If you have teenage children, or young friends, or vulnerable partners, you may worry about them being exposed to illicit drug taking. Drug testing serves two purposes: it allows interested and legally allowed parties to perform tests on certain people who might have used drug of abuse, and it allows those under suspicion to clear their names.

Over the years reliable products have been developed allowing testing for drugs of abuse in a confidential, reliable, quick and efficient way under the protection of one's home.

Home drug test kits are intended for use, for example, by parents to unobtrusively detect whether their children use drugs. The testing may involve hair analysis to detect the presence of drugs. Sometimes, the testing requires that the "suspect" provide a urine sample. In any case, the use of such tests should be properly evaluated and warranted.

Hydrocodone is an effective antitussive (anti-cough) agent, and as an opiate it is also an effective analgesic for mild to moderate pain control. Five mg of hydrocodone is equivalent to 30 mg of codeine when administered orally. Early comparisons concluded that hydrocodone and morphine were equipotent for pain control in humans. However, it is now considered that a dose of 15 mg (1/4 gr) of hydrocodone is equivalent to 10 mg (1/6 gr) of morphine. Hydrocodone is considered to be morphine-like in all respects.

Sales and production of this drug have increased significantly in recent years (a four-fold increase between 1990 and 2000), as have diversion and illicit use. Trade names include Anexsia, Hycodan, Hycomine, Lorcet, Lortab, Tussionex, Tylox, Vicodin, and Vicoprofen. These are available as tablets, capsules, and/or syrups. Generally; this drug is abused by oral rather than intravenous administration. Currently, about 20 tons of hydrocodone products are used annually in the United States.

Methadone is a synthetic substance with pharmacological properties similar to morphine and heroin. Methadone is prescribed for patients with severe pain, such as those with serious injuries or those who have undergone major surgery. Methadone works in the brain to decrease the sensation of pain and to mute the emotional response to pain. It comes as tablets, dispersible tablets, liquid, and liquid concentrate. Patients take it every 3-4 hours for severe pain and every 6-8 hours for chronic pain. Since methadone can be as addictive as morphine and heroin, care must be taken to follow the doctor's instructions. Do not take a larger dose, or take it more frequently, or take it for longer than the doctor has prescribed. Methadone is one of the most difficult drugs to detox from since its effects are long-lasting and it is readily stored in the body's tissue.

Methadone is also used as a replacement-opiate therapy for opiate dependency. A legal dependency (methadone) is substituted for an illegal dependency (heroin). Methadone is available in government-approved drug treatment clinics and by prescription in some areas.