There are many ways that a drug user will try and cheat a drug test. Although we know about most of them, sometimes we come across a new one.

We recently had a donor come into our clinic for a DOT (Department of Transportation) drug test. People who test under DOT include truck drivers, pilots, some railroad workers, etc. The federal government has many regulations for DOT drug tests, so it’s a bit more serious than your average drug test. This particular donor began his drug test just like anyone else.

Per DOT regulations, we had him empty his pockets and wash his hands before beginning his drug test. When the donor came out of the bathroom, he handed his specimen to one of our trained collectors. Our collector immediately noticed that the specimen the donor provided was out of temperature range. All of our specimen cups have temperature strips on them and this particular cup was barely registering a temperature. Our collector didn’t feel comfortable accepting this specimen. The donor was going to have to try again, but according to DOT regulation, the next time the donor tries to produce a specimen, it has to be observed.

Nobody enjoys doing observed collections, it’s uncomfortable for the donor and the collector but it’s part of the job. Because of that uncomfortable feeling, donors often do not allow us to collect a second specimen under direct observation even though it is required by the DOT regulations. This always results in a refusal, which is the same as a positive drug test. Others will take their chances and give us a good specimen. This donor decided to try again and after an hour and a little water, he was ready.

According to DOT regulations, before the second attempt, the donor must lift up their shirt and drop their pants and underwear and turn in a circle so the collector knows they don’t have anything on their body to aid them in cheating. When asked to do this, the donor said he wasn’t dropping his pants. Our collector told him that if he refused any part of the collection process, it would be considered a refusal to test. The donor still didn’t want to take his pants off while mumbling something about being in the penitentiary.

Finally the donor dropped his pants but not his underwear. This is because he taped the legs of his underwear shut. After some struggling and awkward movements, he managed to wiggle free of the tape and drop his underwear. By wrapping his legs in tape over his underwear, he was able to hide urine inside his drawers without it falling down to his feet. Our collector’s instincts were right about the first specimen! Unfortunately for the donor, the inside of his undies wasn’t warm enough to keep his pee within temperature range. After observing the second collection, we were sure it came from his body that time, and not somebody else’s.

You can always count on the highly trained, fairly compensated, dedicated collectors at First Choice. Who’s doing your collections???