Can Oral Fluid Drug Tests Be Cheated? What Employers Should Know
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Cheating a drug test is persistently a hot topic online. Charlatans promise elixirs that will change body chemistry, and long-time drug users explain various techniques for dodging a positive test. However, adulterating a lab-based oral fluid drug test is not as simple as the internet might lead a prospective employee to believe.
Oral Fluid Drug Testing and Adulteration
Laboratory-based oral fluid tests are some of the most difficult drug tests to cheat. To begin with, the circumstances of an oral fluid test make certain methods of adulteration or dilution impossible. Whereas individuals must be allowed some privacy with urine tests, oral fluid tests can be done in full view of supervisory personnel, making each collection event an observed collection. Common methods of cheating urine tests include utilizing the clean urine of another person, adding a substance such as bleach or dish soap to the sample, or diluting the urine sample with water. These methods are not possible in an oral fluid test the way they are in a urine test. Also, an individual does not have the time and privacy for any tricky maneuvers because the collection is accomplished so quickly and done in full view.
Oral Fluid Adulteration Products
A few products do pop up online that claim to “detox” the mouth prior to an oral fluid drug test. However, scientific testing of these products shows these claims to be false. In addition, product reviews on sites such as Amazon indicate that these products do not accomplish all that they promise. Reviews such as, “This product does not work. I followed the directions to a T, and still tested post to THC. I did not get the job because I relied on this product!” or simply, “It didn’t work. I lost my job” comprise the vast majority of comments. Of the few positive reviews, it’s easy to read between the lines and discover that many had nothing to do with the product.
Oral fluid testing is great at detecting recent use of marijuana and other commonly used drugs and will not detect a few days after use. A few reviewers specifically mention testing negative a week after marijuana use, which would be the case even in the absence of any detox product.
Oral Fluid Adulteration Laws
A handful of states do have laws that expressly prohibit drug test cheating. South Carolina, for example, has one of the most comprehensive criminal statutes on the topic. South Carolina Code 16-13-470 makes it a criminal offense to, among other things, “possess adulterants which are intended to be used to adulterate a urine or other bodily fluid sample for the purpose of defrauding a drug or alcohol screening test.” Other states that outlaw drug test cheating include Arkansas, Illinois, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Conclusion
Sadly, drug test cheating will persist for the foreseeable future. As the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way and new products and methods of adulteration are constantly being developed and marketed. Oral fluid testing, however, has inherent fixes to the most common forms of cheating and sample adulteration.
Streamline your oral fluid testing with software that prevents fraud. Easily manage tamper-proof panels, track chain of custody, and ensure compliance with state laws automatically. Learn more about our drug testing software by contacting DrugPak today.
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