I think my child is using illegal drugs.

We understand the problem. You have to know the truth because you can sense something is wrong, but you don't want to break the trust between you and your child. We can help answer your questions and hopefully assist you in helping your child avoid these costly mistakes.

First of all, here are some common indicators of possible drug use.
Any of these by themselves are not necessarily a positive indicator of drug use; some are simply normal adolescent behaviors. However, a combination of these behaviors along with your own parental suspicions may suggest that a drug test is necessary.

Attitude changes/mood swings	Deterioration in school performance
Lack of responsibility	Behavior problems
New friends	Changes in relationships/eating habits
Unhealthy appearance	Presence of drug paraphernalia

What do I do now?

We offer two methods to handle the situation.

1. Hair sample
   We understand that confronting your kids about using drugs is not easy. If you are uncomfortable in this situation and you don't want to make your kid do a urine test, you can use the hair sample method. All you need to do is collect a hair sample from a brush, comb, pillow, or wherever is easiest for you; we will provide a collection kit and proper instructions. The sample is then sent to a lab to be analyzed in a confidential manner and the results will be returned to you in a matter of days.
   
2. Urine test
   This method is obviously more confrontational, but it will test immediately for the following illegal substances:

If the test comes up positive, we strongly recommend an immediate referral to your family physician for counseling. This is an important step in starting your child on the road to recovery.

If the test comes up negative, that does not mean that your child is not using drugs. The drugs may have been flushed out of their system. You should test again at a later date or go ahead and consult your family physician.

It is probably not a bad idea to keep a couple of kits around your house. If your child knows that you have these kits handy, they will most likely stay away from drug use.

123Pi also understands that many parents are concerned about their kids drinking alcohol. We offer a saliva alcohol test that will indicate whether or not your child has been drinking and how much.

When you, as a parent, see a serious problem affecting your child and cannot seem to resolve it, contact us at 123Pi.