and alcohol statistics, visit our page on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Statistics in Young People.  There are also articles related to alcohol statistics in our Drug-Aware Blog - which is regularly updated with new fact based articles.