Every once in a while we hear about someone who received an invalid test result  who has used synthetic urine to pass a drug test.  This is an anomaly not the norm.  Synthetic urine is designed by the manufacturers to match human urine in pH balance, specific gravity, and creatinine levels so it is virtually foolproof.  Most come with a heating pad and temperature gauge to assure the user is submitting his or her sample at the acceptable body temperature range.

When you submit your urine sample for drug testing there are a few steps involved in validating the sample. The first step would be to verify that the sample is in the right temperature range which could be anywhere from ninety degrees to one hundred degrees.  If the sample is found to be out of this range then the subject is usually asked to give a second sample immediately often while being observed. The second step would be to check for proper pH levels and creatinine levels.  If these levels are fine then the sample should be deemed valid for testing for toxins. If the creatinine levels of the sample are found to be less than twenty nanograms per milliliter then the lab will run a test for specific gravity of the urine which is a comparison of the density of the sample compared to the density of distilled water.  After checking the specific gravity and creatinine levels of the sample the specimen is determined to be normal, diluted, invalid or substituted.  A diluted or an invalid sample will most likely result in the person having to resubmit another sample and possibly be observed when submitting the sample.  A substituted result may most likely be treated as an outright fail on the test.

(To Be Continued)