CSDP Blog

Eroding the foundation of healthy parent-child relationships businesses are promoting a new HairConfirm kit to conduct drug tests with hair samples. According to the Toronto Star December 18, 2008 article, ("Parents Clipping Teens' Hair To Submit For Drug Testing") "It claims to offer a 'cheat-proof' way to establish with 99.9 per cent accuracy whether your teen is taking drugs or sneaking your prescription painkillers. By simply clipping and shipping off 70 to 80 strands of your child's hair, cut as close to the roots as possible, San Diego-based Confirm BioSciences promises to deliver results-be they negative or positive--within a couple of business days."

The article states, "About a year ago the company started selling a 'standard' home-test kit for $64.99 U.S. in stores and via the Internet. It can detect seven drugs-including marijuana, amphetamines, ecstasy and cocaine - as well as how heavily they've been used in the last 90 days. But it recently launched a new kit, largely at the urging of parents who suspect their kids are dipping into pills in the family medicine cabinet - mainly pain relievers such as OxyContin and Vicodin, said Ilgaz. Selling for $89.99 U.S., it tests for seven illicit drugs and five of the most popular pills among teens. She touts the hair-test kit as superior to urine home-test kits, which have been fairly widely available for years. The urine tests make cheating easier and only detect drugs used in the previous three to five days, Ilgaz said. She likens them to pregnancy tests which simply give a negative or positive result, saying they don't indicate the severity of the drug use."

The article adds, "Dr. Claire Crooks agrees that talking is more important than testing, after having spent years working with kids and families struggling with drug addiction as a clinical psychologist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. 'Parental monitoring is really important - but that means having enough of a relationship with your child that you know who their friends are and what they're involved in and where they're going to be. This is closing the barn door after the horses are out.'I certainly understand the desperation families can feel,' said Crooks, 'but this doesn't sound helpful in promoting a trusting and warm relationship."