How to Pass a Drug Test

How to pass the standard drug tests required by many employers? If you've recently indulged and are willing to risk the consequences of tampering with a drug test (which at best, means keeping the job or at worst, breaking the law in some states), here's how to do it.

Method 1 of 5: Urine Testing

Avoid spiking or masking the urine sample. This is a method used to throw off testing equipment from seeing certain results. Commercial and OTC chemicals containing nitrates were once used to mask THC but are now commonly tested for. These products are all detectable, and will result in a failed drug screen.

Consider the risks of diluting the sample. Dilution is the process of reducing the concentration of drug or drug metabolites in the sample. This is accomplished by adding fluid to the sample. Diluting a sample will lower the specific gravity and creatinine level (creatine is used by muscles and creates a waste product called creatinine). Drug testing laboratories all routinely test samples to detect dilution.

• If you decide to go this route anyway, be sure to use warm water, as the temperature of the sample is recorded. Most facilities will put you in a room with no sink, and where the toilet water is tinted.
• Know that internal dilution (or "flushing") can be detected. Many people assume that drinking excessive amounts of water will accomplish a negative result. However, it's dangerous (people have died from water intoxication) and risky because colorless urine arouses suspicion, possibly flagging the sample.

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Substitute the sample. Substitution is a method that involves substituting your urine with that of another person's or a synthetic sample.

• Synthetic urine comes in two basic forms: the liquid type found in smoke shops that is similar to what is used to calibrate lab equipment; or vials of a powdered concentrate that can be added to a few ounces of warm water. Both are kept in a delivery devise with a temperature meter. This method works on every employment urine test (provided some conditions are met such as controlling the temperature (92 -100) and delivering the sample in 4 minutes or less).
• Guarantee the substitute stays at body temperature if you using something that keeps it concealed under your clothing and close to your skin. A liquid crystal thermometer with 2 degree offset like the ones used on the collection cups is ideal and a properly sized organic warmer as an insulating source as it is the body that is the regulator.
• Some labs are now testing for synthetic urine. For your legal protection, it is critical that you do not use this method for any government tests including military, civil service, and especially probation.
• The liquid premixed urine has a couple of drawbacks as it doesn't have a head or small layer of bubbles on the surface and it has no smell. Powdered synthetic urine does. Many labs and collection sites will reject your specimen if they suspect it is synthetic and ask you to urinate under direct observation.
• You can substitute someone else's urine. You will want to test it with a reagent panel strip available at Walgreens. Collect the urine fresh and keep it in a sealed, refrigerated container, and use within 48Hrs, as urine will darken and bacteria will grow. You can also freeze the urine for longer storage. If deterioration becomes noticeable the lab may suspect something. A UTI or Urinary Tract Infection will be suspected if a micro UA is run as stale urine becomes like ammonia and the pH will change.

Method 2 of 5: Hair Testing

Understand how the hair testing process works. When drug metabolites are in the blood, they'll end up in the blood vessels, including those in the head, and get filtered through the hair. In basic terms, at least, this is how hair drug testing comes about.

• Hair drug testing can go back months, showing the toxins a person may have used in a time-line fashion. Masking hair is not realistic as the sample is washed to remove left in products or external contamination such as secondhand smoke.
• A hair drug test involves cutting 50-80 strands of hair from the base typically at the crown of the head.
• A minimum length of 1 inch is necessary or body hair such as face chest or underarm hair can be used.

Know what to expect in the test. Testing requires a swatch of hair about 1/8 inch in diameter and 1 to 1.5 inches long, cut close to the scalp and at the crown of the head if present.

• If the donor has no head hair or the hair is 1/2 inch or shorter, the collector may use chest, underarm, leg, or face hair in that order of preference.
• Find an appropriate spot for hair collection, then twist a bundle of hair making sure the tightly twisted hair is more than 1/4 inch in diameter. This is almost always done in middle back of head.
• While holding the tightly twisted hair in one hand, spread open the hair collection tube with the other hand, then enclose the twisted hair in the collection tube as close to the donor's scalp as possible.
• Place the twist tie around the hair below the plastic collection tube. This keeps the hair intact during shipping and also indicates the root end.
• Cut the hair bundle as close to the scalp as possible. Do not remove the collection tube from the cut hair.
• Return the collection tube holding the hair to its original position in the hair collection tube holder. Do not remove the twist tie.

Lower toxin levels in your hair. This can be much harder if cocaine or synthetic drugs are used by dark-haired people as it is the melanin (hair color) that is the carrier as apposed to keratin (hair) in a THC screen. So repeated use in dark hair people is almost impossible to reduce below detectable levels.

• Regular smokers should use a clarifying shampoo regularly to remove toxins that are excreted daily from scalp.

