Positive tests for marijuana during workplace drug screenings have increased since Hawaii’s medical dispensaries began operating in 2017, and recent lab data indicates that more people are turning to fake urine to avoid detection of cannabis, as well as other drugs.

About 1 in 30 people tested positive for THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, during the first half of this year, according to data released earlier this month by Diagnostic Laboratory Services. During that same period, detection of synthetic urine jumped by nearly a quarter to 1.6% of samples.

The use of fake urine, which can be purchased over the internet under such names as Quick Luck and Urinator, has been a go-to trick for more than a decade, adding to such strategies as using someone else’s urine or trying to dilute the sample by drinking copious amounts of water.

Carl Linden, DLS’ scientific director of toxicology, said that his lab first began catching on to the trend 12 years ago when it began receiving urine samples that looked funny. Some had a green glow, similar to Mountain Dew, others didn’t foam or foamed too much. The lab began flagging those samples and testing them to see if they were synthetic.

Linden said he was surprised that synthetic urine continues to be showing up. “We thought that once we started testing and when we notified the media of what we were finding, we thought the formulators would move on and shut it down,” he said. “We thought it would disappear … but it’s been 12 years now.”

Manufacturers have continually tweaked their formulas to avoid detection methods, making it difficult to tell if labs are catching all the fake urine samples. But Linden said that the visual clues are among the best evidence and that the vast majority of samples flagged as suspicious test positive for being synthetic. In addition to looking like real urine, the samples need to be heated between 90 and 100 degrees, to match the body’s natural temperature.

Manufacturers have come up with a way to replicate that as well. For example, one company sells what it calls its “incognito belt.” The device includes a “bladder bag,” which can be tied around the waist, and heating pads.

Linden said that overall, the number of people testing positive during workplace screening is surprising, especially since most people know that they are going to be screened. Marijuana typically is only detected for about five days, unless someone is a very heavy, chronic user, in which case it can show up for about four weeks. Amphetamines, including what’s commonly referred to as ice, is typically cleared in 24 hours, but can show up for as long as three days for a large dose.

“You would think that they would be cognizant of their last usage,” he said. “The fact that they test positive is also an IQ test.”

During the first half of this year, 1 in 100 people tested positive for amphetamine; 1 in 330 people tested positive for cocaine; and 1 in 1,000 tested positive for opiates. DLS’ quarterly sample size typically includes 7,000 to 10,000 drug tests.

Marijuana use

The number of workplace drug tests coming back positive for marijuana also has been on the rise, which might be correlated to the advent of medical marijuana dispensaries. Medical marijuana has been legal in Hawaii since 2000, but it wasn’t readily available through a prescription until Hawaii passed legislation in 2015 paving the way for the establishment of dispensaries. In 2015 about 2.5% of workers were testing positive for marijuana, according to DLS data. In recent years, included the first half of 2022, it’s been about 3.2%.

Hawaii also decriminalized the possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana in 2019.

The advent of marijuana as a prescription drug, authorized by the state, has created tricky legal questions for employers. The drug is still banned under federal law, placed in the same category as drugs such as heroin and LSD.

“Most employers want to keep a drug-free workplace,” said Robert Fung, general counsel for the Hawaii Employers Council, which serves as a resource for companies in areas such as employment law, management training and human resources.

Fung said that most employers in Hawaii continue to treat marijuana as an illegal substance.

He said that in some cases, employers can run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act if they don’t make reasonable accommodations for an employee with a medical condition who has been prescribed marijuana, but most courts have typically ruled that employers have no obligation to accommodate medical marijuana use.

That means employees who use medical marijuana can still lose their job.