Is My Applicant for Foster Parenting a Current/former Drug User?

Question by LIZ: Is my applicant for foster parenting a current/former drug user?
I really need some feedback on a specific symptom indicating current or former drug usage. I am in the process of assessing someone to be a foster parent. She is always doing that twitch where you wipe your nose a lot. It’s not like she has a runny nose. It’s really like a twitch. I know common symptoms of drug users but she doesn’t really have anything else that causes a red flag. She doesn’t seem honest, overall… so it’s making me more and more uneasy. Is there another reason someone would have that “nose wiping” twitch and also, do people who USED TO do drugs do it after they quit or just people who are CURRENTLY doing drugs. I wish drug testing was an option but it’s not. Thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by Heather
I’ve known lots of crack addicts who did that and were otherwise normal looking. There are a lot of symptoms that don’t go away after prolonged drug use, such as bad teeth, which keep rotting years after you stop using drugs. But the nose thing, I’ve never seen that in someone who wasn’t still on it though there are exceptions to every rule. If she moves her head a lot (even if it’s not very noticeable but just like she can’t stay totally still for long periods of time) or has akward movements in general that go along with it (hard to explain), that’s a sign too.
Maybe you could get an approved drug test that looks for cocaine (“crack” is just one type of it) and other types of drugs, and test her on the spot when you are meeting together and she’s showing signs of it like that. Crack doesn’t stay in the system long, which causes you to crave it often and is why it’s so addictive, so you should probably do it more than once. Unlike marajuana, which stays in the system for a month or more (it’s also non-habit forming in most people for this reason), crack can exit the body in days or less, so you’ve got to catch it when she’s on it (which she may not be).
Something else you should consider too is Teretts Syndrom (it might be spelled a little different). It’s a condition characterized by involuntary movements (“ticks”), which can be something like that, involuntary swearing or speech, muscle spasms and limb movements the person can’t control. But you should be able to tell.

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