No, Poppy Seeds Probably Won’t Make You Fail a Drug Test
The tales of poppy-coated foods causing drug test failures is a classic urban legend that has been in the airsince a certain episode of Seinfeld . While there may be some truth to this myth, poppy seeds will no longer ruin your drug test.
In this video from the SciShow YouTube channel, Olivia Gordon explains the science of poppy seeds, opiates, and typical drug screening tests. In case you didn’t know, morphine and other opiates are sourced from the same plant as poppy seeds: Papaver somniferum or opium poppy. Thus, it is entirely possible that poppy seeds – as in a bagel or in a muffin – contain the same chemical constituents commonly found in opiate testing. The truth, however, is that the trace amounts of opiates that may have entered these poppy seeds do not even come close to the actual dose of morphine or other solid opiates.
Urine tests are quite sensitive, and poppy seeds from your breakfast may appear, but this is not enough to raise a red flag. In addition, the threshold for urinary opiates was raised in the early 2000s from 0.3 micrograms per milliliter to 2 micrograms per milliliter, which is a huge gap. If this really bothers you, do not eat poppy seeds a few days before the test. But don’t worry if you had a delicious poppy seed muffin that morning.
Can poppy seeds fail a drug test? | Youtube