Do-It-Yourself drug tests will soon be on sale at Dutch chemists. Parents will be able to use the test to check whether their children have used drugs. Last year, the municipality of Volendam handed out free drug tests to parents of teenagers as part of a trial.

Since then, the manufacturer, Testjezelf.nu, has seen a huge rise in demand. That is why a version of the drug test was developed for sale in chemists' shops.

CEO Robert Nengerman says the tests are mainly aimed at parents.

“Children are using drugs more and more often under peer pressure. Or they start experimenting with hard drugs. Parents are often unaware of this, which is why children don’t get help.”

Parenting aid
However, according to Mr Nengerman, the tests are not a solution to addiction, but rather a parenting aid. He thinks parents should put the test on the table the first time they talk to their children about drugs. He compares it to sexual education.

“After all, you give your children condoms when they go on holiday, don't you?”

But Marjan Heuving of the Trimbos Institute, an expertise centre for addiction, disagrees with this parallel. “A condom is a preventive measure, but a drug test is like a motion of no-confidence.” She thinks the test is too big an invasion of teenagers’ privacy.

GHB
If there are clear signs that your son or daughter is using cannabis or harder drugs and he or she refuses to admit it, then the test could be used as an option.

But parents should consider the consequences first, thinks Ms Heuving. Because what if the child, perhaps unwittingly, has used GHB (a colourless drink or powder), what do you do then? And if the test is negative, you have violated the trust between parent and child. She advises parents to talk frankly to their children about drugs first.