# How Do These Drug Test-Beating Potions Work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466 "2005-05-25T18:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/21 "2005-05-26T02:05:25Z")
And there’s not a whole lot of variation from one country to another. IIRC, cannabis is still technically illegal. On the other hand, certain coca preparations are legal in certain South American countries; I’ve heard of coca toothpaste and coca tea. It seems patently unfair that a person coming from a visit to one of those countries should be penalized for doing something that was legal there. One can understand that it would be difficult for testers/employers to make such an exception. But I suspect that a large part of the motivation for drug testing is not to weed out prospects who “break the law”, but rather those who would use recreational drugs whether they be legal or illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/22 "2005-05-26T02:06:37Z")
Left out a key phrase in my last post. > [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > And there’s not a whole lot of variation from one country to another. IIRC, cannabis is still technically illegal **in The Netherlands** > > . ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/23 "2005-05-26T06:28:17Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I actually didn’t mean that, but I suppose it is a remote possibility. > > Just curious, what was the ‘inappropriate medicine’ in the case of the British woman? Codeine - see [here](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4538523.stm). ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/24 "2005-05-26T08:33:47Z")
> [@Soylent Gene](#): > > It’s not a potion, but you GOTTA check this product out! > > [whizzinator](http://www.whizzinator.com/) Ah, so that’s what Ethan Hawke used in the movie _Gattaca._ There’s a certain homemade product that’s quite effective in beating a pee test, I won’t give any specifics of course but you can buy all the necessary ingredients, including utensils, in the baking supplies aisle of your local supermarket. How it works, at least from how I understand it, is that it forces all the drug traces from your bloodstream into your fat cells. (Interesting side effect: if you work out later, you get high.) It’s not 100% effective; a friend of mine recently tried it and flunked a piss test anyway. However, (1) we’re not sure if he prepared the formula correctly, and (2) this guy smokes so much weed, his urine is probably pure THC. 😃 Yes, it’s true you can test positive for heroin if you eat a couple poppyseed bagels just before the test…_Mythbusters_ confirmed it! > [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > On the other hand, certain coca preparations are legal in certain South American countries; I’ve heard of coca toothpaste and coca tea. It seems patently unfair that a person coming from a visit to one of those countries should be penalized for doing something that was legal there. During the most recent _Amazing Race_, they went to a Peruvian city that was 11,000 feet above sea level, and the contestants were given a local tea that fights altitude sickness. Accoring to Phil Keoghan, the tea is coca-based, and while it doesn’t get you high, it would _definitely_ make you fail a drug test. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/25 "2005-05-26T08:44:04Z")
Oh, and the downside to a lot of these test-busting products is they involve specific chemicals that are also tested for in the drug screen. Gold Seal used to be a popular potion, until the drug screeners got wise and failed anyone testing positive for Gold Seal, since there’s no reason that would show up in your urine UNLESS you were trying to beat the test. (That’s the glory of the “homemade formula” I mentioned earlier – all the ingredients are food products so common, they won’t raise eyebrows.) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/26 "2005-05-26T10:11:10Z")
Last time I joined one of these conversations it wound up in the Pit. Hope that doesn’t happen again. Anyhow, _moist_ of the cheater potions I heard about when I worked for a drug rehab facility worked on the “flush it out with urine” theory. This involved consuming gallons of fluid. Truthfully, plain water would have been as effective. It is possible the produce urine so dilute as to sneak by the cruder tests. There are tests, however, that will still detect drug traces even in highly dilute body fluid. And many companies and industries will count a highly dilute urine sample as a positive under the assumption you were trying to cheat. The thing about golden seal was that the formulations had something that would essentially dye your urine yellow so it didn’t look quite so dilute (usually - the herbal varieties, being herbal, varied in potency) And Og know what else they’re putting in those “potions” - some of that stuff isn’t good in high doses. > [@KGS](#): > > How it works, at least from how I understand it, is that it forces all the drug traces from your bloodstream into your fat cells. (Interesting side effect: if you work out later, you get high.) It’s not 100% effective; a friend of mine recently tried it and flunked a piss test anyway. However, (1) we’re not sure if he prepared the formula correctly, and (2) this guy smokes so much weed, his urine is probably pure THC He flunked because it doesn’t work. You can’t take a water-soluable substance (which many drug traces are) and magically convert them to fat-soluable. Nor would you get high by working out later - what the drug tests look for, and presumably what this potion of yours is supposed to hide, are not the drugs themselves but the inactivated breakdown products. Not the drugs but what your body converts the drugs into. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/27 "2005-05-26T15:01:13Z")
