Pubdate: Tue, 19 Mar 2002
Source: The Post and Courier (SC)
Copyright: 2002 Evening Post Publishing Co.
Contact:   http://www.charleston.net/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

MAN SELLING HIS URINE LOSES BATTLE

Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Greenville Man's Challenge To Law

WASHINGTON - Internet shoppers can expect to have one less product online: 
urine from South Carolina. Kenneth Curtis lost a Supreme Court appeal that 
asked for permission to sell his fluids, part of a business that caters to 
people who are trying to beat drug tests. A 1999 South Carolina law made 
urine sales illegal, and it was Curtis' challenge of the law that justices 
refused Monday to hear. Curtis has already figured out a way around the 
ban: moving his enterprise to North Carolina. His lawyer, Robert C. Child 
III, said in court filings that the former pipefitter is simply selling a 
natural product and is not responsible for how it is used. "Our government 
does not require those who sell alcohol to ask their customers if they 
intend to get drunk and drive, nor do they require those who sell bullets 
or guns to ask their customers if they intend to kill someone," Child 
wrote. For $69, Curtis sells his drug-free urine, along with a small pouch, 
tubing and a warming packet. His Web site promises buyers "can use our kit 
in a natural urinating position ... and you cannot be detected even if 
directly observed." The site includes a cartoon of a man, lowering his 
pants and urinating on a police officer's shoes. Curtis started the urine 
sales in 1996.

He moved his business, Privacy Protection Services, from Greenville, S.C., 
to North Carolina pending the outcome of the legal challenge. The South 
Carolina Supreme Court already rejected his claims that the law was vague, 
violated his freedom of expression and infringed on interstate commerce. "A 
statute making it unlawful to defraud a drug test furthers the public 
purpose of ensuring a drug-free workplace," South Carolina Chief Justice 
Jean Toal wrote. "Furthermore, the public pur-pose of creating safety in 
the workplace outweighs any legitimate interest, if any, of Curtis in doing 
business." The law makes it illegal to give away or sell urine to be used 
to defraud a drug or alcohol screening test. First-time offenders can be 
sentenced to up to three years in prison.
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