BOOM IN INDUSTRY TO COMBAT RANDOM DRUG TESTS

As drug testing at work and in schools becomes almost routine in many
American cities, a new industry aimed at helping people to beat the test
has blossomed.

It is now possible to buy everything from drinks that purge the system of
drug traces to 'lifelike' prosthetics in the correct skin colour that let a
worker fool his employer with a bogus urine test.

The industry has developed in the wake of fears for the civil liberties of
those forced to take tests by threat of dismissal. A survey by the American
Civil Liberties Union shows that many of the tests are inaccurate. There
are also fears that employers are using them to screen out applicants who
are ill or pregnant.

Among the products now on offer are: Totally Clean gum, tea and capsules at
prices of between $19 and $24; the 'ultimate' device, the Urinator "it does
the peeing so you don't have to!" and Clear Choice shampoo, which removes
toxins from hair. Strands of hair are increasingly used to check for the
presence of drugs.

Detox Headquarters in Louisiana offers at discount price drinks such as
Carbo Cleanse Shake, which it says will detoxify the system in an hour.

The newest firm in the business, Puck Technology of California, produces
the Whizzinator, which comes with a prosthesis and a sample of toxin-free
urine. Heat pads are provided so that the urine can be kept at body
temperature for eight hours.

"I've been self-employed all my life so testing didn't affect me
personally," said Dennis Catalano of Puck, "but I have a friend it did
impact on."

This was what prompted him to go into the business, he said, and demand so
far had been strong. "Around 46% of companies require tests now," Mr
Catalano said, adding that the trend was being driven by insurance companies.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the boom in the beat-the-test business
has been the magazine High Times, the drug-culture bible, which carries
several full-page ads for the products.

Its senior editor, Steven Wishnia, said the new companies had been created
to deal with the increasing number of tests required of people seeking jobs
or of workers at large companies. Colleges and schools have also
increasingly introduced testing.

"The tests give a large number of false positives." People who had eaten
poppy-seed bagels or taken cold cures had tested positive, he added.

High Times provides an advice hotline for people facing tests. It
recommends drinking plenty of water before a test and avoiding taking a
test in the morning.

Drugs reformers see the industry as a natural reaction to what they regard
as a breach of civil liberties. Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy
Project says the testing industry has become too powerful. "They have a
number of members of Congress in their back pocket and they try to scare
companies [into setting up tests]."