Last updated : November 11, 2024
Drug tests are, for many people, both a nuisance and a necessity that are used in pre-employment and random screenings, court ordered actions, in recovery situations, and in some states, for government assistance. Whether a person is a habitual or a first-time user makes no difference, which leads some people to try to cheat instead of just doing something more logical, like simply not using drugs.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it really is impossible to beat a drug test. The most common and cost-effective type of drug test is a urinalysis, but hair, saliva, and blood samples can also be used. Regardless of the testing method, they’re all impossible to beat. Never the less, many will try, and as a result, will lose their job and have a black mark on their employment history.
Here are a few ways people have tried (and failed) to beat a drug test:
Drinking lots of water
It may seem like the simplest thing to do is to dilute your urine. This would entail drinking water or as other liquids in excess. It is hoped that the liquids will be so abundant in the urine that it will dilute the drug metabolites. However, this also alters the creatinine levels. This is just essentially a measurement of waste that proves the urine is of normal level. This also indicates that kidney function is average. Drug test facilitators are trained to look for discrepancies in these levels. If the facilitator believes the subject purposefully ingested large quantities of liquid, they may report this to the agent requesting the test. The agent may then have the authority to request to test the specimen in more in depth ways. They also have the authority to ask the test subject to report at a later date for a retest.
Heavy exercise
It is also rumored that strengthening one’s metabolism will aide in detoxing the body from drugs. While exercise certainly will improve someone’s metabolism, there is no evidence that this positively assists the body in releasing the chemical footprints drugs leave. Drug metabolites cannot simply be sweat out. In fact, it can even be argued that this process may have the opposite effect. It is possible that exercise makes the problematic metabolites even more pronounced.
Fake urine
Online shops and even local shops may carry what is commonly referred to as fake urine or synthetic urine. It basically contains all the common parts found in human authentic urine, such as proteins, hormones, metabolites, water and a mixed concentration of other compounds. It is not always fool proof, however, and can fail the initial screening processing and be flagged. Not only would the subject need to issue an explanation for why their sample is showing as fake, they would also have to deal with the repercussions from the agent who requested the sample. Test facilitators are trained to administer tests in controlled environments. Largely, they require no bags purses or coats into the room in which the sample is gathered. Therefore, there is likely no way to use the fake urine secretly. Also, it is frequently required that samples meet certain criteria such as temperature and size of sample.
Detoxifying products
There is a huge market for those seeking a quick fix to pass a drug test. As with any market, there is a profit to be made if there is someone willing to purchase a product. While there is no evidence to support claims about the multitude of products that state they can ‘detox’ a body before a drug screen, it simply is unfounded. In all actuality, most of these products even include legal disclaimers that protect the business from dissatisfied clients. Businesses explicitly state there are ‘no guarantees’ and are ‘not responsible for positive results’. Perhaps, this is because different drugs have varying windows of detection. Professionals in the drug testing industry widely and adamantly discredit these products. Also, while the products aren’t likely to work as promised, they may even be harmful as many are not FDA approved.
Contaminating the test specimen
Since all the most widely known methods of falsely passing a drug screen have been disproven, it may seem tempting for one to contaminate the urine specimen instead. It is a clever thought, however, completely unlikely to work. Test facilitators have already been discussed as having an infallible system to regulate samples. However, they are also trained in ensuring tests are tamper-proof. It also is possible that, like other methods that change the compound of the urine, this would flag the sample as unusable and could cause more challenging issues.
Wrapping up
Most adults in the United States have had at least one drug test for one reason or another. Drug tests have become more frequent, more accurate and more stressed in importance. It is important to understand that not all who fail a drug screen are persistent or pathological drug users. However, there is one way to pass a drug screen that has not been mentioned yet. The most accurate fool-proof way to pass a drug screen is simply to not take drugs.
