STATE DRUG TESTING LAW 101 BY BILL CURRENT AND KATHERINE MILLER, CURRENT CONSULTING GROUP, LLC


Drug Test Adulteration Laws: A Rising Trend


D


rug test adulteration has been around as long as drug testing itself, and it is oſten thought that the


industry built to beat a drug test is growing much faster than ever before. Tis is due, in large part, to the prescription drug epidemic and the increased availability of recreational and medical marijuana. Industry experts are consistently concerned with the issue, and concern continues to grow as drug testing adulteration appears to be gaining in popularity. No one knows for sure, but many drug testing experts believe that as much as 10% of all drug test samples have been adulterated, switched, or tampered with in some manner. As the issue becomes more widespread, states are becoming more proactive about instituting laws to discourage adulteration and ensure safe workplaces.


A Few Statistics A 2014 report found that of the 22 million illicit drug users aged 18 and older, over 70% were employed either full- or part- time1


. Marijuana, in particular, is seeing a


surge in popularity, with 52% of Americans aged 18 or older reporting that they have tried the drug. Of those American adults who have tried marijuana, 22% report “using” marijuana (approximately 54,510,216 adults), and 63% of those who report “using” marijuana cite themselves as regular users2


of the population using illegal drugs, only 4.2% of all drug tests are positive3


.


Although this is the highest positivity rate since 2004 (when the rate was 4.5%), it still begs the question—how many tests are adulterated so that drug-abusing employees can continue their employment?


38 datia focus


by the collector in order to determine whether or not a sample is adulterated. Outside of the lab requirements and cutoff levels that can be used to weed out adulterated tests, there are many other precautions that can be taken, thanks to a workplace drug testing policy that makes adulteration of a specimen much harder. Hair and oral fluid, for example, are much more difficult to adulterate. As drug testing adulteration becomes more widespread, more companies are turning to a blended testing method—pairing urine and oral fluid, for example—in order to ensure a safe, drug-free workplace.


. Yet, with such a large portion


What Is Adulteration? A quick search of the internet yields hundreds of websites that offer advice and/ or products and services to help would-be cheaters beat the system. “How to Cheat a Drug Test: 5 Tips for Cleaning Up Your Pee.” “How to Pass a Drug Test for Marijuana.” “I Tried Cheating a Drug Test Using ‘Science’ I Found on the Internet…” Te results run the gambit from advice on which products work, to cautionary tales as to what not to do. It’s clear that drug test adulteration is a common occurrence, but given the low positivity rates and the much higher number of admited drug users, adulteration must be a more prevalent issue than previously thought. Labs are capable of distinguishing


between a sample that’s fit for testing and one that is not. Urine, for example, oſten has specific cutoff levels for known substances used in adulteration atempts and temperature ranges that are examined


Current Legislation/ Statutes As adulteration and workplace safety become more prevalent issues throughout the country, more states are beginning to consider it a crime to adulterate a test and/or help another person adulterate a drug test. At the time this article is being writen, 17 states have laws that mention and/or prohibit adulteration of a drug test. Additionally, Florida and Missouri currently have proposed legislation pertaining to drug test adulteration.


As adulteration of a test is not a federal offense, states that have statutes criminalizing adulteration vary wildly in what they constitute as an offense and what the consequences are. One of the first states to pass an anti-drug test adulteration law, Texas, considers a person guilty of a misdemeanor if the person“ . . . knowingly or purposefully manufactures, delivers, owns, uses, or possesses a substance or device designed to falsify a drug test result.” (Texas Health & Safety 481.133)


spring 2018


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