Free Drug Testing Kits Available to R-9 Parents

[Stoner4Life]

Parents can now take the lead in drug detection without leaving the comfort of their homes or embarrassing their children.

The Carthage R-9 School District has received about $5,000 in vouchers for drug-testing kits. Parents can request and pick up the free vouchers through Assistant Superintendent Mark Baker's office by e-mail, phone, letter or drop-by visit.

Parents can then contact the TestMyTeen.com organization and request a free drug testing kit -- paying only the shipping and handling -- to be mailed to an address of the parents' choosing.

TestMyTeen.com will mail a 10-panel urine drug-testing kit with adulteration strips. It is a complete drug-testing kit for detection and recognition of the 10 most common illegal drugs, including *******, amphetamine, marijuana, methamphetamine, benzodiazepines and oxycodone.

After testing the child's urine, the parent and child will receive results of the drug test in one to three minutes. It is solely up to the parents to decide how to use the tests.

"The school district will never know the results of the test," Baker said. "No disciplinary action will occur if the student tests positive. A positive test will not affect the student-athlete drug-testing program."

Baker said that the company sends the first kit at no charge, except shipping and handling.

"Where they will make money is if parents want additional tests or services that they can provide, including counseling," Baker said.

Additional kits can be forwarded to parents at a charge of about $18-$20 per kit. TestMyTeen.com donates roughly 20 percent of the profit from future sales to the district to help fund substance abuse.


NewsHawk: Stoner4Life - 420 Magazine
Source: Carthage Press, The (MO)
Pubdate: Thu, 05 Oct 2006
Author: Dennis W. Sowers
Copyright: 2006 The Carthage Press
Contact: carpress@ipa.net
Website: Carthage Press - Front

 

[J842P]

Actually, of all the testing programs out there this one seems at least sensible.

 

[Stoner4Life]

OK.......first it's D.A.R.E.....kids turn your tokin folks in.....THAT didn't work
Now we have 'The Ron Popeil Pocket Student Analyzer'... folks, turn in your kids
Can anyone help me spell N-A-Z-I-S.........
You can BET our govt. has some time n $$$ tied up in this one too......
Has that certain Republican/Nazi Facist Regime stench to it......

 

[ScottyBThatIsMe]

OK.......first it's D.A.R.E.....kids turn your tokin folks in.....THAT didn't work
Now we have 'The Ron Popeil Pocket Student Analyzer'... folks, turn in your kids
Can anyone help me spell N-A-Z-I-S.........
You can BET our govt. has some time n $$$ tied up in this one too......
Has that certain Republican/Nazi Facist Regime stench to it......

Way way way too extreme, bud.

Think about it... no one but the folks at home ever see the results. There is absolutely NOTHING to gain by just handing out free drug tests, unless, as the article states, the parents decide to use the other services offered.

It's basically a promotional give away. I see nothing wrong with this, morally or legally. I do not think it is, by any means, a good thing for kids under 18 to experiment with drugs. This program could potentially help a lot of kids who use drugs that actually are dangerous. Granted, for the most part it will be used to catch kids smoking marijuana, but in my honest opinion, I'd rather that kids under 18 don't smoke anyway. When you are old enough to fully realize the potential ramifications of using an illicit substance, and still choose to do it, that is your God-given right, and it's also the government's right to bust your ass for it.

Wake up, man. The reason kids do such stupid things sometimes is because their brains just aren't developed enough to comprehend all of the consequences of their actions. For some, this level of development kicks in really late in the game (late 20's) or never developes at all, probably in part due to substance abuse (see the connection there?). This is not the kid's fault at all. They just do not have the cognitive abilities. None of us did at that age, and some of us are still working on it, myself included. The fact of the matter is, you just are simply not ready to make that kind of a decision at such a young age. I'm sorry, but everything you learn from the most basic to advanced psychology classes on child and human development will back me up here.

I'm sorry to make any kind of issue out of this, but when you start calling people Nazis for trying to protect their children from the VERY REAL THREAT of underage drug abuse, you, yourself, sound more like the radical fascist than they do. Despite what we would all love to believe, getting stoned while you are younger can and does have negative results.

I'm all for legalization, but that doesn't mean I would say it's okay for my kid. If he grew up, and made the decision that he wanted to smoke, I can't do shit to stop him. But I'll be damned if I'm going to let a CHILD make that kind of life-altering decision on their own. You better be damned sure I would never let my kid smoke pot before 18.

 

[Stoner4Life]

Well said Scotty.......I'm the forgiving type, accepting of peoples, period. What I don't like here is the conviction of the test itself. It is something for parents to use 'against' their children. What happened to the heart to heart chat about drugs? What about the trust needed between family members?
I would think that if your kid is a complete fuck up losing touch with reality no matter what you've tried.....then and ONLY then would this test be appropriate for an untrained parent to administer. These tests are usually done by PROFESSIONALS in that field & OFTEN get false readings.....yup! And so explain to me please how this 'test kit' might be used with accuracy, and the confidence of the results???
I think just ONE single false reading would be the cause of too much anxiety, finger pointing, and maybe getting the authorities involved w/o a bonifide reason.

