Bill in Mississippi Wanting to make Cheating Drug Tests Harder Advances

Written By Lucas Kibby

Mississippi lawmakers want to stop people from using fake urine to cheat drug tests by passing “The Mississippi Urine Trouble Act.

“I knew we had all kinds of trouble in Mississippi, but I didn’t know we had trouble with urine,” said Andy Gipson whose committee handled the bill.

Displaying a package of liquid, Rep. Willie Bailey said the product sells for $17 and comes with microwave instructions to bring it to body temperature.

Director of the Mississippi Association of Self-Insurers, Dan Gibson, says fake urine is a safety concern because drug tests should accurately reveal if workers have consumed dangerous chemicals.

Mississippi’s House Bill 1080 would make it is unlawful to:

• Sell, give away, distribute, or market human or synthetic urine in this state or transport human or synthetic urine into this state with the intent of using the human or synthetic urine to defraud or cause deceitful results in a drug or alcohol screening test;
• Attempt to defeat or interfere with the results of a drug or alcohol screening test by substituting synthetic urine or substituting or spiking a human urine sample or by advertising urine sample substitution or human urine spiking devices or measures;
• Possess, sell or market adulterants, which are intended to be used to adulterate a human urine sample or other human bodily fluid sample for the purpose of defrauding or causing deceitful results in a drug or alcohol screening test
• Possess with the sale, giving, distribution, or marketing of human or synthetic urine a heating element or any other device used to thwart a drug screening test.

Gipson said synthetic urine is primarily sold at truck stops. He showed off a kit that he said was purchased for $18.99 plus taxes. Gipson said the clerk said they sell like pancakes. The synthetic urine is strapped against a person’s leg and could be used when a driver has to provide a drug sample.

The committee voted to set the penalty for violation at up to a $1,000 fine and or six months in jail.

States including Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, New Hampshire and Oklahoma have banned synthetic urine.

Employers Need To Educate Employees On The Costs Of Cheating

Employees need to be aware of what the company policy is after adulterer specimen is found or cheating has occurred. For many companies, this could lead straight to firing the employee.

But beyond the company’s own policy there are state laws that can affect the person cheating a drug test. For example, did you know that in Oregon falsifying a drug test is a Class B misdemeanor? This can lead to a maximum jail time of 6 months and a maximum fine of $2,500.

So, not only can the employee be fired from their job, they could face fines and potentially jail time. Would you want to trust a $25.00 product to help you cheat when serious ramifications can be on the line?

Deterring Someone with Drug Testing Can Save a Company $14,000

Every person you deter from coming onto your job site that you detect with an MRO verified positive drug test, you are saving your company around $14,000.

For every 1% hit, saving $14,000 per 100 drug screens comes from 3 driving factors. First, people using illicit drugs are 5 times more likely to have workers compensation injury. Second, people using illicit drugs have 3 times higher medical costs. Third, people using illicit drugs only work at about 67% predicted efficiency (absenteeism – 20 time more absenteeism).