Trustees Adopt Drug Test Kits : Schools: Capistrano Unified is the first district in the nation to sanction the controversial do-it-yourself eye test.

The Capistrano Unified School District has agreed to make available to parents and administrators a controversial do-it-yourself drug-testing kit designed to allow adults to screen children for drug use by checking their eyes.

Supporters of the eye test say it provides a useful tool for parents who are concerned about the possibility that their children are using drugs, and they hope that the district’s backing will help bring it to local families.

But critics of the test--it is known by two names: “The Winners Program Featuring the Rapid Eye Test” or “Epic”--including researchers from at least two major universities, call the test a highly inaccurate gimmick. According to its critics, the test could produce false findings and drive a wedge between parents and their children.

“It’s garbage,” said Dr. Robert N. Pechnick, an assistant professor of pharmacology at UCLA who examined the test in 1989. “There is no scientific data to back up its claims. We used to show the test to medical students, and they would get a good laugh. Parents would be better off flipping a coin.”

The criticisms surprised some school district officials, who were assured by distributors of the test that it was not controversial. One district trustee has asked administrators to investigate the allegations.

The Board of Trustees recently voted to buy an undetermined number of the $49 kits for the district’s own use and to place the program on a reference list of services that the district offers to parents who think their children might be using drugs. Parents would have to buy their own kits.

Principals, vice principals and other administrators also would be instructed about the kit, and could use the eye test to check students for drug use.

“The people who criticize the test either have never worked with drug addicts or don’t understand the test,” said Dr. Forest Tennant, a former drug adviser to the National Football League, who developed the eye test for home use and says it is accurate 80% to 90% of the time.

“We have never said that it determines that a person uses drugs. We have said that it is an index of suspicion and if the evaluation is positive, a urine or blood test should be performed,” he said. “This test has been used by law enforcement for 60 years. If it doesn’t show drug use, then we will have to empty half of our jails.”

Tennant, a former mayor of West Covina, said he has operated drug clinics for 20 years. He resigned his NFL position last year amid allegations that his tests were inaccurate and that he covered up the positive tests of star players. Tennant denies those allegations and said he resigned to devote more time to his private practice.

Tennant said he has no financial stake in the kit.

This is the first time that the program has been adopted by a school district, although it has been demonstrated at thousands of schools nationwide since its introduction three years ago, according to David Hannah, president of Athletes for a Strong America, a Mission Viejo-based group that developed the kit. About 40,000 kits have been sold nationwide, Hannah told the board at its May 20 meeting.

The kit includes a 40-minute videotape detailing the dangers and warning signs of adolescent drug abuse and explaining how to conduct the eye test. It also comes with a 30-page booklet giving more specifics about drug use and the test, a penlight and three audiocassettes that feature speakers attacking drug abuse and offering suggestions on rearing teen-agers.

Although the printed material and the box of the kit given to the district say it is distributed by Athletes for a Strong America, Chuck Ball, president of the Orange-based EPIC Corp., said Hannah’s group recently sold the rights to the kit to his company and that modifications are being made.

He said that even though the videotape, which has been modified, spends 15 minutes explaining the drug test, he said the kit no longer “advocates” its use.

“We also tell parents about urine and blood tests, and about changes of behavior that can indicate drug use,” Ball said.

The eye check calls for the parent or administrator to test for a variety of symptoms that can reportedly indicate drug use. According to the instructions, parents should administer the test at least twice weekly to their children beginning at age 7 and continue giving it through their teens.

Some doctors are skeptical, however.

Dr. J. Thomas Ungerleider, a UCLA professor of psychiatry and the author of a study that showed that marijuana use has no effect on the pupil, was part of the team that looked at the kit.

“Forest noticed in his clinical work that the eyes of some people sometimes can show some evidence of drug use,” Ungerleider said. But, he said, there is no conclusive evidence that the use of marijuana or cocaine, which are the most frequently used illegal drugs, can be detected by Tennant’s eye check.

“It bothers me that this group continues to push this test to parents and to schools,” Ungerleider said.

Other doctors also are highly critical of the test.

“It seems to us that the pupil test is a sham, and the flashlight is just something for parents to wave about in the hope of scaring their kids into staying clean,” Dr. Stanley Thompson, a University of Iowa researcher, said in a 1989 letter to UCLA. He was unavailable for comment this week, but an assistant said Thompson has not changed his views.

School District Trustee A. Edward Westberg, a local dentist and member of the board that recommended adoption of the test, said he was “vaguely aware” that criticism had been leveled against the Winners Program. But he added that he never had any illusion that the kits are foolproof.

“It gives parents a tool, that’s really all it is,” Westberg said. “The program motivates parents to spend some time with their child and take a look at them once in a while.”

At least one other board member, however, was disturbed to discover that the test had come under fire.

“I am disappointed that this controversy was not brought to the board’s attention before we took our vote,” Trustee Marlene Draper said. She said she has asked the district’s administration to investigate the allegations made by the test’s critics.

Backers of the test contend that despite the criticism, it will help youngsters ward off drugs even if it produces some false results.