Employers beware. There's another product out there that could help people cheat on pre-employment drug tests. It's synthetic urine, and when used properly it's perfectly legal.
To some people Quick Fix Plus could be the difference between unemployment, and getting a good job. This unisex three ounce bottle of synthetic urine sells at Mellow Moods in Moorhead for less than $30.
"My first reaction would be to be very concerned," said Direct Transport Safety Director Russ Conrad.
Synthetic urine came as a shock to Conrad, the safety director at the West Fargo company that hires truck drivers.
"Obviously if they are going to this extreme to do that you know they are on something, or trying to get around the system," Conrad says.
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It actually works. WDAY-TV brought a sample to Any Lab Test Now to see if this synthetic urine passes the test. All you have to do is pop off the cap and put it in the microwave for 10 seconds to get the temperature between 94 and 100 degrees. Once it's done heating up, all someone has to do is take the heat pack that comes with it, wrap it around the bottle, and it stays warm up to 5 hours.
"The nitrates, the ph, the bleach level, the gravity, those are all looking good," said Dan Parker, the lab's owner.
The only red flag was the low level of creatinine, but this can be common in anyone's urine.
"Parts of the body can cause it to be off a little bit," Parker said. "That's why if the employer wants it sent off we can for further testing."
Perhaps the biggest shock of all is that it's perfectly legal for pre-employment screenings.
"That's something between the employer and employee, and the employer has the right to terminate the employee or not hire them based on that," said Moorhead Police Lt. Tory Jacobson.
Back at Direct Transport, Conrad says he's alarmed, but can count on one thing: With every way to get around the test there will soon be even better technology to catch cheaters.
Both Spectrum Labs, the producer of Quick Fix Plus, and Mellow Moods have not responded to WDAY's request for comment.
