
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 30, 1995                   TAG: 9503300100
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J.                                LENGTH: Short

NEW KIT LETS PARENTS TEST FOR DRUGS AT HOME

Parents can check their children's rooms and belongings for drugs with a $20 kit that will give them confidential results.

Called DrugAlert, the kit can detect trace amounts of up to 30 illicit substances, including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, LSD and PCP, according to its maker, Barringer Technologies Inc. of New Providence.

The kit contains a moist pad that can be wiped across clothing, books or furniture to pick up drug residue. The pad can be mailed back to the manufacturer for laboratory analysis.

``Anyone who has been in contact with illegal narcotics will inadvertently acquire trace amounts of the narcotic,'' Stan Binder, Barringer's chairman and chief executive, said Wednesday.

``For instance, a cocaine user will have traces on his hands and clothing. These traces will find their way to his car, his school locker and objects in his room.''

The company cautioned, however, that a positive test result does not necessarily indicate a child is a drug user. Traces could be left by another person or picked up through innocent contact.

- Associated Press

by CNB