Pubdate: Sat, 14 Mar 2015
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Contact: http://www.leaderpost.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html
Website: http://www.leaderpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Author: Charles Hamilton
Page: A6

DRUG TESTS COULD SAVE LIVES, DEAD TEEN'S MOM SAYS

SASKATOON - Marie Agioritis suspected something was wrong with her 
19-year-old son in the weeks leading up to his death.

Now, months after Kelly accidentally overdosed on fentanyl, she only 
wishes she could have proven it.

"I was a little suspicious something was going on with him, but I 
didn't have a drug test at home," she said.

Agioritis said Kelly wasn't an addict and was only experimenting when 
he took a lethal dose of the opiate.

She wishes she had acted on her suspicions before it was too late. 
More than that, she wishes a take home drug test would have been at 
her disposal.

"If I could have just driven over to the drugstore and grabbed a drug 
test kit and brought it home and said, 'Do it, buddy.' It's instant," she said.

Take-home drug test kits can test for everything from marijuana to 
methamphetamine to heroin with nothing more than a simple urine 
sample. The tests are common on drugstore shelves in the United 
States, but they are harder to find in Canada.

While the kits can be purchased online and occasionally at some 
specialty stores, they are noticeably absent from the shelves of 
major drugstore chains.

"It should be more readily available," said John Haines, the 
executive director of Addictions Canada.

Haines said the drug tests are a regular part of interventions at 
Addictions Canada's drug rehabilitation centres, but the company 
orders them in bulk online.

There are no Health Canada restrictions on the take-home tests.

"I don't think this is the responsibility of the pharmacies, but I 
think pharmacies should maybe be looking into supplying better 
options for parents," Haines said.

Agioritis has been fighting for better drug education in the wake of 
her son's death. She said the take-home tests are just one more tool 
for parents who might suspect their children are taking drugs.

"They could save lives. The drugs out there are way different then 
the drugs we saw in the '70s," Agioritis said.

She had ordered drug tests online for her other son, Kayle, but the 
weeks-long waiting period is just too much, she said, adding it's 
much easier to act on your suspicions right when they happen.

She hopes speaking out will encourage more pharmacies to carry the 
test kits and help stop drug abuse before it's too late.

"There is no harm of having these drug tests on the shelves. They are 
only going to do good," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom