We get calls all the time where people want to drug test their sons/daughters, husbands/wives, brothers/sisters to try and “prove” they’re using drugs. The biggest question we ask in return is, why? Why do you need to confirm what you already know?
It is a mistake to believe you have to catch them in the act. Many seasoned drug users are able to alter drug tests anyway, and some drugs don’t show up in common tests either. Even if the test comes back positive, whether done at home or in a clinic, they will claim it’s a false positive and keep denying it, or they will say that they only did the drug one time. In short, they’ll say anything they have to or make up some lie or excuse to try and throw you off. It really just becomes a distraction and everyone loses focus on the real issues that caused the situation in the first place.
It is a distraction from the fact that you know they have been skipping school or work, or that they’ve been fired from their job. You’ve also known that they have been having erratic mood swings, major changes in friends (often associating with people you know are addicts) and changes in physical appearance. They’ve also usually gone through all the money they had and keep asking for more, or valuable things around your house wind up missing. There are too many of these things that add up to it being really only one thing – some type of substance abuse.
So the answer is, no, you don’t have to drug test them. You have to trust what you know and move forward with getting them the help they need. If you need assistance in doing this, you can call us any time for intervention help.
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