November 25, 2014
SAVED BY THE YELL! This morning, at 5a.m., before the crack of dawn I was woken up by the yelling of a guard, unlocking my cell, telling me to go to early chow and report the recreation building along with twenty other inmates from my unit. I had no idea what this was about, but some of the other guys were saying that it was probably another random drug test, they were right. The other inmate next door to me that takes the same medication as me was also one of the inmates chosen for a drug test, we stood next to each other all morning, talking about our current predicament, and we both had two very different opinions about the test we were facing today. He was hoping that we would both test positive for THC again, making a stronger case for our last urine screen. I could understand what he was saying, I could even see the benefit in testing positive again, with the new procedure set in place, having our specimen sent out to a lab for a full and complete analysis would solidify our claim and absolve us of our last positive screening. I on the other hand just want to be left alone, so I that can finish my sentence in peace go home to my family and start my new life. At this point I'm worried and concerned, knowing the good possibility of testing positive again. I asked the other guy if he had taken his medication yet today, he said no, I told him I hadn't yet taken mine either. This is the only thing that saved me because every morning the first thing I do when I wake up is take my medication, I've done it so religiously that it's become a morning reflex for me. This is why I say I was saved by the yelling of the guard, waking me up from my slumber, sending me out of my cell so quickly was the only reason I had yet to take my meds. However I have no idea how long my medication takes effect in my system, creating a false positive for THC in my urine. Upon reporting to the rec hall I could see that it wasn't just twenty or so inmates from my unit chosen for a drug test, it was twenty or so inmates from every unit. Around 200 or more inmates were all packed into the chapel next to the gym to wait to be called for a drug test, one by one. I knew we were going to be here all morning. Once they started testing, a line was created, many inmates were arguing, cussing at each other, people were cutting in line, even a few scuffles. So naturally I sat in a chair in the back of the room, wanting no part with the insanity that the line had created. So my neighbor and I sat, talking to each other, watching the long line move at a snail's pace. For five very long hours we sat in the chapel waiting for the line to die down, with no access to water or a bathroom because the staff know that some inmates will drink gallons of water and frequent urination to flush out their systems of any drugs. Of course this didn't stop some of the inmates; it only slowed them down a bit. We noticed that some of the inmates were going behind a book shelf full of bibles in the corner of the room to urinate on the floor, other inmates were asking drug free inmates to urinate in sandwich bags and rubber gloves for inmates to attach to their inner leg to stealth fully poor into their cup in place of their own urine in hopes of passing the test. I'm not sure if they got away with this, each inmate had to take of their shirt and drop their pants to their knees to be closely monitored while urinating in the cup. One inmate asked me to urinate in a bag for them, of course I told them no, stating that they would want nothing to do with my urine without elaborating as to why. At about 10:30 my neighbor and I both finally got in line, we were some of the last inmates to take the test. We both stood together because we wanted to know the results of each other's test. I forgot to mention that these urine cups are different from the last ones, they have an instant read on the side of the cup, giving each of us our results on the spot. At this point I'm freaking out, hot flushes are flowing up and down my body because I know the probability of testing positive again and the probability of winning a losing battle against this prison is extremely slim. But Thank God I passed the test, we both passed the test and I have to believe it's only because we didn't have the chance to take our medication this morning.
Steven Dybvad
