Some drug users/abusers who are informed that they will be drug tested, may try to adulterate their sample.

Adulterating urine samples is usually achieved by:

Substitution - passing another’s urine off as your own or purchasing fake urine

Dilution - Trying to drink excessive amounts of liquid, or taking “flush kits” to mask the drugs in your system

Addition - adding adulterants to your sample e.g. soap, bleach, vinegar

**More often than not, a person will try to over hydrate themselves hoping to dilute the concentration of drugs in their system.

Collection sites are continually adapting their procedures to ensure adulterated samples don’t get through. Collection sites do not allow bulky sweaters, purses, or anything that could be used to conceal an adulterant in the testing room. Toilet lids are sealed, bluing agent is added to the water, and there is no access to running water in collection room. Donors are also required to rinse their hands to ensure that there is nothing under the fingernails or in the palms of their hands to be used to adulterate the sample. The tester will check the temperature, and also do a test with adulteration strips. If a reading is out of normal range, it is indicative of adulteration and the sample will not be accepted.

Do attempts to cheat still happen - Definitely!!!

So, what can companies do to help out with the testing process?

1) When an employee has to go for a Random or Post Incident drug test, give them just enough notice to be able to make it to the appointment on time. Better yet, have a supervisor or the person who looks after safety, accompany the employee to the testing site to ensure nothing is being done or bought with the intent to adulterate the sample.

2) If you are considering starting a drug testing program, do not try in house drug testing.  More often than not, proper measures to ensure the integrity of the sample are not up to standard. You also run the risk that failed drug screens may be covered up for a fellow employee.

Please use a drug testing facility for the needs that your company may have.

3) Research. Get educated as to how drug testing works. Ask a drug testing facility questions that you may have so you and employees will have a better understanding.  Stop in to speak with someone or request a meeting. The more you know - the better defense you will have ensuring proper employees are hired to represent your company.

A company is only as good as its employees