I’m a probation officer, and I can assure you that the potions do not work. As was pointed out, every one of those potions just gets you to drink a lot of fluids, which dilute your urine so much that conceiveably, if the level of drugs in your system is very low, it may push it below the cutoff level and be reported negative. But if you are using regularly it’s not going to work at all. I’ve had countless people fail the test and later tell me they used various potions. And, if the governor signs the legislation on his desk, possession of a Whizzinator while taking a court-ordered drug test will be a crime in Indiana on July 1. ---
**Author:** ![daffyduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@daffyduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffyduck)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/28 "2005-05-26T16:58:13Z")
_After all, someone who uses marijuana in another country and then reenters the US several days later hasn’t broken US law._ So what? It isn’t a legality test, it’s a drug test. They want to know if you take drugs at all, they don’t care where you were when it happened. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/29 "2005-05-26T17:13:45Z")
There is one sure fire way of not failing a drug test. Do not take it. Although I am currently self employed, years ago I had a chance to take a fairly decent job offer that involved a drug test. I turned the job down on philosophical grounds. To me, what I did away from work was none of my employers business. I was contacted about a week later and offered the job sans drug test. \ ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/30 "2005-05-26T19:52:41Z")
> [@daffyduck](#): > > _After all, someone who uses marijuana in another country and then reenters the US several days later hasn’t broken US law._ > > So what? It isn’t a legality test, it’s a drug test. They want to know if you take drugs at all, they don’t care where you were when it happened. Or even whether you broke the law or not. The despicability with which non-therapeutic drug use is regarded in many quarters is, IMO, as much cultural as it is legal. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/31 "2005-05-26T20:27:03Z")
[This](http://my.marijuana.com/content.php3) is an article about testing methods the effectiveness of various techniques for cleaning urine. I’d be interested in QtM’s comments about its accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/32 "2005-05-26T20:36:47Z")
I believe these are the regs that \*\*QtM \*\*is talking about. They speak of “legitimate medical explanations,” not legal use. So the fact that a drug discussed in the regs was legal for the employee to use is probably irrelevant. More important, if the positive result led to the the employee’s termination, the employee is probably out of luck based on general principles of employment law. > **[Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs |...](https://www.transportation.gov/odapc/part40?proc=)** > > The Department of Transportation's (DOT) rule, 49 CFR Part 40, describes required procedures for conducting workplace drug and alcohol testing for the Federally regulated transportation industry. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/33 "2005-05-26T23:16:46Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Codeine - see [here](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4538523.stm). This sort of thing makes me absolutely sick. By an odd coincidence, I’m on a prescription for hydrocodone syrup (HC is the narcotic part of Vicodin) right now. The fact that there’s anyone on this earth that would put me in jail for that and ask questions later is highly disturbing…I’ll stop now since this isn’t GD or the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/34 "2005-05-27T00:12:36Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Codeine - see [here](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4538523.stm). It’s important to note that this happened in Dubai. A year ago, I knew nothing about Dubai. After reading the web logs of Dubai residents and various articles from Dubai’s newspapers, I can say that Dubai is the bureaucratic nightmare imagined by Kafka and Orwell but run by the Three Stooges. This case should not be viewed as exemplifying Dubai’s drug policies. It is just another example of the incompetence and mindboggling redtape seen in every aspect of Dubai’s government. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/35 "2005-05-27T00:45:32Z")
> [@daffyduck](#): > > _After all, someone who uses marijuana in another country and then reenters the US several days later hasn’t broken US law._ > > So what? It isn’t a legality test, it’s a drug test. They want to know if you take drugs at all, they don’t care where you were when it happened. That’s a good point - sometimes the issue isn’t legality, it’s use and safety. As an example - it’s perfectly legal for, say, an airline pilot to drink alcohol on his own time, however, it is illegal for him to do so within 8 hours of taking the controls. Alcohol is legal - flying under the influence is not. Likewise, NyQuil is legal, but again, a pilot would have to wait a considerable period of hours between using it and flying. Those are strictly over-the-counter items. If a pilot develops a health problem that requires him/her to take ANY substance incompatible with flight then they can’t legally fly until they no longer need it and no longer take it, and may be subjected to drug tests to prove this item is no longer in their system. They won’t go to jail for a legal prescription, or even for over-the-counter cold and flu medicine… but they could still be suspended from work or lose thier job over it. This also applies to people like truckers and bus drivers. And, I know this is a totally crazy thought on some level, but I sometimes think _some_ of the people using those “potions” don’t use drugs at all - but they buy that stuff so it _looks like_ they use to their peers out of some misplace bizzaro _machismo._ Sort of like someone who pretends to drink vast quantities of alcohol to fit into a crowd but is really bribing the bartender to make tonic-and-tonics instead of gin-and-tonics. