Is It Really Possible 'To Pass Any Drug Test?'
South Carolina Man Sells Urine To Help Others Pass Drug Tests
Maybe you've seen the signs across town: "pass any drug test." If it delivers what it promises, job applicants can skirt pre-employment drug tests designed to weed-out drug abusers.
And as Channel 4's Joe Conger found out, it's an issue of privacy-versus-public safety.
Everyday thousands of job seekers hit Jacksonville's streets looking for work. They carry their resumes, perhaps the want ads. They're wearing attire fitting for a job interview, and in some cases beneath it all, a bag of somebody else's urine so they can pass the drug test.
These signs have cropped-up across the nation and in Jacksonville "pass any drug test" and it has authorities worried. For around $80, a kit that includes 125 ccs of human waste can be delivered to your door, along with a guarantee that you'll pass the drug test.
"I don't think drug testing does anything for safety," privacy protection services spokesman Ken Curtis said. "It creates a false illusion of safety rather than addressing the real problem. The problem for me is that the information that can be gleaned it has to do with health parameters, pre-existing medical conditions, things that you can be discriminated against."
As a South Carolina pipe fitter, Curtis was given a drug test nearly every month, and it gave him the idea to market his urine to others.
"Naw, I don't waste a drop. That's liquid gold to me," Curtis said.
Curtis (pictured, right) said that he's never used drugs, never will and won't even take aspirin for a headache to keep his samples clean. And he uses the same labs to test his urine as the big companies do.
It's estimated that 80 percent of corporate America regularly drug screens its employees. The urine test is used to weed-out those who could pose an on-the job-hazard because of drug use in our skies, on the roads or on the rails.
"Modern technology is incredible in what you can get from somebody's urine these days," medical review office Dr. Robert Chapa said.
Chapa handles hundreds of drug screenings a month for companies throughout the East Coast. He said that a typical test screens for anything from cocaine to marijuana use, and anything in-between. He says safety issues outweigh the issue of invasion of privacy.
"Privacy is always an issue in medicine. As so, a drug screen is held as sacred as a blood screen, history form, or any other information," Chapa (pictured, left) said.
But Curtis says employers and their insurance companies have a vested interest in that other information.
"If an insurance company can keep a pregnant woman off the hiring rolls or keep somebody who's HIV infected from having insurance with their company, it saves on their premiums and keeps their rates low," Chupa said.
Curtis keeps his products frozen; in fact, he's got seven freezers full of the stuff. And with more than 86,000 orders, he says that he has a steady stream of customers.
"Worldwide actually. The U.S. does the bulk of urine testing," Curtis said. "Most of my business is in the states, but I've shipped to almost every country you can think of."
Back in Orange Park, Chapa invited Channel 4's Joe Conger to experience a drug screening.
He and his certified staff were unaware I was wearing the test kit, and was able to use Curtis' urine instead of my own. But Dr. Chapa points out that random drug screens can eventually catch a drug abuser:
"And that keeps people honest," Conger asked.
"Yea, I do believe the roads are safer, the work places safer as drug screens are out there," Chupa said. "I think that's been proven over and over again."
"If you're on drugs, I would say get off of drugs, but use my kit to protect your privacy and feel good about doing so," Curtis said.
But don't get any ideas, in Florida it's against the law to use Curtis' test or any method to defraud urine tests. A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 dollar fine. But is the punishment enough to stop someone from taking the chance to land a job?
South Carolina lawmakers have passed a law making it illegal for Curtis to sell his urine, but it's currently on appeal before the South Carolina state Supreme Court. In the meantime, he claims to sell his urine as a novelty.
Copyright 2003 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
These signs have cropped-up across the nation and in Jacksonville "pass any drug test" and it has authorities worried. For around $80, a kit that includes 125 ccs of human waste can be delivered to your door, along with a guarantee that you'll pass the drug test.
"I don't think drug testing does anything for safety," privacy protection services spokesman Ken Curtis said. "It creates a false illusion of safety rather than addressing the real problem. The problem for me is that the information that can be gleaned it has to do with health parameters, pre-existing medical conditions, things that you can be discriminated against."
As a South Carolina pipe fitter, Curtis was given a drug test nearly every month, and it gave him the idea to market his urine to others.
"Naw, I don't waste a drop. That's liquid gold to me," Curtis said.
Curtis (pictured, right) said that he's never used drugs, never will and won't even take aspirin for a headache to keep his samples clean. And he uses the same labs to test his urine as the big companies do.
It's estimated that 80 percent of corporate America regularly drug screens its employees. The urine test is used to weed-out those who could pose an on-the job-hazard because of drug use in our skies, on the roads or on the rails.
"Modern technology is incredible in what you can get from somebody's urine these days," medical review office Dr. Robert Chapa said.
Chapa handles hundreds of drug screenings a month for companies throughout the East Coast. He said that a typical test screens for anything from cocaine to marijuana use, and anything in-between. He says safety issues outweigh the issue of invasion of privacy.
"Privacy is always an issue in medicine. As so, a drug screen is held as sacred as a blood screen, history form, or any other information," Chapa (pictured, left) said.
But Curtis says employers and their insurance companies have a vested interest in that other information.
"If an insurance company can keep a pregnant woman off the hiring rolls or keep somebody who's HIV infected from having insurance with their company, it saves on their premiums and keeps their rates low," Chupa said.
Curtis keeps his products frozen; in fact, he's got seven freezers full of the stuff. And with more than 86,000 orders, he says that he has a steady stream of customers.
"Worldwide actually. The U.S. does the bulk of urine testing," Curtis said. "Most of my business is in the states, but I've shipped to almost every country you can think of."
Back in Orange Park, Chapa invited Channel 4's Joe Conger to experience a drug screening.
He and his certified staff were unaware I was wearing the test kit, and was able to use Curtis' urine instead of my own. But Dr. Chapa points out that random drug screens can eventually catch a drug abuser:
"And that keeps people honest," Conger asked.
"Yea, I do believe the roads are safer, the work places safer as drug screens are out there," Chupa said. "I think that's been proven over and over again."
"If you're on drugs, I would say get off of drugs, but use my kit to protect your privacy and feel good about doing so," Curtis said.
But don't get any ideas, in Florida it's against the law to use Curtis' test or any method to defraud urine tests. A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 dollar fine. But is the punishment enough to stop someone from taking the chance to land a job?
South Carolina lawmakers have passed a law making it illegal for Curtis to sell his urine, but it's currently on appeal before the South Carolina state Supreme Court. In the meantime, he claims to sell his urine as a novelty.
Copyright 2003 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.








