Tim Salter

The issue of substance abuse has always been a concern in many ways. Until recently, drinking alcohol was not generally considered to be a social disease, unless a person had extreme problems with it. Regular consumption of alcohol was acceptable in most social circles, and in fact still is.

Any parent who is not alarmed by the increase of substance abuse among teenagers is simply not paying attention. The excuse of being ignorant of the facts really is untenable considering the plethora of news reports and medical studies which are pointing to the ever-rising rates of mental and physical health problems associated with substance abuse in children and young adults.

With the increase in drug policies being instituted at the workplace and in schools, more and more people are becoming proactive in making sure that they are avoiding the risk of losing a job or being expelled from school as a result of testing positive for substance use.

The alarming statistics of substance abuse among children and teens has prompted many parents to take a more aggressive approach to monitoring the activities of their young ones.

Due to the common practice these days of many employers instituting drug policies, the practice of testing at home for the presence of substances in the system is gaining interest steadily. Random tests at the workplace are used as a deterrent to drug use on the job.