ENTER THE URINATOR, ULTIMATE WEAPON IN THE DRUG-TEST WARS

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.

Comedian Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame advertises a line of
detoxifying products under the Urine Luck trademark. A home test kit is
available for $15.

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, a sample of toxin-free
urine and an elastic belt.

Heat pads are provided so that the urine can be kept at body temperature
for eight hours. Puck's first advertisement, out this month, shows a
construction worker winking as he is tested at a urinal.

"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 is just
about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. It 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 had also
increasingly introduced testing, he said.

"A lot of major companies have adopted drug testing under pressure because
they don't want to be seen as soft on drugs," he said. "The tests give a
large number of false positives."

People who had eaten poppy-seed bagels or taken cold cures had tested
positive.

"Obviously, we've protested a lot," he said, "but it's a bit like the
situation was with the communists in the 50s - there was a right to free
speech under the first amendment - except for communists.

"Now there is a right to be secure in your home under the fourth amendment
- - except for drug users."

Even newspapers were now requiring their staff to submit to tests, Mr
Wishnia said. Some schools required tests if students wanted to play sport.

High Times provides an advice hotline for people facing tests. "Most
informed people are able to pass their drug test," it says. It recommends
drinking plenty of water before a test and avoiding taking a test in the
morning.

Drugs reformers see the new 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
itself become too powerful: "They have a number of members of congress in
their backpocket and they try to scare companies [into setting up tests]."