Beat a Urine Test Tutorial ...
	The No Detox Pass a Urine Test method ...
	Medications and Substances Causing False Positives
	[Contents][1][2][3][4,5,6][7,8,9,10,11][12,13,14,15,16] [Distribution Rights]

There are four types of urine tests, a hair test, a perspiration test, and a residue test. Before continuing, I must say that this text mainly applies to urinalysis. However, I try to cover methods for beating all drug tests.

It would be helpful if people could somehow find out which test they are getting ahead of time. Though caution must be taken. Asking your boss whether you're getting an EMIT or GC/MS would imply that you know too much, or seem too curious. The law doesn't protect you from unjust hiring practices, and your boss to be may refuse you employment for any reason. If simply drinking a cup of water makes the boss feel uncomfortable, the verdict may be guilty before you even take the test.

2.1 Substances that are detectable:

An assay can be developed for any drug using GC/MS. The table below indicates what can be dectected in screening tests.

[TABLE 2.1]

Drug	EMIT	RIA	HPLC
Amphetamines	Y	Y	-
Antidepressants	Y	.	-
Barbituates	Y	Y	-
Benzodiazepines	Y	Y	-
Cannabinoids	Y	Y	-
Carbamazepine	Y	.	-
Cocaine	Y	.	-
Ethanol	Y	.	-
LSD	.	Y	-
Methadone	Y	.	-
Morphine	.	Y	-
N-Acetylprocainamide	Y	.	-
Opiates	Y	.	-
PCP	.	Y	-
Phenobarbital	Y	.	-
Propoxyphene	Y	.	-
Steroids	.	Y	Y
Theophylline	Y	.	-

(Y) = detectable (.) = not detectable (-) = unknown

2.2 DrugAlert:

DrugAlert is a $19.95 home test kit enabling parents to test their children. This is the most inaccurate test being used, and it's also the newest. The test kit is a small brown pad giving off an Oxy pad odor. The [uninformed] parent wipes the child's clothes, books, and anything belonging to the child. Then the pad is sent to Barringer Technologies via mail. (Note that it's a felony to send controlled substances through the mail. If the sample is positive, Barringer Technologies is knowingly urging parents to break the law). The lab puts the pad in a microwave looking machine, which detects residue from seven different illicit drugs. The child fails the test if s/he uses drugs, or unknowingly comes in casual contact with a drug user. Simply borrowing a pencil from a classmate that uses drugs will pass enough residue to render a positive test and an angry parent. When we have statistics like - 90% of all paper currency shows traces of cocaine, this test kit is quite foolish. Your only defense is to continually clean everything you touch with disinfectants.

2.3: Gas Chromatography:

Defined by Thein and Landry:

Gas chromatography uses a separation technique to divide the urine extracts into the component parts. An inert gas carries the urine through chromatographic columns, and the samples are separated by their boiling temperature and by their affinity for the column. Compounds are identified by separation time, called retention time. The retention time is unique and reproducible for each drug in a given chromotographic column.

2.6 Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry:

Defined by Thein and Landry:

The most precise procedure for detection of banned substances is a combination of GC and MS. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is a two-step process, where GC separates the sample into its constituent parts, while MS provides the exact molecular identification of the compounds. Compounds are separated by GC and are then introduced, one at a time, into a mass spectrometer. As the sample constituents enter the MS, they are bombarded by electrons, which cause the compound to break up into molecular fragments. The fragmentation pattern is reproducible and characteristic, and is considered the "molecular-fingerprint" of a specific compound. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is considered to be the most definitive method for confirming the presence of a drug in the urine and is approximately 100 to 1,000 times more sensitive than TLC. Selective ion monitoring has been used to improve the GC/MS results. This procedure is the most costly, averaging approximately $200 per sample to test.

The GC/MS is typically used to confirm "positive" EMIT test results. GC/MS will indicate precisely what chemical is present. This is necessary because the EMIT will only indicate whether something similar to what's being tested was found. The GC/MS is difficult and more costly, which is why the EMIT is given first. (Hewlett Packard produces the GC/MS equipment, including computer, for about $50-75k depending on options.) Abstinence and substitution are the only ways to defeat the GC/MS test. GC/MS is very precise when done right. However, it's still subject to human error. For example, if the equipment isn't cleaned well, the previous test sample could get mixed with the next sample. According to Dr. Edward Cone, the GC/MS is 99 percent accurate; not very accurate on a large scale when you realize that 10 thousand out of every million will get false results. (more on accuracy in section 3).

