AMSTERDAM, N.Y. – Two years have passed since Laurie and John Sheckton's son, Bryan, was lost to an overdose of methodone and Xanax.

"The day that he died, I remember every second of the day," Laurie Sheckton said Wednesday. "He went to sleep one night and didn't wake up the next day."

Her son’s death at age 36 marked the end of a two-decade-long struggle with heroin addiction.

"He was a great person, and then he just turned into this person that only cared about his heroin,” Sheckton said.

It was during Bryan's mid-teenage years when the Shecktons first noticed a change in his behavior.

"We didn't really know exactly what he was doing, but had some suspicions," she said.

"Most of the parents are really shocked to hear the child is addicted, because in early stages, they will not know," said Dr. Govind Rao, a longtime pediatrician.

That premise forms the bedrock of Rao's push to see New York State require all children between 12 and 18 to be drug tested during their annual physical exams.

"Children from 12 to 18, the brain is still maturing, and a lot of them are peer pressured,” said Rao, who’s run his Amsterdam practice for 43 years. “These drugs are so addictive. Once they try once or twice they can become addicted."

Former State Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk introduced a mandatory drug testing bill in 2014, but it's never been brought to the floor for a vote. Groups like the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) have opposed the legislation, believing it violates privacy laws.

“We expect legislators to respect personal privacy,” said Melanie Trimble, the director of the local NYCLU chapter. "Even though children may be under the age of 18, they have the same rights as adults.”

Rao contends the mandate would be no different from existing laws that require newborns be tested for lead exposure or immunized for numerous ailments.

"We have health laws to prevent diseases,” Rao said. “Drug addiction is a disease."

"Drug use and drug abuse fall under different categories, we feel, than major health concerns like identifying lead content,” Trimble said.

Two years after their son's untimely death, the Shecktons are now raising Bryan's young children.

"I worry about them every day," said Sheckton, who brought her granddaughter for an exam at Rao’s office Thursday.

Wondering whether earlier detection and intervention would have prevented Bryan's addiction, they believe Rao's proposal could potentially save lives.

"It's a devastating effect on the families, and I feel that too,” Rao said. “[I feel] that I have failed, too, at raising this child."

"It takes their life away,” Sheckton said. “I feel like we lost him at 15, 16, 17."