Pentagon warns troops eating poppy seeds could lead to failed drugs tests

The US Protection Division issued an official warning to troops final week: In case you don’t wish to check constructive on a drug check, it is best to keep away from poppy seeds.

A memo distributed on Friday from Gilbert Cisneros, the beneath secretary of Protection for personnel and readiness, directed army service leaders to “notify service members to keep away from consumption of all poppy seeds to incorporate meals merchandise and baked items containing poppy seeds.”

“Out of an abundance of warning, I discover defending service members and the integrity of the drug testing program requires a warning to keep away from poppy seeds,” Cisneros wrote within the memo, launched on Tuesday. “As extra info turns into accessible, we’ll revise this coverage accordingly.”

The issues over poppy seeds leading to constructive drug exams aren’t new, as Cisneros identified in his memo. Certainly, a 1998 research stated drug display screen cut-offs had been questioned due to the constructive outcomes “following the ingestion of poppy seed containing meals merchandise.”

That has endured over time. One other research printed simply final 12 months says consuming poppy seed merchandise can result in “opiate-positive urine drug check outcomes.”

Nonetheless, Cisneros stated that current knowledge suggests some poppy seed variants have increased codeine contamination than beforehand thought.

“Consumption of poppy seed merchandise might trigger a codeine constructive urinalysis end result and undermine the Division’s skill to establish illicit drug use,” Cisneros wrote.

The contamination might pose an issue for service members with a proclivity for poppy seed bagels or muffins who will be drug examined at random by their unit.