Will Eating Hemp Seeds Cause Me to Fail a Drug Test?
One of the most common questions asked by those considering adding hemp seeds to their diet is “Will Eating Hemp Seeds Cause Me to Fail a Drug Test?”. Of course this can also be asked for any hemp product such as hemp hearts, hemp milk or hemp protein.
While marijuana and hemp both come from the same type of plant, the Cannabis sativa L, they are each from different varieties. Marijuana comes from the high THC content buds and leaves of psychoactive varieties of the Cannabis plant (these are the shorter bushy plants), while industrial hemp is the low THC fiber variety of Cannabis (look more like stalks). Hemp contains less than 1% of THC and with today’s seed-cleaning technology and the incredibly low trace levels of THC in hemp products, producing a positive drug test result would require an unrealistic amount to be ingested into your body.
As long as the only source of THC that enters your body is from hemp foods and products that are produced and grown from reputable companies and that they are consumed in reasonable quantities, it’s virtually impossible to fail a drug test from ingesting hemp foods. One way you can be sure that your hemp products are safe is to only buy from companies who are part of the TestPledge program. This is a completely voluntary program that is designed to limit THC concentrations to levels where they cannot result in positive drug tests.
The TestPledge requires companies to commit to limiting the THC in their products to 5.0 parts per million for hemp oil and 1.5 parts per million for hemp nuts. With this criteria in place, a person would have to eat in excess of 8 tablespoon servings of pure hemp oil per day or 14 ounces of hemp seeds per day to ingest 600 ug of THC, the dose found not to cause confirmed positive urine tests for marijuana with a wide margin of safety.
If you’re also concerned about the impact of your use of hemp lotions or soaps, don’t worry. You’re safe there too. An article in the MRO Update, which is a medical publication, has already confirmed that using hemp body products cannot cause a false positive drug test.
Leave your worries behind and enjoy your hemp seeds!
About The Author
Misty Spears
Misty is a freelance writer and entrepreneur who loves to share information about industrial hemp to help spread awareness of its health benefits as well as review products so you can find out what's good and what's bad before spending money on them. She enjoys trying out new health conscious recipes and participates in online groups and networking to help drive support for industrial hemp.
This is a great question… I’m sure a lot of people ask it. Thanks so much for providing the answer. =)
Sure thing Christy, I hope it answers some questions for people!
I can not wait for the stigma of hemp/marijuana to be dissolved. It is completely unnecessary and we as Americans are missing out on a very valuable resource. It may not be revolutionary but it can help add to a better quality of life. I support hemp and am currently using a hemp balm on my 20 month old daughter who has eczema. Misty will have the before and after pics soon. So watch for her post about that during hemp week.
I am with Jeremy! I would love to see people actually understand more about hemp vs marijuana. Hopefully with all the legislation happening right now…and don’t forget hemp history week starting next week, people will start to open their eyes. And I can’t wait to see the before and after pics of the hemp balm I recommended to you for your daughter!
Did the hemp balm heal the eczema?? I have had eczema on my left ankle for a couple years. I can’t seem to get it to go away. It is very annoying so I was just trying to look into other options. I wish I knew or could figure out what causes it…
I’m sure that’s an important question for anyone who might have to take such a test, especially for a job-related reason. Appreciate your detail explanation.
Absolutely and hopefully will let people know they can include them in their diet without fear. Thanks for stopping by Edie!
Good to know, not that I expect anyone to test me anytime soon, but you never know when this might come up.
Definitely and now at least you know 100% you are doing good by your body.
I never even thought about that but yes, I can imagine that it’s a concern for people like athletes. That’s good information to know.
Thanks for the clarification, Misty. Haven’t had a drug test in awhile, but I am a great fan of the hemp hearts. I eat them everyday in my oatmeal and add them to smoothies for added nutrition. They are great for vegetarians as they have a good amount of protein and other essential nutrients.
Exactly Beth! So glad to see more hemp fans! 3 scoops in my oatmeal every morning is exactly how I love them too.
Hello,
I am extremely stressed. My husband is a high ranking officer in the military. He had been eating hemp heart purchased from Costco and manufactured by Manitoba Harvest. He had approximately 2 to 3 tbsps every day Monday through Thursday. Today, there was a surprise drug test. What’s the likelihood of him testing positive. Apparently the military tests @ 1.5 something. I have no idea what that means. Ease my mind, please.
Absolutely none. Hemp hearts do not cause you to fail drug tests. I eat them regularly as do thousands of others and I’ve yet to see a positive drug test from hemp seeds and hearts. Manitoba follows strict guidelines regarding THC limits and because it’s not a drug, it would be impossible for your husband to test positive for THC. Hemp hearts have less than .3 percent, so he’s good. Don’t stress about it at all. 🙂
Good to know! Thanks for your article. I live in Australia, where it is apparently illegal to ingest hemp products! So I’ve just bought some “for external use only”, but wanted to check that they can’t cause positive drug results, because you couldn’t even use the excuse that you’ve just sprinkled some hemp seeds on your yoghurt.
Thanks for the info. My sister made a very tasty trail mix for me with the little chocolate balls in it, I didn’t know what it was so I asked, they are dark chocolate covered hemp seeds. I stressed so hard because I’m going to take a drug test in a few days for my new job.
I have hempz lip gloss and it says pure herbal extracts enriched with 100% hemp seed oil , can this cause a positive drug test ?!
Hi Desirae….not that I’ve heard of. I use hemp infused beauty products quite a bit, for years now, and nothing has ever come back.
Hi I have drug testing for hospital purposes and I just came up positive for thc. I use Chapstick that contains hemp seed oil that my friend makes here in CO. I don’t believe it has been tested by test pledge. So is it a strong possibility that is why I came up positive?
If so how can I get the Chapstick tested to know for sure cause if I can’t then I will loose my medicade coverage for my treatment. Please help!!!
I’ve never tried this product, but someone else mentioned it to me awhile back. You can get this little kit to test if a product is positive for THC http://amzn.to/1VRDFU3
If you give it a try, come back and let me know what your results were.
It’s hard to say without knowing all of the ingredients in the chapstick but if all he did was add just a touch of hemp seed oil, then probably not. Industrial hemp products aren’t typically the culprit of a positive drug test. To be honest the only actual study I’ve seen that produced a positive drug test was someone who had used hemp oil in large quantities in a short amount of time, like several ounces over 3 or 4 days. Just to give you an example….every single day I put hemp hearts into my smoothies, usually about 2-3 tablespoons, I include 1 tablespoon in my salad dressing mixes, I use hemp lotion daily, and I enjoy several different cosmetic products including lip balms like you are using. You could say I intake quite a bit…and never had trouble with drug tests…and I’ve been at this for YEARS.