What’s the deal with direct observation drug testing? I’m enlisting in the military and the urinalysis was not what I expected, I thought I would give a pee sample in private, not at all.

Houston MEPS took the drug test super serious.

Males were separated and instructed to drink water until we were able to provide a sample. Once four of us were ready, we were told to roll up our sleeves and remove our watches.

We selected an empty bottle and inspected it. After this, we were taken to the UA restroom, which had a row of urinals, mirrors along the wall, and no dividers. We were instructed to stand back from the urinals, on top of marked tape. We had to pull our underwear down to our ankles and hold up our shirts, looking much like toddlers learning to use the toilet for the first time. The observer sat in a fold-out chair and watched as we urinated directly into the cup. We couldn’t pull up our pants and underwear until we had produced 30 ml and the bottle was capped. It took me hours of drinking water to be ready to provide a sample under these conditions.