MANSFIELD, Ohio —Gaming the system has never been more tempting. Drug screeners and local officials are frustrated with their encounters with synthetic urine, a pee-like product that makes passing a drug test possible.
Synthetic urine is a fabricated liquid that contains all elements found in real human urine, including creatinine, uric acid proteins and amino acids. The product can be purchased from several smoke shops in Mansfield for $30 and up.
Richland County Chief Probation Officer Dave Leitenberger said he has seen products related to bypassing drug screens like synthetic urine for a long time.
“Devices and these products should be restricted, and there should be penalties. The fact that they’re out there and people are using them is just perpetuating the drug problem,” said Leitenberger.
The drug court processes over 3,700 drug screens per year. Leitenberger said he and other probation officers have run into their fair share of devices used to bypass the screens.
“We see contraptions of every kind … bottles, balloons, tubes, condoms. They get very creative,” he said. In the evidence drawer are synthetic urine samples, detox drinks, detox pills, and the Whizzinator — a plastic penis with a small reservoir meant to hold clean urine.
Leitenberger said getting caught using any product to bypass a drug screen while under probation is considered tampering with evidence, a Class III felony in Ohio. And he said getting caught using one of these products during a drug screen is easy — probation officers are required to observe the process.
However, employer drug screeners like WorkAble Lab Supervisor Toni Shaum are not permitted by law to observe the process.
Additionally, there are no legal ramifications should a urine sampler get caught using synthetic urine or other products, making the use of such products tempting and common.
“We see it all the time,” said Shaum.
WorkAble provides drug screens, either by urine, hair or breathalyzer, for employers in the community. But they can only perform drug tests specified by the employer. Due to its cost effectiveness, employers usually call for urine samples, according to WorkAble Program Manager Tony Ginter.
There are two tiers of urine samples, explained Shaum.
One, a “send-off,” stipulates that WorkAble sends the urine sample to MedTox, their certified lab with head quarters located in North Carolina. Results typically return within 48 hours, said Ginter, which are sent directly to the employer.
The other is an “instant” test, meaning Shaum can detect drugs in the urine sample by dabbing it on a card right there in the lab.
In both instances, the drug screen collectors watch for urine that is authentic. There are many warning signs. Temperature is the most telling indicator for whether urine is real or not, said Shaum. Other indicators are color of the urine, the amount given and behavior of the individual.
Ultimately, it is the urine collector’s responsibility to collect an authentic urine sample.
“If anything looks bizarre it is the collector’s responsibility to notice the integrity of the urine. If we feel like we’re being fooled, we dump it (the urine),” said Shaum.
And then she gives the individual 40 ounces of water. When the urge comes around 10 minutes later, she hands the individual a cup and directs them into the bathroom. Per WorkAble’s policy, she is able to wait up to three hours for an authentic urine sample.
Visually, synthetic urine appears comparable to human urine. And it passes the drug screening kit.
OhioHealth Medical Review Officer Dr. Michael Kelley, who is certified in toxicology and examines thousands of urine samples per year, said using synthetic urine to bypass a drug screen is not easy, but definitely possible.
“If they get the temperature correct, then there’s a good chance they’ll get away with it. It’s not that easy, but if they can, that would be successful for them,” said Kelley.
After a brief pause, Kelley continued.
“If you think the drug testing policies are valuable, and I do, for the employers and safety of the population, then you shouldn’t be selling something to get around that safety issue. People ought not to be creating things to disrupt that philosophy.”
XStream, one example of the many synthetic urines available on the market, includes a plastic bottle with a temperature-reading strip, a hand warmer, a rubber band and three ounces of synthetic urine. The directions on the package remind the customer, “a comfortable temperature is 94-100 degrees.”
“Some of them do get by,” said Shaum of individuals who undergo drug screens through WorkAble. “I would like them (products designed to bypass drug screens) all to be illegal.”
As of August 2015, 11 states have banned the sale of synthetic urine, including Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
State Representative Mark Romanchuk said in July of this year that he was not aware of current or ongoing legislation to ban the sale of synthetic urine in Ohio.
“I don’t want things out in the market to help beat a drug test. I’m going to look into it,” said Romanchuk.
Many websites and blogs are devoted to helping individuals pass drug tests with the product, despite its “Adult Novelty” label. The package lists its uses as “Check validity in home test,” “Calibrate laboratory equipment,” Deer or Animal Attractant/Repellant” and warns the user: “This product is not intended for unlawful use …”
XStream and other companies who manufacture synthetic urine did not respond to both phone and email inquiries.
