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Posted: Thursday, July 5th, 2012 9:00 AM HST

Hawaii drug-tests see rise in synthetic urine

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii drug-testing company says the use of synthetic urine to foil drug tests is up 37 percent from the previous quarter. Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Inc. said Tuesday the mysterious uptick comes after a year of steady decline. Scientific Director of Toxicology Carl Linden says about 70 tests out of 6,000 tests contained synthetic urine, compared with about 50 from the previous quarter. Diagnostic Laboratory Services is Hawaii's largest locally owned drug-testing company. The company releases workforce drug-testing statistics on a quarterly basis. The company's quarterly sample size is typically between 7,000 to 10,000 drug tests. Synthetic urine is used to mask drug use in tests. The company can test urine that doesn't have characteristics found in human urine.