Some Bargain Buys Could Cost You in The Long Run

Recently, we had a member of a Northern California Patch community contact us about a dollar store find. She wanted to write a story about a test that costs a buck.    

She talked with us for a good while about the regulations home drug test manufacturers must pass through in order to be sold to families, or be sold in stores. 

We explained to her that there's a reason why you only see three different brands in reliable pharmacy, supermarket chains, or through those major chains' websites.   Those tests are FDA cleared for over-the-counter sales.    

As the developer of the Teensavers Home Drug Test Kit, I can tell you that it's not an easy process to earn clearance from the FDA.

All the rest of those tests you see on websites you've never heard of, and at stores that may not carry the reputation as the places you normally shop, are not FDA cleared for OTC.

FDA-approved home drug tests range in price from $16 for a marijuana-only drug test to $48 for tests that look for a wide variety of narcotics. It also depends which brand is on sale.    

Those tests also have to offer you follow-up lab confirmation for preliminary positive results.

But in this economy, $1 seems much cheaper than paying $16.    

Are those cheap tests popular? You betcha.

And you know who's buying them? Teens, young marijuana smokers, and parents hoping to detect early use.    

Take a look around Twitter or any marijuana or drug-related message board. Adolescent smokers boast about their drug fix online, and they brag about using these products to self-test before parental or occupational testing.  

But as the old adage goes: "you get what you pay for."

Those cheap tests you can find on eBay, online, or at discount stores are typically foreign made. Those tests do not adhere to the U.S. standard for cutoff levels. 

Here's what's important for both the self-testers and the parents using these import products: They can give you false negatives.   

I've answered the phone calls and met face-to-face with terrified parents. I know that when a child's drug test comes back with a preliminary positive, parents are worried sick. But in that moment of crisis, families can begin to start attacking the problem immediately.

A parent who gets a false negative may be missing teen drug use, and they may not find out about the problem until their child is an addict or dead.

That pot-smoking prospective employee's new job could go up in smoke when they are given a much stricter drug test.

Discount stores and dollar finds are great when your child's life doesn't depend on it.  

Fill your basket with gift wrap, candy, household cleaning items, and a few decks of cards. There are many great buys for a bargain to be had.

But don't place a dollar wager on your child's future.