Method 3 of 5: Saliva Testing

Know how the test works. Saliva/oral fluid-based drug tests can generally detect use during the previous few days. They're becoming more prevalent because of their convenience.

Know the detection times. Detection in saliva tests begins immediately upon use:

• Marijuana and hashish (THC): An hour after ingestion, and up to 24 hours depending on use.
• Cocaine (including crack): From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days.
• Opiates: From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days.
• Methamphetamine and ecstasy (MDMA, "crank," "ice"): From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days.
• Benzodiazepines: From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days.

Try to avoid the test. If you've used in the past 3 days, your best bet is to avoid collection. When you're instructed to place the collection pad between the lower cheek and gums and gently rub the pad back and forth along the gum line until the pad is moist, you will fake this movement and rub pad on teeth. Once moist, you are supposed to leave collection pad between cheek and gums for a full 2 minutes - again, hold it between your teeth.

Method 4 of 5: Urban Myths

Know what's true and what's not about drug testing. Here are some common myths:

• Secondhand smoke: Cut-off levels are set so as to keep one failing from casual second hand smoke.
• Poppy Seeds: the current SAMHSA recommended cutoff level used in the NIDA 5 test, which was raised from 300 ng/mL to 2,000 ng/mL in 1998 in order to avoid false positives from poppy seeds You would need to eat a whole loaf of poppy seed to register for even one day.
• Adding bleach to nullify sample will change the pH and flag the sample as being tampered and you will fail. Drinking bleach will blind you and maybe kill you.
• Aspirin taken before test covers THC by creating a false negative. This only works under ideal circumstances and only for the EMIT test and not a gc/ms.
• Bleaching and redyeing your hair will not remove the metabolites from hair.

Method 5 of 5: Legal Issues

Know your rights. They are very important. The employer is paying for the test so it belongs to them. If you pass it will say no detectable amount found. If you fail it will usually say what your levels were, but you'll need to ask for the cut-off levels.

1. Only a court-ordered test or one who is on probation or parole can be observed, basically those who have no rights. There are many situations that may require an observed test. If you hold a Commercial Drivers License and provide a specimen that is outside of the acceptable temperature range or shows signs of tempering or it requires an immediate, observed retest[7]. Some employers require an observed collection for professionals (Doctors, nurses, etc) who have been a history of drug or alcohol abuse. You can of course always refuse to provide an observed specimen, but there will be repercussions.
2. If caught by surprise and you need to stall it is better to go to the lab and fail to show your I.D.: refusal will get you fired, but if you misplaced your ID you will have to come back or the sample is invalid.
3. At least ten states (Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Texas) have outlawed the sale of synthetic urine or adulterants for the purpose of passing drug test. However, obtaining one on the Internet is easy.
4. Workplace testing: employers are currently allowed by law to require that workers submit to urinalysis or saliva screening to be considered for employment and/or to retain their employment. States have laws which often limit how and when testing can be done, such as requiring that the company have a written policy or that 'random' testing not be used. This is more common in certain unions.
5. Hospital testing: In the US, some states have required pregnant women to be tested for illegal drug use as part of their prenatal care. The US Supreme Court ruled the secret testing of women unconstitutional in the case of Ferguson v City of Charleston, in March 2001. However, women who arrive to deliver in a hospital have there blood tested and if it's found dirty, you can bet you will be talking to some people. A delivering mother could face endangerment charges or even murder if ANY traces are found in her blood.
6. Federal Law - Drug testing falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which includes several key features:
   • The ADA makes it illegal for any employer to test a prospective employee without first making a conditional offer of employment.
   • The ADA also says you can't discriminate against prospective employees on the basis of past drug-related problems. Then again, you may refuse to hire people if you have reason to believe they will return to substance abuse or endanger the safety and health of your workers. If you aren't sure how to proceed with an applicant who has a history of drug abuse, consult an attorney. The ADA doesn't prohibit asking a person with a history of substance abuse to enroll in a rehabilitation program before joining your firm.
7. State Law - Laws vary from state to state and change frequently. You can find out the details of your state´s drug testing laws by contacting a trade organization, your state government or an employment lawyer. Your right to test workers for drug use depends on several factors:
   • The job itself. If a job has the potential to place the employee, coworkers or the public in danger, there may be stronger legal justification to test for drugs.
   • Evidence of a drug problem. Some states require you to show probable cause to suspect employees are impaired before testing them for drugs.
   • Whether the worker is already on staff. Once applicants are hired, your rights to test them for drug use may diminish. Some states require visible evidence of substance abuse such as an accident, a visible decline in work quality or the discovery of illicit drugs in the workplace before you have the legal right to test a current employee. Testing current employees at random or without prior notice is also illegal in many states.