You might be wondering is synthetic urine is illegal in the United States, if so, this article is for you. There have been mixed thoughts on whether synthetic urine is banned in the US.
What is Synthetic Urine
In case you are new to this, synthetic urine is an artificial version of human urine. It’s made by mixing water with other constituents such as yellow coloration, salts, and creatinine to give it the traits of human urine.
Synthetic urine is available either in liquid like Quick Fix Plus 6.3 synthetic urine or powdered forms and comes with a heating device meant to ensure the mixture approximates the normal body temperature closely.
The following factors are what give fake urine the characteristics of real urine:
- Color: The sample has to be a realistic yellow and should not appear diluted.
- Smell: The sample must smell like real urine.
- Creatinine level: The level must be similar to the creatinine level of real human urine.
- pH level: The sample has the same pH level as real human pee.
- Temperature: The sample must reflect normal human temperature. If it’s outside the normal 90-100 degree Fahrenheit range, it’s discarded.
An interesting thing about this urine is that it so closely resembles and mimics human urine that the two are almost indistinguishable. It’s not surprising that despite what the labs say, they are unable to tell the one from the other. Some local news teams have even demonstrated a 100-degree success in passing of this fake urine as genuine urine pee.
Legal Status of Synthetic Urine in the US
While some people think synthetic urine is illegal in this country, it might come as a surprise to know that the substance is not entirely illegal in the whole of the United States.
But there has been a continuing push in many states to institute a ban on this artificial version of human urine.
The reason behind the push is that the ban is associated with public safety. The assumption is that operators of heavy machinery as well as truck drivers and others who do similar jobs might pose a risk if they happen to avoid random checks. Traces of contraband drugs would indicate a propensity to cause hazards when these people are working thus harming themselves and others in the process.
It is an obvious fact that random testing of employees might not be the most effective strategy to combat drug use, the easy availability of synthetic urine is thought to compromise the results of random sampling for drug testing.
The 12 States that have Banned Synthetic Urine If Used to Cheat a Urine Test
So far, synthetic urine is illegal in 12 states if used to cheat a urine test. These states have instituted some form of legislation to ban the possession, selling, or using artificial urine. Of course, the possible penalties and limitations vary by jurisdiction. Some of these states that have put some legislation in place include:
- Nebraska
- Illinois
- Arkansas
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- Indiana
- Oklahoma
- Louisiana
- Texas
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
This list of States is subject to change depending on how these, and other states, perceive the risk of the usage of synthetic urine to cheat in drug usage. However, other pertinent issues arise with these bans and limitations on the use of synthetic urine. Consider the following:
Ensuring Your Rights, Reputation, and Livelihood
You have your rights and reputation, not to mention a livelihood to consider amid all legality issues around the banning of fake urine in this country. Consider these contentions against the boycott and its unintended consequences:
Numerous states have laws set up to secure medical marijuana against workplace discrimination. All States must submit to government laws ensuring the protection of your medical information. Be that as it may, there is a predisposition against the individuals who fail the medication test, which can proceed to hurt your future odds of professional advancement. It might be up to you to shield yourself from this social shame and separation.
Medical Marijuana and Decriminalization
Medical marijuana is legitimate in many states, and in others, it has been decriminalized for grown-ups 21 and above. How are managers dealing with the aftereffects of medication testing whenever weed is lawful?
Here are a few elements to consider:
- Revealing that you are a proven patient implies sharing your private medical data to your manager.
- An arbitrary medication test may adversely influence your boss’ assessment of you, even when your recreational use is legitimate.
Except if your state has explicit laws set up to safeguard your Medical or recreational use of cannabis, you may have no plan of action against discrimination.
A few states that do offer this protection against job discrimination for the legitimate use of weed include:
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
Your Rights to Privacy and Confidentiality
Suppose you’re taking some prescription medication for depression, cancer, or any chronic disease, and this prescription triggers positive test results, hardly no one will believe that illegal drugs care not part of the reason. In any case, even if they believe, you’ll have to disclose your medical history and the medication you take to your employer or any other interested party.
That action is an outright violation of your right to privacy and confidentiality occasioned by testing for synthetic urine in your body. The Americans with Disability Act, as well as federal statutes such as HIPAA, require your medical information remains confidential. This, in effect, protects nullifies the legal validity of drug tests since your privacy is protected by these statutes.
However, it’s also true that when employers do the drug test, they get access to your private medical result. This is irrespective of whether you want to share this information with them or not. Having to give lengthy explanations on your legitimate use of pain or anxiety-relieving tools can feel like an intrusion into your private space and can turn you into an object of bias or office gossip.
Final Thoughts
All of the above scenarios are realistic possibilities. When you want to get clean drug test results, the only way you can achieve this is by using synthetic urine in your tests. It will save you the agony of trying to convince everyone that the drugs detected in your urine sample are simply a reflection of the prescription drugs you’ve been using.
References:
https://drugabuse.com/blog/states-move-to-ban-synthetic-urine/
