Falsifying a Drug Test
People may be required to take drug tests for a variety of reasons. Drug tests may be a mandatory job requirement, may be mandatorily imposed by the State of Tennessee as a result of a past conviction for certain offenses, or may be required by a health or life insurance provider. Even though drug tests are generally (but not always) known about beforehand and usually carry stiff penalties for failure, such as loss of a job or violation of probation, some Tennesseans end up in the precarious position of knowing they are about to fail a drug test before they take it. Unfortunately, this leads some people to attempt to falsify the results of the test, an effort which is becoming increasingly futile.
As medical science continues to evolve, drugs test results are becoming harder and harder to fake. This is especially true now that drug tests can be reliably administered by using hair follicles in addition to urine samples. However, the fact that it is harder to fake a drug test is not dissuading companies from coming up with products to assist the daring drug devotee in his or her efforts to beat the tests. Someone wishing to falsify a drug test can simply use the internet to purchase someone else’s urine, buy a warmer to heat the urine to the correct temperature, and even purchase a prosthetic “bladder” device that fastens to some remote location on one’s body that gives the appearance that the urine is being produced by the drug-test taker. The problem with this scenario, besides the fact that you can probably never be making a good life-decision if you find yourself purchasing another person’s urine, is that testing companies are always looking for new ways to detect when these methods are being used. If they are successful in detecting when a test-taker has falsified the results of his or her drug test in some manner, that person could be looking at jail time.
The Tennessee statute prohibiting falsifying a drug test is a short one, and reads in its entirety:
- “(a) It is an offense for a person to intentionally use, or possess with the intent to use, any substance or device designed to falsify the results of a drug test of that person.
- (b) As used in this section, “drug test” means a lawfully administered test designed to detect the presence of a controlled substance.
- (c) A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.”
A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail and a fine not to exceed $2,500 under Tennessee criminal law. This is a pretty stiff penalty for what may almost seem like a victimless crime. However, the State of Tennessee wishes to protect its penal system and businesses that rely on these drug tests from being misled by falsifications. Avoiding drugs altogether is obviously the best option for not getting prosecuted under this statute, but Tennesseans who are unable to do so should keep in mind that falsification is often detected and could lead to almost a year in jail.
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