Products to test negative in drug tests: Do they work?

On a previous occasion, we told whether CBD tests positive in drug tests. Related to this topic, the question arose whether the products to test negative in drug tests are really effective. In this post we briefly tell you what science says about the effectiveness of this type of “cleansing” products.

What are the products to test negative in drug tests?

There are various types of products that promise to help you pass drug tests, from liquids and “detox” pills to gadgets with synthetic urine. Each of these products has a method of action, often involving dilution or masking. But do they really work?

Effectiveness of products to test negative in drug tests

Through the Internet, it is easy to find several types of products that, supposedly, allow to obtain a negative result in drug tests, either urine or saliva. Generally speaking, we can distinguish:

Saliva cleansers

These are products designed to temporarily eliminate traces of substances in saliva that can be detected in drug tests. They usually come in the form of a spray.

There is no scientific evidence on its efficacy. In any case, for physiological reasons, its supposed efficacy would be maintained for a few seconds after administration. Saliva tests are mostly used in traffic drug controls, so they are unlikely to be useful in practice, since the agent is present during the process.

Urine cleaners

These are products to be ingested orally and that ensure to accelerate the speed of drug elimination. This idea is unfounded, since under normal conditions, the speed with which a drug is eliminated from the body depends on a series of pharmacological parameters that cannot be influenced.

In this sense, the only possible strategy is the use of diuretics: drugs that increase the volume of urine and that could dilute the concentration of cannabis below the detection limit.

Two points should be noted in this regard. First, the use of diuretics (especially of undetermined origin, composition and quantity) can have serious health consequences. Secondly, urine drug screening tests are always accompanied by a basic urinalysis, which would be clearly altered by the use of diuretics (1).

Other types of “urine cleaners” are products to be added to the sample that alter the cannabis metabolites to make them undetectable. They are effective, but have the same disadvantages as those just mentioned: alterations in parameters such as pH, density or protein in the urine would make fraudulent intent evident (1, 2).

The only sure way to falsify a urine drug test even in the most extreme circumstances (judicial approved controls include direct observation of the person urinating at the time the sample is obtained) is the use of synthetic urine kits.

The bottom line is that most products that promise to help you test negative on a drug test offer no guarantees and, in many cases, can be detected by laboratories. Although some products may temporarily reduce the concentration of drugs in the body, the effectiveness is not assured, and the chance of being caught is high.

References

• Raouf M, Bettinger JJ, Fudin J. A Practical Guide to Urine Drug Monitoring. Fed Pract. 2018 Apr;35(4):38-44. PMID: 30766353; PMCID: PMC6368048.
• Jaffee WB, Trucco E, Levy S, Weiss RD. Is this urine really negative? A systematic review of tampering methods in urine drug screening and testing.. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2007 Jul;33(1):33-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2006.11.008. Epub 2007 Jan 16. PMID: 17588487.