By Marshall Zelinger
m.zelinger@krdo.com
Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mzelinger

COLORADO SPRINGS - One of the toughest tests your kids could face this school year may not even take place in the classroom.  An FDA approved home drug test is on the market and being advertised on radio.  The "First Check" Home Drug Test tests for seven different illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine, opiates, methamphetamine, ecstasy, amphetamines and PCP) and five prescription drugs (tricyclic antidepressants, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, methadone and oxycodone).

Essentially, you get a urine sample in a cup, put the test lid on and rest the cup on its side (which rests on legs).  There are indicators on the lid for each drug.  After five minutes, if a line appears within the indicator, the test is negative for that specific drug.  If a line does not appear, the test result is positive.  If you get a positive result, an envelope is provided so you can mail the sample to a "First Check" lab for a free follow-up test.

"I guess if I had a kid who's had problem with drugs, I would probably resort to using something like this," said parent Kitsen Goldberg.  "It's a parent's right."

Goldberg is the mother of three boys (ages 22, 19 and 15).  She says she's never suspected them of drug use, but would consider an at-home drug test.

"I guess I would try it.  I wouldn't totally trust it, but I would try it," said Goldberg.  "They'd be mad, but they'd get over it."

On the side of the drug test box is a list of the drugs that can be detected, as well as street names for those drugs.

"I didn't know that marijuana was called bud or hydro or zig zag.  I've never heard cocaine called racehorse or yeyo or nachos.  I didn't know that amphetamines were black beauties or beanies, I think I'm pretty naïve when it comes to drugs," said Goldberg.  "See, your kids could be talking about things that they're just doing everyday and you don't even know what they're talking about."

"It's kind of sad, and if this is what we have to do to step up as parents, then I'm for it," said parent Jodi McConnell.  "If you drop the ball somewhere along the line, then this is a great opportunity to figure it out."

McConnell has two kids, a 12-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter.  Her daughter is high school junior and on the cheerleading squad.

"Her and I have actually discussed it and she thinks it's a great idea to actually test teams," said McConnell.  "I think she'd be okay with it.  I think she would want me to know and be reassured that she's not."

"I think it's a great idea," said Jason Daniluk, parent of a seven and 12-year-old.  "You know, we all trust our children.  We want to believe what they tell us is the truth, that they're not (using drugs), but some cases they're actually using."

Even though the FDA approved the home drug test, an FDA report on the product suggests scrutinizing a positive or negative result.

Click here to see full FDA report.

From the FDA report:

Does a positive test mean that you found drugs of abuse?

No. Take no serious actions until you get the laboratory's result. Remember that many factors may cause a false positive result in the home test.

Remember that a positive test for a prescription drug does not mean that a person is abusing the drug, because there is no way for the test to indicate acceptable levels compared to abusive levels of prescribed drugs.

If the test results are negative, can you be sure that the person you tested did not abuse drugs?

No. There are several factors that can make the test results negative even though the person is abusing drugs. First, you may have tested for the wrong drugs. Or, you may not have tested the urine when it contained drugs. It takes time for drugs to appear in the urine after a person takes them, and they do not stay in the urine indefinitely; you may have collected the urine too late or too soon. It is also possible that the chemicals in the test went bad because they were stored incorrectly or they passed their expiration date.

If you get a negative test result, but still suspect that someone is abusing drugs, you can test again at a later time. Talk to your doctor if you need more help deciding what steps to take next.

"Are (home drug tests) as reliable as going to a professional lab, a hospital or one of the private agencies downtown?  No," said Penrose Hospital Drug and Alcohol Counselor Jim Saunders.

Saunders suggests going to a professional lab for reasons beyond accuracy.

"There is less likelihood that the test can be contaminated and therefore produce a false positive," said Saunders. "It takes the parent out of that adversarial role.  If I force you to give me a ‘sample of your finest' as it were and all of a sudden that comes back negative, now we have a trust issue going.  It can really effect the entire relationship, sometimes for years to come."

You also want to make sure you're testing for the right drug at the right time.  Just because you get a negative, doesn't necessarily mean your suspicion is false.

"Marijuana is the one that stays in the system the longest, the others stay in the system just a matter of days, sometimes 24-to-36 hours," said Saunders.  "The window of opportunity, if you will, is very small."

Here is a chart, provided by the FDA, indicating the amount of time a specific drug can be detected by a drug test.

Drug	How soon after taking drug will there be a positive drug test?	How long after taking drug will there continue to be a positive drug test?
Marijuana/Pot	1-3 hours	1-7 days
Crack (Cocaine)	2-6 hours	2-3 days
Heroin (Opiates)	2-6 hours	1-3 days
Speed/Uppers (Amphetamine, methamphetamine)	4-6 hours	2-3 days
Angel Dust/PCP	4-6 hours	7-14 days
Ecstacy	2 to 7 hours	2 - 4 days
Benzodiazepine	2 -7 hours	1 - 4 days
Barbiturates	2 - 4 hours	1 - 3 weeks
Methadone	3 - 8 hours	1 - 3 days
Tricyclic Antidepressants	8 - 12 hours	2 - 7 days
Oxycodone	1 - 3 hours	1 - 2 days