SUBVERSION OF DRUG TESTING PROGRAMS HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MAY 17, 2005 Serial No. 109–47 Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 21–638PDF WASHINGTON : 2005 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:32 Feb 28, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\DOCS\21638.TXT HCOM1 PsN: JOEP COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE JOE BARTON, Texas, Chairman RALPH M. HALL, Texas JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, Florida Ranking Member Vice Chairman HENRY A. WAXMAN, California FRED UPTON, Michigan EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts CLIFF STEARNS, Florida RICK BOUCHER, Virginia PAUL E. GILLMOR, Ohio EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York NATHAN DEAL, Georgia FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey ED WHITFIELD, Kentucky SHERROD BROWN, Ohio CHARLIE NORWOOD, Georgia BART GORDON, Tennessee BARBARA CUBIN, Wyoming BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois ANNA G. ESHOO, California HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico BART STUPAK, Michigan JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York CHARLES W. ‘‘CHIP’’ PICKERING, ALBERT R. WYNN, Maryland Mississippi, Vice Chairman GENE GREEN, Texas VITO FOSSELLA, New York TED STRICKLAND, Ohio ROY BLUNT, Missouri DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado STEVE BUYER, Indiana LOIS CAPPS, California GEORGE RADANOVICH, California MIKE DOYLE, Pennsylvania CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire TOM ALLEN, Maine JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania JIM DAVIS, Florida MARY BONO, California JAN SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois GREG WALDEN, Oregon HILDA L. SOLIS, California LEE TERRY, Nebraska CHARLES A. GONZALEZ, Texas MIKE FERGUSON, New Jersey JAY INSLEE, Washington MIKE ROGERS, Michigan TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin C.L. ‘‘BUTCH’’ OTTER, Idaho MIKE ROSS, Arkansas SUE MYRICK, North Carolina JOHN SULLIVAN, Oklahoma TIM MURPHY, Pennsylvania MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee BUD ALBRIGHT, Staff Director DAVID CAVICKE, Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel REID P.F. STUNTZ, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS ED WHITFIELD, Kentucky, Chairman CLIFF STEARNS, Florida BART STUPAK, Michigan CHARLES W. ‘‘CHIP’’ PICKERING, Ranking Member Mississippi DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire JAN SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois GREG WALDEN, Oregon JAY INSLEE, Washington MIKE FERGUSON, New Jersey TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas HENRY A. WAXMAN, California MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan, JOE BARTON, Texas, (Ex Officio) (Ex Officio) (II) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:32 Feb 28, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6011 Sfmt 0486 F:\DOCS\21638.TXT HCOM1 PsN: JOEP C O N T E N T S Page Testimony of: Captain, Jill F, Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association .................. 30 Catalano, Dennis, President, Puck Technology ............................................. 77 Cramer, Robert J., Office of Special Investigations, Government Account- ability Office .................................................................................................. 10 Dasgupta, Amitava, Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas—Houston .................................................... 57 Fichera, Michael, Health Choice of New York, Inc ........................................ 77 Kenney, Josephine E., Senior Vice President of Compliance, Employment Screening Services Division, First Advantage Corporation ....................... 59 Moore, Hon. George, Commonwealth’s Attorney, 21st Judicial Circuit ....... 27 Reed, Hon. Susan D., District Attorney, Bexar County Justice Center ....... 23 Sample, Barry, Director of Science and Technology, Employee Solutions Division, Quest Diagnostics, Inc .................................................................. 37 Simms, Jeff, the Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association .... 33 Stephens, Matt, President, Spectrum Labs .................................................... 77 Stephenson, Robert L. II, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration .............................................................................................. 16 (III) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:32 Feb 28, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 F:\DOCS\21638.TXT HCOM1 PsN: JOEP VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:32 Feb 28, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 F:\DOCS\21638.TXT HCOM1 PsN: JOEP SUBVERSION OF DRUG TESTING PROGRAMS TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2005 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:40 a.m., in room 2123, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Whitfield (chair- man) presiding. Members present: Representatives Whitfield, Bass, Walden, Fer- guson, Burgess, Blackburn, Barton (ex officio), Stupak, and Inslee. Staff present: Mark Paoletta, chief counsel; Alan Slobodin, major- ity counsel; Clayton Matheson, research analyst; Chad Grant, clerk; and Chris Knauer, minority investigator. Mr. WHITFIELD. Today’s hearing is entitled Subversion of Drug Testing Programs, and I certainly want to welcome the first panel of witnesses. We look forward to your testimony. Before we give our opening statements, we do have about a 2- or 3-minute segment that was on a television station in Texas that sort of illustrates the subject matter of this hearing today. So—I’m sorry. It was Connecticut, not Texas and 1998 and not today. Hope- fully, our technology will work; and, with that, we will begin the video. If someone would dim the lights. [Video shown.] Mr. WHITFIELD. Well, I hope you enjoyed that brief news clip. We are going to have our opening statements now, and I’m going to submit my entire opening statement for the record. [The prepared statement of Hon. Ed Whitfield follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. ED WHITFIELD, CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS There’s an old saying: ‘‘What you don’t know can’t hurt you.’’ Today’s hearing on the subversion of drug testing programs will show that adage may not always be true. We will learn about a furtive world of masking agents and prosthetic devices that keeps us from knowing who in safety-sensitive jobs or in probation programs are using illegal drugs. This may be the case that what you don’t know can hurt you—and not only hurt you, but actually put your life and others’ lives at risk. We know that the problem of illegal drug use is enormous and persistent. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 2003 Na- tional Survey on Drug Use and Health tells us that 19.5 million Americans ages 12 and older reported using an illicit drug in the month before the survey was con- ducted. According to the same survey, if asked about illicit drug use during the year before the survey was conducted, 35 million Americans age 12 and older reported illicit drug use. We don’t know the precise number of people subject to drug testing who are using drugs, but some of today’s witnesses will present data on positive test results and other kinds of results that indicate a significant problem of people who continue to use drugs, even when they are subject to a drug-testing program. (1) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:32 Feb 28, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\DOCS\21638.TXT HCOM1 PsN: JOEP 2 We know that over the past decade, a quickly expanding industry has evolved around products that help illicit drug users subvert drug tests. A myriad of compa- nies currently sell dozens of products that are designed to mask the presence of ille- gal drugs in users’ urine, hair, blood, and saliva. These products are ubiquitous and are sold primarily over the Internet, in ‘‘head shops,’’ and even in health food stores. Additionally, there are products that deliver substitute ‘‘clean’’ or drug-free urine warmed to body temperature. They have catchy names such as the ‘‘Urinator’’ and the ‘‘Whizzinator.’’ These products have even been in the news. Just last week, we learned about an NFL player caught with a Whizzinator. We will see print ads and Internet ads that blatantly advertise and guarantee that when used according to in- structions, ‘‘You Will Pass Your Drug Test or Double Your Money Back!’’ The Com- mittee has obtained some information on the finances and operations of a couple of companies, a sub-sample of this mysterious industry. What we have learned is that the bottom lines of these companies is consistent with a trend of an industry that is growing and making millions of dollars. However, we don’t know the overall size of this industry. At today’s hearing, we will have an opportunity to gain some in- sight from three witnesses in this industry who will appear before the Sub- committee. We know that drug-testing programs are being defrauded. Adulteration, substi- tution, and other forms of deception are used in attempts to falsify drug test results. We know that because some people have been caught trying to substitute urine specimens. We will hear from two prosecutors whose offices have prosecuted such cases. One of the prosecutors who will be testifying is George Moore, a Common- wealth’s Attorney from my home state of