Poppy Seed Myth, Fact or Fiction?

[Grayson]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

I was doing some reading online pertaining to this question and I have come across it being answered as yes & no.

The question is, is it true that poppy seeds will come up on a Drug Test?

I am curious of the answer simply because I have heard of this myth before but so has my nephew. He is currently going to go before a Judge at the end of this month to be signed on for the ARD program which he suspects will require him drug testing when he makes appearances to his probation officer monthly. Since his arrest he has not touched the drug in which got him into trouble nor has he touched anything else. (The family has kept randomly drug testing him and his lifestyle since the arrest has changed for the better dramatically)

He has heard of this rumor before and since his arrest has been paranoid about eating anything containing poppy seeds. Especially around the holidays now Poppy Seed Roll is something he has always loved as his grandmother has always made him a roll every now and then. But he is worried if he was to eat that or anything with poppy seed in it/on it that when he goes before the judge if he is asked to do a drug test that something will show up.

We have all told him that it was just a myth so I decided to go online and research it but I have found mixed answers so now I am not so sure. Some places say no, that you would have to consume a whole lot of it in a 24 hour period and then do the drug testing a few hours later for it to show up and then some sites this one http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/drugtest.php says that yes they can show up.

Anyone have any ideas on this?

Since his arrest was his rock bottom he has fought and continues to fight to come back up. I would hate to see all his improvement be harmed due to this. Thank you.

 

[CourtClerk]

What I have heard and what I've been told is that you would have to eat literally TONS of poppy seeds in order for them to show up on a drug screen. The regular old poppy seed roll just won't do it.

Years ago I used to work at a half-way house while doing my paid internship and this was a question that came up because this same thing came up. We actually called the lab that processes the urine tests for the state and spoke with the lab manager who explained it. What you read about eating a bunch of them, then taking the test was at least what I was told by the lab manager.

Eat the roll... Merry Christmas.

 

[justalayman]

the Mythbusters did a segment on this and they did test positive after eating poppy seeds.

you can check out Snopes here:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/poppyseed.asp

they also state it gives a pos. reading.

 

[CdwJava]

To avoid the problem, he should just avoid poppy seed rolls. If his tests keep coming up dirty, that claim is going to ring hollow. Plus, testing positive is quite a bit different than having a concentration high enough to indicate use of a controlled substance. Unless your nephew's lab tests for trace amounts in his drug tests, he should be okay.

But, to be safe - avoid them. Just for this reason, I also avoid poppy seed rolls and buns.

- Carl