Letter: Drug tests have been a useful tool

Thursday, May 24, 2007 | 6:53 a.m.

An article in the May 23 issue of the Las Vegas Sun, about a drug-testing kit for parents to use at home, brought back memories of my experiences as medical director for the Nevada Operations Office of the Energy Department (1973- 91). After many years of trying, I finally got permission to institute a drug-testing policy in 1985.

I am board certified in occupational and environmental medicine (second in Nevada, 1980), and became a certified medical review officer for drug surveillance and treatment. The Energy Department put limitations on my testing federal workers, but I received the go-ahead for contractors.

Our program was patterned after the Navy's pioneering work in the late 1970s. It was legal, ethical, fair - and it worked. The local Associated Pathology Laboratory did our testing. We insisted on witnessed collection, strict chain of custody, retention of all positive screening (for retesting as needed), interview and counseling by me, offer of help in facilities of our choosing (for first-time offenders). The provisions of the program were written, understood and non-negotiable.

It is not surprising, but nevertheless hard to realize, that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Civil Liberties Union are opposed to home testing of children by their parents. I'm a liberal guy to a degree, but going into denial deprives those in need of getting early and meaningful help. You cannot fix a problem unless you recognize its existence. Similarly, those who would conjure up excuses to avoid facing unpleasant, difficult situations are acting as enablers; enablers are as guilty as the pushers.

I'm very much in favor of giving parents the tools to be better parents, and I would insist that they carefully monitor the urine collection: It has to be closely witnessed to be authentic.

Leonard Kreisler, Las Vegas