Officer Ryan Brightwell of the Henderson Police Department displays an oral drug screening device on Dec. 19 at the department's community outreach office at the Galleria at Sunset mall. Photo by Craig L. Moran.
Henderson teens William, Kalani and Danielle, who wouldn't reveal their last names, talk about a drug test kit Henderson police are giving to parents at the Galleria at Sunset mall.
Photo by Craig L. Moran.
So you thought the only time you had to take a drug test was when applying for a job? Well, in Henderson you might have to take one if you're a kid.
Henderson police are handing out free home drug test kits for parents concerned that their children are dope fiends.
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The kit, a three-piece saliva test, checks for seven drugs including methamphetamine, cocaine, PCP, marijuana, opiates and benzodiazepines, a common ingredient in prescription sedatives.
Parents can pick up the kit at the Galleria at Sunset mall at the police community relations office, which is on the first floor.
Along with the test kit, parents will get a handful of free literature, including a drug identification guide to help them recognize what drugs look like.
A list of Henderson and Las Vegas drug treatment centers for youth will be included.
Parents will be asked to fill out an anonymous letter so police can keep track of the test's effectiveness and success.
The drug tests have a shelf life through November 2007, and police already have handed out more than 200 of the 1,950 kits they purchased with a $17,452 federal grant, Officer Ryan Brightwell said.
Parents were asking for the kits, so the department submitted the grant request, Brightwell said.
The saliva test is less intrusive than a urine test, and it can be administered in a matter of minutes.
Teens who have nothing to hide say they will take the test, Brightwell said.
But the test could be a problem for those with something to hide, he said, because it's 99.5 percent accurate.
Methamphetamine abuse is on the rise among youth in the valley, Brightwell said, which is one reason he hopes parents will make the effort to learn whether their children are using drugs.
But Brightwell makes no assumptions that testing will keep teens from abusing controlled substances.
"Parenting is what is going to prevent drug use," he said. "This is just another tool for the parents. We want to help parents catch it (drug use) early enough so it doesn't become a lifelong problem."
Earlier this month, one floor up from where the drug kits are being distributed, some teens were hanging out near a Starbucks in the Galleria mall.
Wearing an olive green cap with an embroidered marijuana leaf, 16-year-old Kalani, who wouldn't reveal her last name, said she didn't appreciate the Henderson Police Department's effort.
"I really don't care for that," the Foothill High School student said of the testing idea. "It's kind of messed up."
William, also 16 and a student at Foothill, said parents shouldn't need the test to tell whether their children are using drugs.
"The thing is, how would parents not know if they are paying attention?" said William, sporting a green shirt with a marijuana leaf on it that said "cannabis."
Kalani said that if her mother asked her to take the test, she wouldn't.
"I would just tell her straight up," she said.
And William, who also didn't reveal his last name, said far more teens are drinking alcohol than are using drugs.
The test kit given away by Henderson police doesn't test for alcohol.
