Pentagon to troops: Avoid eating poppy seeds, or else risk failing drug tests
The U.S. Department of Defense has warned military personnel to avoid consuming poppy seeds over concerns that doing so could affect service members' drug test results.
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert Cisneros Jr. reminded personnel in a memo posted Tuesday that natural poppy seeds can be contaminated with morphine and codeine, which can be detected in drug tests if the seeds are ingested.
As a result, poppy seed consumption could "undermine the Department's ability to identify illicit drug use," the memo read.
The Department of Defense conducts regular drug testing to catch substance misuse, which is called "a safety and readiness issue."
Poppy seeds are derived from the poppy plant, and some seeds, as a result of harvesting, can contain levels of morphine and codeine that surpass the DOD's threshold for allowable amounts, the memo stated. The Defense Department has cutoffs intended to distinguish between levels of opiates appearing as a result of poppy seed ingestion and illicit drug use.
Because new data shows that higher levels of codeine than previously reported may occur in some poppy seeds, Cisneros directed all service members to avoid consumption of all poppy seeds, including those that coat bagels and other baked goods.
"Out of an abundance of caution, I find protecting Service members and the integrity of the drug testing program requires a warning to avoid poppy seeds," Cisneros wrote in the memo.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch's request for comment.
