Am I considered a stoner if I eat hemp seed?

October 24, 2009 6:02 PM

If I consume dietary hemp seed, will the THC show up on a drug test?

I bought some Canadian hemp seed on Amazon.com to add to the mash diet I prepare for my parrots. I've been dipping into the mash occasionally as it is an excellent source of nutrition (and complete protein) & is quite delicious to boot. Is there a chance that I could fail a drug test the same way poppy seeds on a bagel could fail you? If so, is there any rational response to a failed drug test that would convince an employer that it's a fluke (I have a five pound bag of the stuff I could use for proof)?

posted by torquemaniac to law & government (9 answers total)

I've never heard of somebody failing a drug test based on hemp seeds.

And I've never heard of a substantiated report of somebody failing for poppy seeds, either.
posted by Netzapper at 6:15 PM on October 24, 2009

And I've never heard of a substantiated report of somebody failing for poppy seeds, either.

Mythbusters demonstrated that it's stupidly simple to fail a test on poppy seeds alone.
posted by unixrat at 6:23 PM on October 24, 2009 [2 favorites]

No, you should be quite safe. On the other hand if you eat poppy seeds before a drug test, you're screwed.
posted by scalefree at 6:27 PM on October 24, 2009

I'm not as sure as scalefree, because I wonder if seeds intendeded for birds are cleaned as well as those for human consumption.
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:36 PM on October 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wait... is there actually THC in dietary hemp seed?
posted by darkshade at 7:01 PM on October 24, 2009

Typically, hemp contains below 0.3% THC, while Cannabis grown for marijuana can contain anywhere from 6 or 7 % to 20% or even more.

It's not worth worrying about.
posted by Lexica at 7:15 PM on October 24, 2009

TestPledge limits THC levels in hemp nut to 1.5 ppm THC. This allows customers to eat up to 14 ounces (more than a 12 oz. can) of hemp nut daily without reaching the 600 µg THC dose. Again, to increase this margin even further and to address any and all health concerns, setting the daily THC intake at 500 µg per day still allows for 12 ounces (a whole 12 ounce can) of hemp nut to be consumed daily. Even persons consuming extensively all hemp nut food products currently in the market will find it all but impossible to eat such quantities.

If you're eating 14 oz of of hemp seeds a day then yes you may have a problem. Otherwise, no.
posted by scalefree at 7:19 PM on October 24, 2009

*raises hand* I have failed a drug test based on poppy seeds.

I then bought and took the poppy seed bagels to the people giving the tests. They ate the bagels, took the tests, and they all failed, too.

So, the reasoning behind the concern, in this case, seems sound, but the quantities, as scalefree points out, are a little daunting.
posted by adipocere at 7:37 PM on October 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

...I wonder if seeds intendeded (sic) for birds are cleaned as well as those for human consumption.

It's intended for human consumption. I don't feed my parrots animal grade food.
posted by torquemaniac at 8:47 AM on October 25, 2009