Daily ingestion of hemp oil and food products will not produce a “confirmed positive” drug test for marijuana, according to a study published in this month’s issue of the Journal of Analytical Toxicology. The findings call into question the rationale behind recently enacted DEA regulations criminalizing the possession and manufacture of any edible hemp seed or oil products that contain trace levels of THC. Many experts believe that the new regulations came about, in part, because of concerns from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the drug testing industry that employees would purposely consume legal hemp products as a way to dispute positive drug tests.
Fifteen subjects participated in the study, which required volunteers to consume hemp oil of various THC concentrations daily for a period of ten days. Researchers then collected urine samples and screened for cannabinoids using federally approved gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technology. Scientists reported that despite the consumption of as many as 600 micrograms (one millionth of a gram) of THC per day – a total far higher than would be expected in a non-laboratory setting – all 15 subjects tested far below the 15-ng/ml confirmation cutoff used in federal drug testing programs.
“Based on our findings, these concentrations appear to be sufficiently low to prevent confirmed positives from the extended and extensive consumption of hemp foods,” authors concluded.
Eric Steenstra, national coordinator of VoteHemp Inc., a nonprofit organization that is contesting the federal hemp food ban, said the study definitively shows that self-imposed industry-wide standards (so-called “TestPledge” standards) for hemp seed and oil products “assure consumers that hemp foods will not interfere with confirmation drug testing.”
He called the current ban “irrational,” noting that “hemp seeds and oil have absolutely no psychoactive effect and are about as likely to be abused as [are] poppy seed bagels for their trace opiate content, or fruit juices because of their trace alcohol content.”
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of The NORML Foundation, at (202) 483-8751 or visit the VoteHemp website at: http://www.votehemp.com. For more information on the “TestPledge” program, please visit: http://www.testpledge.com.
