Here are the big questions around synthetics we encounter when doing drug screenings:

Is Synthetic Urine Detectable?

The short answer is Yes. By using a process called specimen validity testing, we can determine the origins of the urine – i.e., whether it is human or synthetic. However, as of now, there isn’t an industry standard for determining if a specimen is synthetic or has been substituted with another person’s urine. While several states have made synthetic urine illegal, there hasn’t been anything stopping cheaters from crossing state lines to get the products.

Without actual direct observation of the collection, there is not any 100% guarantee that real urine isn’t being substituted. That’s why it’s so critical that you use a reputable company. Blueline Services can administer your testing and screening processes.

As you’ve learned from working with our highly experienced team, the drug testing procedures can go very smoothly. That isn’t always the case, with several background and drug testing companies failing to provide fully accurate information. Some reporting doesn’t stay within legal guidelines. We take the worry and confusion out of the entire process. Our platform design will keep stress and confusion at bay. Check us out and see how we can work even better together.

The post Synthetic Urine Getting Flushed by States appeared first on Blueline.

If you Google “how to pass a drug test”, there are blogs, videos, recipes, products and outrageous methods published on how to avoid getting that positive drug test result. We published an article a couple weeks ago about synthetic urine which seems to be an increasingly popular method for trying to cheat the system. However with our trusted lab partners here at Blueline Services, the system can’t be beat so easily. Yet time and time again these would-be-cheaters are surprised when their tests still yield positive results. So like our friends at Quest Diagnostics, we too have heard some of the following excuses:

• “Would having dreams about using meth activate the enzymes in my body that showed on the drug test?”
• “I was eating ‘generic brand’ of ice cream and it’s well known that they put THC in it.”
• “I was having sex with my boyfriend and he was high at the time. That’s how the cocaine got into my system.”
• “There’s no way I can be positive for marijuana. I only do cocaine.”
• “It must have been something I ate.”
• “I kissed my boyfriend after he smoked a joint.”
• “My dentist gave me something strong for a sore tooth.”
• “I ate a lot of poppy seed muffins for breakfast.”
• “I failed because of second-hand marijuana smoke.”
• “I take all-natural supplements and some ingredients aren’t listed.”
• “My mom has a valid prescription for that drug.”
• “Perhaps drugs are in the lotion or shampoo I use.”
• “I don’t know how that bottle of urine got in my purse.”
• “There must have been a mix-up with the specimens.”
• “Can I take a retest? I attended a party over the weekend but I don’t use often.”
• “My mom has cancer. I was making her mashed potatoes and the butter had THC in it. I had to keep trying the potatoes until it was how she liked it.”
• “My dog ate my cocaine and then licked my face.”
• “I was growing tomatoes next to marijuana plants in my garden. I only ate the tomatoes so they must have cross pollinated.”

If you’re experiencing issues with drug use or drug test cheating within your company. Here are a couple things that Quest recommended to help you alleviate those issues:

1. Always drug test at your company and have a testing policy in place. Habitual drug users will often avoid applying at companies who have a clear drug testing policy.
2. Consider oral fluid or hair drug tests. These methods are done with observed collections which make them more difficult to cheat.
3. Trust a reputable collection site. Trained professional collectors who thoroughly understand the drug testing process will help you avoid missteps or problems during the testing process.
4. Add specimen validity testing to your testing program. This additional level of testing is performed within the lab and can help ensure the integrity of urine test results by measuring pH, creatinine, and specific gravity, and screening for adulterants.

If you have any further questions on the drug testing process and how to avoid issues within your company, give us a call! We’d be happy to help. Also, if you have any good excuse stories of your own to share, send them to us at msmith@blueline-services.com

The post Excuses We Hear For Positive Drug Tests appeared first on Blueline.

At least 17 states currently have pending legislation making it illegal to sell or use synthetic urine. And earlier this year, Mississippi Representative Willie Bailey proposed the “Urine Trouble Act” in order to ban the sale and use of synthetic urine products in the state of Mississippi. While the proposed bill didn’t pass in the state senate, lawmakers are hopeful for another effort to do so next year. Indiana and New Hampshire both banned synthetic urine last year and Missouri introduced a bill to do so this year as well.

Failed drug tests in the workplace currently stand at the highest they’ve been in a decade  (which we covered in depth here) and many believe it would seem to follow that more people are trying to cheat drug exams as well. There are many common tricks for trying to pass a test including: using someone else’s urine, attempting to flush out your system with large amounts of water or using herbal remedies. But synthetic urine seems to have become the new “go-to” trick and is harder to prevent and detect than most other ways of cheating.

A box of synthetic urine can be purchased at truck stops or novelty shops and often come with tools to help the user make the product seem more like real urine.

One brand of fake urine, called ‘fetish urine‘, includes hand warmers and a temperature sensor along with the liquid and instructions on how to heat the substance. Then, all the purchaser needs to do is heat up the liquid with the hand warmers—giving them the ability to warm the product without the use of a microwave.

Other products even come with belts “for easy hiding around the waist“. Synthetic urines products are usually comprised of “all major components of natural urine… including urea, creatine, uric acid, phosphates, ammonia, sulfates, etc.”.

During his hearing in Jackson, Bailey urged others to vote for the bill stating that the substance has been a “hot seller” in truck stops where they haven’t been able to keep it in stock due to high demand. Alluding to the concern that workers in safety sensitive positions (such as truck drivers) could be putting themselves and the public at risk.

Judy Tilton, whose 21-year-old son died from a fentanyl overdose, found a bottle of synthetic urine while cleaning his room. “It just made me think… ‘Who else is using this?’,” Tilton said. “It could be a bus driver, it could be an aircraft pilot, a trucker driving down the road. They’re endangering everybody.”

Many laboratories will perform validity testing to ensure that a urine drug test sample is human, but this isn’t the case for all laboratories. Quest Diagnostics (one of our preferred partners) is a lab that will always ensure a urine sample is not synthetic.

States with legislation pending to ban the use and sale of synthetic urine include:
-Alabama
-Arkansas
-Arizona
-Florida
-Georgia
-Indiana
-Kansas
-Michigan
-Mississippi
-Missouri
-New Hampsire
-North Carolina
-Oklahoma
-Tennesse
-Utah
-West Virginia
-Wisconsin

The post Urine Trouble: States Move To Ban Synthetic Urine appeared first on Blueline.