Drug-Test Cheats Try New Tricks

Experts Say Internet And Household Products Bring New Challenges To Drug Testing

(WebMD)  Vinegar. Lemon juice. Drain-cleaning products. At least one of these items is probably in your kitchen. And any of them can be used to beat a drug test.

For about 20 years, people have been using a long list of very ordinary household items to confuse prospective employers and drug labs hoping to catch them in the act of using or abusing illegal drugs.

Add to the list laundry detergent, baking soda, and ordinary salt.

"Does it work? Yes, it does," says Amitava Dasgupta, PhD, a professor of pathology and drug testing expert from the University of Texas-Houston Medical Center. "It's a cat and mouse game."

Employer drug testing became popular in the late 1980s after President Ronald Reagan instituted drug testing as a requirement for federal jobs. Lots of private companies followed suit, and today thousands run drug tests on people applying for jobs.

Many schools also conduct drug tests on students trying to join sports teams, or, more controversially, sometimes conduct tests on a random basis.

Many household items change urine's pH, or acidity, when they're added to it; most of the time that renders a sample useless for testing. But these are not the cheating methods that worry testers like Dasgupta.

That's because labs can easily tell when urine has been adulterated with household items. Usually they just disqualify the applicant without even bothering to test for specific drugs.


Online Test-Cheating Industry

That's what happens with most of the so-called "detoxifying" drinks that can be found online. Most of the drinks are simply loaded with caffeine and come with directions to drink lots and lots of water. That dilutes the urine, which can sully a drug test.

But testers are prepared for dilution, Dasgupta says. Any sample below a certain concentration is automatically rejected, regardless of whether it has evidence of illegal drugs in it.

"There is no magic formulation which can take drugs out of your body," Dasgupta says.

Chris Faught, who heads chemical testing at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, says his lab routinely sees dilution as a strategy to fool drug tests in the emergency room. "We get results that are simply suppressed so there's obviously an interfering substance. The old classic way is to drink lots and lots of water," he tells WebMD.

But the gigantic test-cheating industry, found mostly online, has given toxicologists like Dasgupta new problems to contend with. One popular formulation is called pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC). It destroys drug molecules in urine, potentially fooling drug tests.

But there's a catch: the simple addition of some hydrogen peroxide will turn a PCC-containing urine sample dark brown.


Testing for Marijuana Use

"The bottom line is toxicologists are smarter than drug abusers," Dasgupta told reporters at a meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in Washington. "If try to cheat on a drug test, we will catch you."

That's usually true. But even Dasgupta concedes there are some holes in his drug-testing net. He says parents should be on the lookout for over-the counter eyedrops. A full vial of the easy-to-buy product can successfully mask THC -- marijuana's active ingredient -- if it's added to a urine sample.

This cheating method doesn't work for heavy marijuana users. But for "borderline" tests, some eyedrops can envelop THC molecules, effectively hiding them from chemical detection, adds Dasgupta.

[eggy1620]

The testing industry and the cheating industry would never allow the government to abandon the war on drugs.

[kansas1946]

Legalize Marijuana!!! For a better, peacefull America!!!


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Posted by rushman71 at 03:33 PM : Jul 30, 2008
+ report abuse

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The war on marijuana in particular has caused a million times more harm than marijuana ever caused.

[Netterz]

What they left out of this article, is that SEVERAL illnesses can cause higher levels of pH or acidity, and they clearly stated, that those samples are not even TESTED, just returned with a GUILTY verdict, tossing the person out of the employment pool. It is unfair to people with certain conditions, even tho they have nothing to do with how well they can perform a job, with out causing harm to self or others. I am a long time user of ''legal'' drugs, and undergo random drug testing from my doc, for his safety, as well as my own against BIG BROTHER coming in and raising havoc over people like me who have severe pain from nuerological impairment. The test was for every drug, legal and illegal. The cost? $1200.00. But I have no choice, I wouldnt be able to function and have zero quality of life. I take them as prescribed, and am not selling them on the street, as many people do. At $1200/test, just think about the $ wasted, and tossed in the guilty pile, for having the wrong color pee.

[rushman71]

I can understand drug testing for major hardworking jobs, such as construction, machine operation, buses, etc. But giving drug tests to other people is nothing more than waisting millions, if not billions, of dollars for a BS "Drug Free America." Wake up people!!! No matter how hard Uncle Sam tries, pot will always find a way!!!
Legalize Marijuana!!! For a better, peacefull America!!!

[sjw1253]

For all of you who are thanking CBS for their tips and asking for more - I was thinking the same thing when I started reading this article.

The one thing I determined once I finished reading the article is that they only provided the tips to which the toxicologists are already on top of. They did not provide any specifics for "tricks" that the toxicologists have yet to overcome.

[magoo2u1]

"A full vial of the easy-to-buy product can successfully mask THC -- marijuana''s active ingredient -- if it''s added to a urine sample."


You have to be alone with the sample.

[magoo2u1]

"Hay CBS, I was wondering if you could publish an article on how to sneak drugs past a drug-sniffing dog. There%u2019s allot of pot growers out there that would really appreciate it."


What''s your problem numbnut? You think the dope heads get their info from the news websites? Grow up.

[omega39-2009]

Drug testing is a crock anyway, did you see Mythbusters where the poppyseed muffin DID cause a positive return? there are several things that can cause a false positive in drug tests but the system declares you guilty until proven innocent.

[abmitus]

Is the writer of this article speaking for his or her own experience? Sure sound like it.

[marcpcbs]

Hay CBS, I was wondering if you could publish an article on how to sneak drugs past a drug-sniffing dog. There%u2019s allot of pot growers out there that would really appreciate it.

Thanks

[juwboy]

I assume the labs are testing for urine dilution (detoxifying, caffeine-containing drink followed with lots and losts of water) by measuring the urine`s creatinine content.

So, the way to beat the dilution test would be to add creatinine to the detoxifying drink and/or the subsequent "mass quantities" of water.

[grammawhamma]

CBS...geez, what kind of drugs are you on? Didn''t you just defeat the whole purpose of this article with the second to last paragraph?

[timothyone-2009]

Can you now teach me how to get away with killing someone? It might help if you could show me how to hide blood stains, or how to destroy DNA evidence.
Dumb *****!

[spadeisspade]

Thanks for the tip, CBS!