May be offensive to stoners :(

Drug-Test Cheats Try New Tricks on Labs

Experts Say Internet and Household Products Bring New Challenges to Drug Testing
By Todd Zwillich
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

July 28, 2008 -- 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.
View Article Sources http://img.webmd.com/dtmcms/live/web...s_plusSign.gif
SOURCES:
Amitava Dasgupta, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, University of Texas-Houston Medical School.
Chris Faught, chief, chemical testing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.


© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Originally Posted by epilepticme

"The bottom line is toxicologists are smarter than drug abusers,"

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Yeah... so smart that they generalize and sterotype their "enemy." Anyone ever read The Art of War by Sun Tzu? Big mistake when in a "battle." ;)

I personally will NEVER choose to work for an employer that requires drug testing. Whatever consequence that brings, I am fine with. Any employer that feels they are protecting the workplace by checking to see if people are using substances... and does not do full scale physicals or psychological profiles... is rediculous. I hate the fact that I would be terminated for testing positive due to my using Cannabis, when the person who replaced me could be a raging alcoholic or addicted to prescription medication. So, my logic, if you are choosing to protect the workplace by testing for substance abuse... go all out and research their medical history and do a psych profile too. Make it a 100% no tolerance workplace with weekly testing. It's when these fucking dumbass companies think that they are making a better work environment by suprising employees with UA, that I get really angry. They should say off the bat, "We drug test for everything, a lot, so if you do ANYTHING... this isn't the place for you." In reality, the majority of workers get terminated by testing positive for Cannabis. This allows the employer to fire the worker with no warning and they are not required to issue severance pay. It's an easy fail safe to keep employees turning over, so as to not have to issue raises or promotions. I don't know... it's just sad.

But yeah... to say that toxicologists are "smarter," than people who test positive on a urine analysis is about the most idiotic generalization I have read in awhile. Because also... you can't assume that all people who fail an analysis are "drug addicts," or "abusers." Hmmm... maybe she meant "more prejudice," instead of "smarter?" :thumbsup:

It hasn't occurred to this guy that some toxicologists are drug users?
Not real big into math, is he?...

Interesting that there's no mention of the fact that it's possible to buy "urine" that was synthesized in a lab and is indistinguishable from urine produced in a human body.

Maybe all those super-smart toxicologists just don't like to think about the fact that their job is to analyze the contents of other people's piss just to determine whether those people are smoking a material in order to think and feel a certain way.

That's a pretty gross job with a pretty pointless purpose if you ask me... so how smart can they be to want to do it?

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Originally Posted by TurnyBright

Interesting that there's no mention of the fact that it's possible to buy "urine" that was synthesized in a lab and is indistinguishable from urine produced in a human body.

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My thoughts exactly. To admit, (at this time anyway) there is a sure way to beat a piss test would hurt them in there bottom line and send testers to hair only tests.

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Originally Posted by TheMetal1

I personally will NEVER choose to work for an employer that requires drug testing. Whatever consequence that brings, I am fine with.

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....what he said.
whiskeytango

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Originally Posted by SnSstealth

....what he said.
whiskeytango

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I have made it this long with out pissing in a cup for the man (multiple decades) I HIGHLY doubt I will take up that practice anytime soon.
:hippy:

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Originally Posted by epilepticme

I have made it this long with out pissing in a cup for the man (multiple decades) I HIGHLY doubt I will take up that practice anytime soon.
:hippy:

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That's good for you and all, but not all of us are that lucky.

You make it seem like people that have been unfortunate enough to be tested wanted it that way.

I was not implying anything other than...

I personally have chosen not take any of those test and do not plan to in the future.

I did not imply anything about anyone else.

Sorry if I offended you somehow.

Some carreer ocupations you don't have a choice about drug tests. Its nice though that they didn't mention synthetic urine.:thumbsup: