Marijuana Policy Project

ROCHESTER, MN A new program is leading parents in a new direction. Olmsted County is joining forces with law enforcement to fight drug use.

L.E.A.D is a national organization set on helping parents keep their kids off drugs. Certainly their most notable effort is the distribution of at home drug tests. Something organizers say any parent can give to their child.

Mike Bromberg says, "Now you can do it in the privacy of your own home, at minimal cost."

The price-tag is 12 dollars and authorities say it will give parents more than just peace of mind.

Mike Bromberg says, "It empowers them to take control of their lives and their kids' lives."

The fight against teens and drugs is a top priority in Olmsted County. And now, since joining L.E.A.D, or Law Enforcement Against Drugs, they feel the county is heading in the right direction.

Mike Bromberg says, "let's take that first step before the kid goes the other direction and gets involved in worse chemicals and starts dropping out of school and their life starts to tumble."

With L.E.A.D, the County has introduced at home drug and alcohol testing kits. Similar kits have been offered in Wabasha County. But this is the first time they will be available to parents in Olmsted County, allowing them to test for opiates, meth, cocaine, alcohol and thc; a substance is found in marijuana.

Mike Bromberg says, "If they have suspicions that their kids are into using drugs or alcohol that they take that step and go 'hey, i'd like you to take this test and let's talk about what's going on here.' Instead of burying their head in the sand and hoping nothing bad happens and it just goes away."

The tests are 93 to 95 percent accurate. The drug kits cost 12 dollars and alcohol test strips are 4 dollars a piece.

Olmsted County Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention Unit, the Byron and Stewartville High School Offices, and the Dover-Eyota District Office all carry the kits.