Wednesday, May 23, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.
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A father sets an at-home drug test on the dinner table, says "pass the peas" (or potatoes, or carrots, or whatever) and then pauses to stare at his surly teenager, who is eyeing the test and squirming.
This quaint scene could play out in thousands of Clark County households, if all goes according to plan.
A group of anti-drug crusaders, with the backing of first lady Dawn Gibbons, is staging a massive anti-methamphetamine campaign in Southern Nevada that will put at-home drug tests in the hands of parents, for free.
It's a clear urinalysis cup that screens for meth, marijuana, cocaine and opiates. Results are instant.
The drug tests are being made available starting May 30 by the Community Interfaith Council, a faith-based community service coalition, and 10,000 Kids, a secular nonprofit group dedicated to improving the lives of children.
The organizations plan to distribute a "Meth Training Handbook" (peppered with meaningful anti-meth quotes from Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Sheriff Doug Gillespie, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, et al.) to parents. They'll offer the drug tests as an option.
So it's up to mom and dad: to test or not to test.
"Denial is one of the biggest obstacles for people to get help," said East Vegas Christian Center pastor Troy Martinez, spokesman for the Interfaith Council and founder of 10,000 Kids.
"Once the parent or guardian is informed, then they can take home the test kit and have a very frank conversation."
A controversial conversation.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is opposed to involuntary testing of adolescents for drugs. In May the organization issued a policy statement detailing its opposition to nonconsensual parental drug testing, noting that the tests are not foolproof, they can register false positives and they can be duped.
Moreover, the pediatric policy states, "drug tests may be perceived by adolescents as an unwarranted invasion of privacy," breeding resentment and distrust.
Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada (and a parent), said in the end, a test is just a test - a quick-fix approach that doesn't address the underlying issues behind drug use.
"Playing cop rather than parent can backfire," Lichtenstein said. "Not dealing with those issues, just dealing with the drugs, is sort of like trying to put a Band-Aid on a heart attack."
The anti-drug crusaders can match metaphor.
Martinez, acknowledging that his program won't be popular among teen users, says: "It's kind of like saving a drowning person. Do you stop because you bruise them when you're pulling them out?"
The nonprofit groups spearheading the anti-meth initiative are gathering a steady supply of drug tests, but still seek financial assistance in purchasing their ideal gross: 20,000 tests.
It will happen, Martinez says. The faith-based groups have just that: faith.
Bought in bulk, the tests are 82 cents each.
The campaign will kick off May 30 with the blocking of evening programing on 10 TV stations for the uninterrupted airing of "Crystal Darkness," a documentary about the dregs of meth use.
Immediately after the screening, meth awareness seminars will begin in churches and non profit centers across the valley.
This is where the catch comes in: Parents must attend a 45-minute seminar to get the test. Interested parties can sign up at www.crystaldarkness.com.
Martinez expects a landslide of concerned parents eager to learn, curious to test. He plans to hold seminars, and hand out drug tests, for at least the next 10 years.
And the mere sight of the test, Martinez said, produced from a briefcase, sitting on a table, lurking in the medicine cabinet, might inspire it s own kind of candor.
"It's an option," he said. "It might make them be honest before the test comes home."
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