Can you promise me that the testsd are accurate and will be used properly?....
No you can't.

A Facist trick of govts. is turning some people against others.....I see that in my point here with D.A.R.E. & the new 'Pocket Student (your own kid) Tester'. I don't see the facism you stated I have in my opinion...........

But I'm always happy to hear someone elses say bro.......



Keep the peace and keep our children FREE!!!

BTW I started smoking @ 12 yrs old & have been a leader in our community. A member of Rotary Intl., The Lions Club, local chamber of commerce. I meet for java most mornings with a small but active group of old timers, we do random acts of kindness for our community and people in need. Smoking pot at an early age has nothing to do with the person you'll make of yourself. I am living a productive life daily w/ consumption kept to medicinal use only.

 

[mesathrown]

you're quite lucky then.
don't overlook the thousands of burnt out kids in alt ed classes who can't even read a paragraph without dozing off.

 

[ScottyBThatIsMe]

Well said Scotty.......I'm the forgiving type, accepting of peoples, period. What I don't like here is the conviction of the test itself. It is something for parents to use 'against' their children. What happened to the heart to heart chat about drugs? What about the trust needed between family members?
I would think that if your kid is a complete fuck up losing touch with reality no matter what you've tried.....then and ONLY then would this test be appropriate for an untrained parent to administer. These tests are usually done by PROFESSIONALS in that field & OFTEN get false readings.....yup! And so explain to me please how this 'test kit' might be used with accuracy, and the confidence of the results???
I think just ONE single false reading would be the cause of too much anxiety, finger pointing, and maybe getting the authorities involved w/o a bonifide reason.

Can you promise me that the testsd are accurate and will be used properly?....
No you can't.

A Facist trick of govts. is turning some people against others.....I see that in my point here with D.A.R.E. & the new 'Pocket Student (your own kid) Tester'. I don't see the facism you stated I have in my opinion...........

But I'm always happy to hear someone elses say bro.......



Keep the peace and keep our children FREE!!!

BTW I started smoking @ 12 yrs old & have been a leader in our community. A member of Rotary Intl., The Lions Club, local chamber of commerce. I meet for java most mornings with a small but active group of old timers, we do random acts of kindness for our community and people in need. Smoking pot at an early age has nothing to do with the person you'll make of yourself. I am living a productive life daily w/ consumption kept to medicinal use only.

Hell I smoke every day, have a full time job, and go to school full time... I know there are some people who can just do that. Most, however, aren't so fortunate. The drug does form a dependance in most people, if used on a daily basis. Once or twice a month, hell, in a week, is not enough to do it. I have experienced the effects of this dependance, and though it's not physically addicting at all... It's very hard to stop at times. Something just makes you not want to stop.

We don't have to go over the inhibitions one's cognitive abilities are hampered with while under the influence of marijuana, but we all recognize the high potential for the drug to undermine education in terms of memory and concentration. Kids who are already using the drug will most likely be using it in school, and while there are a handful of us that can handle it, most can not and will do poorly in school because of their drug use. Bottom line is, it's just not for kids.

I can definately see, though, how it could be a move influenced by government, and I can see the potential for deviant motives. The accuracy of the tests aside, it's easy enough to get a clear picture by re-testing, and perhaps that is something that should be discussed with the distribution of the test.

And disregard the fascist remark I only meant that in radically calling people Nazi's, you were adhering to some of the guidlines for fascism (namely, being radical). I don't see you as being fascist in any way shape or form, or your post for that matter.

Overall, I think testing in school is a positive thing, if we could work it so it was done effectivly and fairly. I wouldn't be totally against school wide testing, if I could see it proven that it was done in an agreeable fashion. High School student rights be damned on this one (I know I'll draw fire for that, but it's how I feel), if the kids can't be held responsible for their own actions because they are not developmentally ready, then perhaps it's up to elder generations to keep an eye on them, as far as drug use is concerned. I'm sure most of us agree that, in general, drug use among kids is something that shouldn't be happening, in order to have the health and welfare of the children gauranteed, but we can't trust them not to do it, as is blatantly evident when looking at statistics that show the trends in adolescent drug use.

Now, we'd certainly have to come up with a better way of handling those who tested positive. For instance, there would be follow up tests to check validity, investigation into the child's background to see why they may be using the drug, and counseling for the drug use and other conditions that may support the use. If it's clear that the kid is just smoking pot, and it's not harming him/her that much (in your case, for instance) then I'd see nothing more than perhaps withholding sports, clubs, etc. If the kid really does have a problem that is possibly reinforcing the drug use, then it might be better to let them continue with sports, but put them into counseling.

There are so many questions and factors to consider, but I stand firm in my belief that it's better to deny children the opportunity to use drugs, than to let them use their own discretion. Now, were all drugs legalized and regulated, this would be so much easier. We have many problems to solve before this one can even be touched, really...