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/36 "2005-05-27T00:55:16Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > That’s a good point - sometimes the issue isn’t legality, it’s use and safety. However, the issue with certain drugs is nearly always just the use itself. For example, cannabis can cause a positive result on a drug test _weeks_ after the last use, when there’s no possibility of impairment. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/37 "2005-05-27T00:58:18Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > It’s important to note that this happened in Dubai. A year ago, I knew nothing about Dubai. After reading the web logs of Dubai residents and various articles from Dubai’s newspapers, I can say that Dubai is the bureaucratic nightmare imagined by Kafka and Orwell but run by the Three Stooges. Dubai is Moronica? ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/38 "2005-05-27T13:54:10Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > What about someone who has had recent nasal surgery involving cocaine? You mean part of the surgery involves the doctor putting coke up your nose??? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/39 "2005-05-27T14:01:06Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > You shouldn’t have to. those false positives should drop out when the sample is sent for more elaborate testing. If the lab refuses to do so, and is certifying you are positive for controlled substances on the basis of screening tests, they can lose their accreditation and hence their ability to charge for their work. But there really isn’t much of a way to challenge a false positive, is there? If the lab says you’re positive and reports the result to the employer, you’re hosed. You might never even be informed that you came up positive. Employers are not particularly interested in your rights, and there’s no appeals process for rejection from a job. Or so I’ve read. Addressing the OP, there is probably no chemical formulation that will help you beat a drug test. There are things you can do to improve your chances, but these involve things like ensuring that your urine is diluted and naturally colored. And of course abstaining from The Drugs for a period of time. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466/40 "2005-05-27T14:25:46Z")
> [@Brain Wreck](#): > > But there really isn’t much of a way to challenge a false positive, is there? If the lab says you’re positive and reports the result to the employer, you’re hosed. You might never even be informed that you came up positive. Employers are not particularly interested in your rights, and there’s no appeals process for rejection from a job. Or so I’ve read. > > Addressing the OP, there is probably no chemical formulation that will help you beat a drug test. There are things you can do to improve your chances, but these involve things like ensuring that your urine is diluted and naturally colored. And of course abstaining from The Drugs for a period of time. 1. They check for dilution too. > [@](#): > > b) As an employer, if the MRO informs you that a negative test was dilute, take the following action: > (1) If the MRO directs you to conduct a recollection under direct observation (i.e., because the creatinine > concentration of the specimen was equal to or greater than 2mg/dL, but less than or equal to 5 mg/dL (see > §40.155©), you must do so immediately. > (2) Otherwise (i.e., if the creatinine concentration of the dilute specimen is greater than 5 mg/dL), you may, > but are not required to, direct the employee to take another test immediately. [http://www.dot.gov/ost/dapc/NEW\_DOCS/Part40\_complete\_20041109\_A.pdf](http://www.dot.gov/ost/dapc/NEW_DOCS/Part40_complete_20041109_A.pdf) (pdf) 1. There is a notification procedure and a procedure for testing a split specimen the employee’s request, at least under the DOT regs. > [@](#): > > Subpart H - Split Specimen Tests > § 40.171 How does an employee request a test of a split specimen? > (a) As an employee, when the MRO has notified you that you have a verified positive drug test or refusal to test because of adulteration or substitution, you have 72 hours from the time of notification to request a test of the split specimen. The request may be verbal or in writing. If you make this request to the MRO within 72 hours, youtrigger the requirements of this section for a test of the split specimen. 1. Unless you are in a union, your state has an unusual law, or you have a term employment contract, your employer can fire you based on a bad drug test, with virtual impunity. (I say virtual because even a frivolous lawsuit costs the employer money and you also might be able to collect unemployment compensation). 2. As I read Subpart H and the definitions provided in the regs, a job applicant would have the same right to request a split specimen test. The definition of employee includes applicants. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-these-drug-test-beating-potions-work/305466.md?page=3)