2.5 Hair testing:

When THC metabolites are in the blood, they go through the blood vessels in the head, and get filtered through the hair. THC metabolites remain in the hair as a permanent record. The hair test costs several hundred dollars ($150-$300) and is rarely given because urinalysis is cheaper (approximately $65) and more accurate. (The hair test equipment and setup goes for over a million). According to Jeff Nightbyrd, hair tests are "widely used in the casino industry." They cut 50 strands of hair from the scalp, and send it in to the testing lab where they liquefy it. "A hair sample is disolved in a series of solvents which extract the drug metabolites and then are analyzed via GC/MS." It can take several hours to days just to extract metabolites. Average hair grows 1/4 inch per month. Typically they just use hair one and a half inches from the scalp; though some labs will take enough to test for up to 3 years. The liquid is run through the most sensitive GC/MS machines available, and can detect as little as 1 ng/mL! The hair test discriminates in that detection is easier in dark hair. Colored people may be discriminated against further because melanin is in their hair, which can be mistaken for THC. However, there is conflicting data as to whether melanin can be detected as THC. Psychemedics Corporation has a PDT90 kit for $75. This home test kit is for parents that want to chop off a lock of their child's hair to find out what drugs s/he is using. Kids- lock your bedroom doors at night if your parents don't trust your judgment on the drug issue.

Beating the hair test is extremely hard, and there are false positives. Bleaching or dying your hair is rumored to work, but it doesn't. I imagine you can shave every hair on your body and claim that you're a swimmer. According to NORML, Aloe Rid by Nexus is a shampoo that will aid in testing negative. Aloe Rid is available only in salons. Healthy Hair, from Sampson Health Products, is another shampoo designed to beat the hair test. Healthy Hair is sold in retail stores throughout Las Vegas. Keith Thrash from Sampson Health Products reccommends precleansing with Aloe Rid prior to using Healthy Hair. Healthy Hair is used in the morning and before going to bed. Each session takes 20 minutes. According to Steve at Sampson Health Products, two out of a thousand people failed the hair test when using Healthy Hair. Byrd Labs is currently developing a shampoo to defeat the hair test. Some have suggested treating hair with oil because THC is oil based and oil soluble. However, there is no proven way to beat the hair test, so it's all heresay and guessing at this point. (If anyone has any success with the shampoos or the swimmer excuse, please let me know). Swimming and washing your hair removes toxins, and Keith Thrash recommends doing both as much as possible. Fortunately, the hair test cannot be used alone as evidence because there are no forensic standards. It can only be used when substantiated by other evidence. Also, there are no intoxication standards. I believe if you tested positive for the hair test that you would probably have a good chance of fighting it. (BlockBuster Video uses the most up-to-date equipment, and passing such a test can be difficult). It takes several months of precleansing to beat the tests given by Psychemedics.

2.6 High Performance Liquid Chromatography:

Usually used to detect anabolic steroids. Defined by Thein and Landry:

High-performance liquid chromatography is similar to GC, except a liquid carries the sample through the chromotographic columns and the columns are not placed in a heated compartment. High-performance liquid chromatography is both sensitive and specific, and it is simpler and faster than GC. Gas chromatography and HPLC are reliable methods for screening, and they allow for simultaneous determination of a wide variety of different compounds. High-performance liquid chromatography is used to screen for urinary caffeine levels and has been used to confirm the positive results obtained from other screening techniques. Some steroids can be analyzed with this technique, whereas HPLC and GC lack appropriate sensitivity to detect beta-adrenergic blockers.

