DEALING WITH URINE TESTS ON SHORT NOTICE By Dale Gieringer, California NORML While we strongly oppose drug use on the job, we think no one should be forced to urine testing, especially for marijuana. Aside from launching a legal challenge, your best defense against urine testing is to be clean. Unfortunately, this may be difficult since urine tests can detect marijuana 3-10 days after a single use, and 4-6 weeks or more for heavy chronic users. If you are in the job market, it is prudent to expect to be tested and avoid marijuana. However, recognizing that many of you face drug testing on short notice, we offer the following advice for emergencies with our best wishes (but no promises!) WASH YOURSELF OUT: The general strategy for passing urine tests is to increase your fluid intake and urine flow so as to dilute the concentration of THC metabolyte in your urine below the threshold of detection. In the days or hours preceding the test, you should wash yourself out by drinking plenty of fluids. Water is fine - contrary to popular rumor, drinking vinegar doesn't help. You can boost your fluid output by taking diuretics, which stimulate urination. The most potent diuretics are prescription drugs, widely used for high blood pressure. Weak diuretics of dubious efficacy are found in certain over-the-counter products, such as premenstral pills for water retention. Contrary to rumor, phenylpropanolamine, the active ingredient in Dexatrim, is not a diuretic and is likely to make you test positive for amphetamines. Other weak diuretics include coffee, cranberry juice, beer, and other health food products and herb tinctures. While some people take diuretics for several days to flush themselves, they are probably most useful in the hours leading up to the test when you want to produce plenty of urine. Beware that diuretics can be dangerous to certain persons, such as diabetics, pregnant women, and people suffering from kidney dysfunctions, and can lead to potassium deficiencies if taken over extended periods. THE NIGHT BEFORE the test drink lots of liquid - as much as you can stand. Be sure to empty your bladder the next morning, since urine that accumulates overnight tends to be "dirty." Prepare for the test by loading up again on lots of fluid. Boost this with a diuretic if possible. If you're taking the test on short notice without time to wash out beforehand, the following method has been suggested by a former army drug testing officer [Robert Freeman, "How to Beat a Drug Test," *High Times*, August, 1988). Take an 80-milligram dose of the prescription diuretic Lasix (furosemide); take a hefty drink of water; piss two or three times; then take the test. (Again, the caution above regarding the dangers of diuretics to some individuals applies.) One slight hitch with urine dilution is that some labs are suspicious of the clear, watery urine it produces. You can fix this by taking 50 or 100 milligrams of vitamin B-2 (available in B-Complex multivitamins) which will color your urine yellow for a couple of hours. Contrary to popular rumor, vitamin C doesn't help. If you are lucky and didn't smoke too much pot, a good washout may get you past a test on a weekend notice. DRUG SCREENS: You may be able to improve your odds with a couple of new, experimental techniques that have been alleged to temporarily masks traces of marijuana and other commonly tested drugs. Please beware that these methods have not been tested in controlled scientific studies, only in informal freelance investigations, and while encouraging news has been reported, such stories are notoriously unreliable. ZINC SULFATE: It has been suggested that drug use can be masked by the mineral supplement zinc sulfate. The idea is that zinc attaches to drug molecules through a process known as chelation, screening them from urine and diverting them to feces. Regular smokers have reported passing urine tests within 48-72 hours of last smoking after washing themselves out and taking zinc sulfate. Zinc sulfate should be taken while loading up on liquids in the hours before the test. Avoid taking too many solids. Investigators have used dosages of 250 milligrams of zinc sulfate two times before the test, once the night before and a second a couple of hours before the test. BEWARE, doses above this level can cause a toxic reaction, and chronic, prolonged use may cause copper deficiencies and other health problems. Zinc sulfate is available in tablets from pharmacists or in a more expensive solution known as Zinc Challenge, sold in health food stores. DRUG FREE: Customers have reported success with a mysterious product known as Test Free, which guarantees to clear any drug testing or money back. Regular pot users have reported passing within hours of last smoking, although the manufacturer, Zydot Unlimited Inc., recommends abstaining for a day or two beforehand. Unfortunately, Zydot has been highly secretive about the contents of its product, other than to say that the FDA has approved its ingredients as "generally recognized as safe." Test Free requires at least an hour or two advance preparation, including drinking lots of liquids, and is guaranteed to mask all drugs for at least four hours. In addition, other products have begun to appear on the market, including Naturally Klean from Houston Enterprises, making the same claims as Test Free. It is possible that they contain the same ingredient, however we have no way to tell at this time. NORML has no financial interest in either company. For more information on these products, simply contact the suppliers at: Zydot Unlimited Inc., Box 9485, Tulsa, OK 74157 (918) 747-2400; Houston Enterprises, PO Box 27776, Tempe, AZ 85285 (602) 968-0773. TAMPERING: The preceding methods are all something of an ordeal and thus mainly useful in emergencies. Another tact used by some people is to tamper with the sample. Ethical issues aside, tampering can be highly risky, especially as urination is being observed. For the adventurous, Abbie Hoffman's book *Steal This Urine Test* has full instructions on how to rig yourself up with a plastic bag to substitute clean urine. Another, less cumbersome trick to foil the test is spiking the sample. This only works on the standard EMIT test, the most commonly used pre-employment screen, and is not always successful. It does not work for the Radio-Imune Assay (RIA) used by the armed services, nor the Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS). Scientific studies found that certain substances interfere with the EMIT test to make it appear negative. Six to ten drops of bleach, detergent, or blood, or a few bleach or Drano crystals concealed under the fingernails are said to do the trick. However, anyone trying this should practice beforehand and beware that personnel may inspect for smell, color, clarity, temperature and content. Reprinted with permission of California NORML, 2215-R Market #278, San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 563-5858. For more information, contact NORML, Suite 640, 2001 'S' Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 (202) 483-5500. NORML Membership is $25 Annually. NORML is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization. Contributions are fully tax deductible. Please give generously.