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'Fake Pee' Is In Demand, and Now States Want to Ban It

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An image of a urine sample over a medical report.
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This hot-selling product is a fake ... and that's exactly why buyers want it.

Sales of synthetic urine — which people can use to cheat on drug tests — appear to be on the rise in the United States, according to news reports. And the substance has become such a problem that some states are moving to ban it.

According to The Washington Post, Indiana and New Hampshire passed laws last year banning synthetic urine, and two additional states — Missouri and Mississippi — introduced bills this year to make the product illegal.

"Our employers are reporting to us a concern that more and more of their employees are using synthetic human urine to cheat on a drug test," Dan Gibson, executive director of the Mississippi Association of Self-Insurers, which has lobbied for the bill in Mississippi, told The Washington Post. [9 Weird Ways You Can Test Positive for Drugs]

Mississippi State Rep. Willie Bailey said at a hearing that fake urine is a "hot seller" at truck stops, the Post reported. "They can't keep it in stock," Bailey said.

Synthetic urine is made from a mix of chemicals, with some manufacturers saying their products contain uric acid, the Post reported. (Uric acid is a chemical found in human urine.) The fake urine sells for $17 to $40 and can be bought online or in certain stores, such as some head shops.

Originally published on Live Science.

Rachael Rettner
Rachael Rettner
Contributor

Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.