2.7 ImmunoAssay:

This procedure is best described in Thein and Landry's word's:

Immunoassays use antigen-antibody interactions to detect illegal substances. Antibodies that bind selectively to certain drugs or drug metabolites are chosen, and the sensitivity and the specificity of this test are only as good as the antibody chosen. The binding is proportional to the amount of drug in the urine and can be detected through enzymes, radioisotopes, or fluorescent compounds. With this technique, very small amounts of drug can be detected in a very small amount of urine, although this test may not differentiate between specific drugs within a class of drugs. Immunoassay has yielded false-positive results with some decongestants and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Radiommunoassay (RIA) and fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) are specific IA techniques currently being used. Radioimmunoassay can detect some 17 alpha-methyl, 17 alpha-ethyl, and 19-nortestosterone steroids despite its low specificity. Immunoassay is both more sensitive and more specific than TLC.

2.7.1 Radio ImmunoAssay (aka AbuScreen):

"Of all the screening methods . . . (EMIT, TLC, RIA), RIA is the best method available." The RIA test is applied the same way as the EMIT. "The only difference between RIA and EMIT is that RIA uses radioactive iodine as the detection mechanism rather than an enzyme NAD/NADH rxn which is detected by a scintillation counter" (anon1). The scintillation counter is used to measure the amount of radioactive particles present. Radioactivity is inversely proportional to metabolite level. RIA tests are a little more sensitive than the EMIT, and harder to beat. The most known user of the RIA test is the US government; in particular, the US military. The EMIT is more common because RIA produces radioactive waste, and radioactive waste is difficult to deal with. The US government uses RIA because a "company gives the government the instrumentation free in exchange for buying their reagents (reagent rental contract)." Some non-government labs use the RIA, so don't be surprized if your pre-employment screening is a RIA rather than an EMIT.

2.7.2 Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique:

The EMIT is the cheapest, easiest to perform, and most common; also the easiest to fail. It's the easiest to pass if you're well informed (ie. reading this text). Most pre-employment screens will give you the EMIT first; though some businesses will surprise you with a GC/MS test up front (discussed later). Unfortunately, there is no standard procedure to expect. (One who has read this file and is well informed may still fail because of the random nature of drug testing labs.) If you don't know which urinalysis will be administered, focus on beating the EMIT. If you pass the EMIT, you're off the hook. If you fail the EMIT, they'll give you the confirmation GC/MS test, which is extremely sensitive. Lewis Maltby, director of the Workplace Rights Office, said the EMIT test is wrong 25 to 30 percent of the time.

2.7.3 Fluorescence Polarization ImmunoAssay:

No information yet available on this test.

2.8 PharmChek:

A band-aid type patch is worn for a week or more to absorb perspiration. If illicit drugs are used during the time the sweat patch is worn, the patch will be positive when the lab tests it. The patch has a tamper-proof design - no thanks to 3M, who manufactures the patches. (Don't sweat it; we'll find a way to tamper with the silly patch :) PharmChem Laboratories Inc. created the patch, and got market approval from the FDA. The FDA permitted the patch for detecting cocaine, amphetamines, and opiates. They are working on getting FDA clearance to use the patch to test for marijuana and PCP. The FDA already gave permission to use it in the workplace. PharmChem will sell the patch to law enforcement and drug rehabilitation agencies in 1996. Accuracy of the sweat patch remains unknown. No one has disclosed any information reguarding how inaccurate this test is. Bad lab procedure is a very big problem in the testing industry, and it's hard to tell how prone to human error the sweat patch test is.

2.9 TestCup:

No details available yet. This new test by Roche involves urinating into a cup, where the cup has an indicator on the side displaying what drugs are positive.

2.10 Thin Layer Chromatography:

TLC "involves adding solvent to urine to extract drugs and then comparing color spots on a TLC plate to that of a standard" (Nightbyrd). Accuracy is very poor, and this test is rarely used. A TLC kit called ToxiLab is available. This kit has been abandoned for the most part, since EMIT has been improved. Fortunately, it's not used for confirmation anymore. Thein and Landry's definition:

Thin-layer chromatography testing is based on the differences in the migration rate of various substances through a porous supporting medium. The degree of migration and the color are characteristic of certain drugs. Thin-layer chromatography can demonstrate the presence of a drug, but this procedure cannot specify the quantity of drug present. This technique is both time consuming and nonspecific, and provides only a positive or negative response. Thin-layer chromatography is capable of detecting only a limited number of substances 12 to 24 hours after ingestion, resulting in a high number of false-negative results.

[Contents][1][2][3][4,5,6][7,8,9,10,11][12,13,14,15,16]
[Distribution Rights]