Many parents don’t realize that April 20th is the marijuana holiday wherein hemp enthusiasts play hooky from school or work to have a “smoke out day”.
To counter this signal, local youth substance abuse organizations, Citizens Advocating Healthy and Safe Youth at Granite Bay High School, Granite Bay, and the Coalition for Placer Youth based in Auburn, initiated “421 test your teen day” – referring to over the counter drug test kits widely available to parents.
“As for pot,” said Sergeant John Weaver of the youth services division for the Placer County Sheriff Department, “this year alone we are up significantly on marijuana arrests in Placer County, for personal use and sales cases in the high schools. As of March we have 26 more cases compared to the entire school year last year.”
Christy Crandell is a CPY member and the administrator for Full Circle Treatment Center in Roseville. She witnesses daily the devastating impact of substance abuse on youth.
“The point of 421 test your teen day is to raise awareness among parents to inspect what you expect,” said Crandell. “It offers reinforcement for their good decisions.”
Weaver also cautions parents to avoid the “not my kid” syndrome. “The Internet, cell phones and texting are the main forms of communications, check them!”, urges Weaver.
And when he hears from parents “I want to give my child privacy,” or “I want to build trust and friendship,” Weaver responds, “Do you want to be their friend or their parent?”
Weaver recommends American Screening Corporation to find drug test kits with the best prices, and cautions parents that positive results could be false, so verify by taking it to a lab. There are many in the area ranging in price from $45 to $75 for the results.
Parent resources:
- Banana Moments (Facebook)
- Teens Google how to beat a drug test
- California Drug Testing Network (Labs)
- American Screening Corporation
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Your child, drugs and alcohol: Inspect what you expect
(Ref:291-e)
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