Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can understand where you are coming from. I think I would go with random drug testing before a drug sniffing dog, though, purely from an escalation point of view.
Eh you would have to force them to take a drug test so that is out. And since most places are pee tests it's a crap shoot.
You could expect random urine drug tests as a condition for some other privilege, like the car or something. If you supervise it properly, it can't be scammed.
However, I think things would be pretty far gone before a parent would be able to do this to any advantage.
Privacy? My house, my rules. My older son always understood that if he brought drugs into the house, I would call the police. It was rule. A consequence was set up for that certain behavior so that he understood in advance. I don't understand the excuse that kids are, what was it, that bright or smart or something? He also was aware that his room, in MY house, was open to search and seizure to anything objectionable to me. He is now an active member of the Army Reserve, a Major, 36 years old and travels the world in the field of Security. He does not regret the discipline and rules that I enforced in MY house and is doing the same at HIS house now. I wouldn't care what the neighbors thought about what I did at MY house as my kids needs will always be more important than what the nosy neighbors are thinking! Best to teach your children to be independent of the thoughts of others so long as they are doing what is right - you and they will be much better off in the long run all the way around.
Eh you would have to force them to take a drug test so that is out. And since most places are pee tests it's a crap shoot.
Actually, having them be aware they will be tested (at some point) is part of why I'd choose that over having a dog in while they weren't around. Nothing will be 100%, but I figure if one is at that point with one's child, I'd want there to be at least a conversation about "so I think you're using" as opposed to secret dog sniffing. There are quite a few ways to present a random drug test so a teen will comply. *shrugs*
Why is it extreme for parents to want to know if their child is doing drugs and bringing them home? Afterall, it is the parents home and they are both legally and morally liable for what goes on in their home.
I think it is an excellent idea. Maybe I should train my dog and start such a business!
Parents should know what their minor children are doing, but as others have said there are other ways to get there, such a random drug testing, that doesn't involve others.
As a parent I'd want to know what my child was doing, whether it was alcohol, cannabis, meth or prescription drugs, but I'd want to control who knows the results, and what happens as a result of that knowledge. Punishment is not a solution to drug use. Never has been, never will be.
Until people in MO and elsewhere pack away the jack boots and look at teen drug use as a medical and social problem, and not a criminal act, we won't make progress on this issue.
If a child is using drugs they need help to stop, not incarceration. Criminalizing your child will make it difficult to impossible for that child to go to a good university, get a good job, and do other productive things in ther lives, is this what a parent would want for their child?
Keeping the lines of communication as open as possible is essential to wellness in any relationship. That is especially true with your children.
I can't think of a better way to shut down communication with your child, and possibly even lose them to Child Protection Services, than to bring uniformed strangers into your home with a search dog.
Actually, having them be aware they will be tested (at some point) is part of why I'd choose that over having a dog in while they weren't around. Nothing will be 100%, but I figure if one is at that point with one's child, I'd want there to be at least a conversation about "so I think you're using" as opposed to secret dog sniffing. There are quite a few ways to present a random drug test so a teen will comply. *shrugs*
I don't even know legally you can actually have them tested either. I've never seen anywhere that you have a legal right to test your child for drugs. And the thing is someone hard on addiction will not stop do to that. The most you might do is scare the ultra casual user.
I don't even know legally you can actually have them tested either. I've never seen anywhere that you have a legal right to test your child for drugs.
I meant that there are ways to present it to the teen so that they will consent. I believe the only way to do random drug testing "without consent" is through the legal system. I believe there are a whole lot of intermediary steps before that point is reached that don't require legal intervention, at least not in the states I've practiced in.
I meant that there are ways to present it to the teen so that they will consent. I believe the only way to do random drug testing "without consent" is through the legal system. I believe there are a whole lot of intermediary steps before that point is reached that don't require legal intervention, at least not in the states I've practiced in.
Why east are you an ambulance chas....erm i mean lawyer ?
Why east are you an ambulance chas....erm i mean lawyer ?
Hahahaha, no, not I.
Behavior therapist, specializing in adolescents with suicidal/self-injurious behaviors. I've seen a lot of concurrent (and secondary) substance abuse issues, not surprisingly. A lawyer would probably know off the top of his/her head what the legalities are - I'm working from memory here. Ultimately my point was that there area lot of ways to set up contingencies so that an adolescent will act in his/her best long-term interests (e.g., consenting to random drug testing) without having to compel compliance, if that makes sense? I think parents absolutely need to intervene, but IMO, it should be done in stages, not starting off with something like a drug sniffing dog. I see that and legal action as measures of last resort, rather than first-line intervention.
Well, that's easy.
If you don't want a police record, don't have a bag of pot in the house!
No it is not easy. Teens, if you can ever remember being one, have very severe peer pressure to deal with every day. There is a lot of pressure to conform to the norms of the group they identify with. Parents have a right and responsibility to understand this, and to intervene as needed.
The police should be used when violence is an issue, otherwise they are not qualified to deal with substance abuse. Locking up your child is not going to solve anything, but it will create more problems for them and for you. You obviously have no idea what it is like once you are , "in the system", nor how easy it is to violate parole without realizing it, and be right back in jail.
If that "bag of marijuana" is of sufficent weight, and it doesn't take much in many areas, your child could be charged with, "possession with intent to distribute", even if this wasn't the intent, the quantity will make police and the court make that assumption. Now your child is known as a drug dealer, is that what YOU want, and please don't tell me that if they were willing to do the crime they must be prepared to do the time. Do you think a teenager is really going to research the law? The penalties are much more severe for dealing, more than murder in some states, certainly more than rape. Are these the types of peope you want your child associating with? maybe you should think twice before involving the police.
Teens need to wear the right clothes, participate in the right activities, associate with the right people. It can be difficult to be a teen, sometimes the peer pressure can result in death. We now know that the developing brain of a teen does not process actions and consequences like adults do. Knowing that, don't expect that what seems obvious to you even registers in the teen mind. This is one in a series of issues that all parents face, although some choose not to address them, with very bad results.
If, "Just Say No", is all you are doing in regard to your own children's potential drug use, well, be ready for some surprizes.
If you are using the same approach regarding teen sex, expect to see some grandchildren....soon.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They need to know, others don't
?
