Why do poppy seeds get you high

Other food sources such as poppy seed crackers and poppy seed bread led to similar results. There are reports of cases internationally where workers have lost their jobs after failing a workplace drug test because of their penchant for poppy seed cakes or bagels.

In , an American Police officer from St Louis was suspended after a random drug test came back positive for opiate use. He had eaten four poppy seed bagels the day before. He successfully argued the result was caused by diet, not drugs, and was later reinstated. Before they provide a urine sample for testing, people are asked to fill out a form that asks whether they have eaten poppy seeds or taken any medication such as Panadeine, which is codeine based.

Because of the known effect of poppy seeds on morphine levels, a note will be made on a test report that a positive result could be linked to dietary exposure. If this happens, further confirmation testing is carried out to help distinguish between illicit heroin use and innocent poppy seed consumption. This is done by testing for the presence of a unique heroin metabolite called monoacetylmorphine MAM.

Health Not Handcuffs was launched by a group of health and social justice organisations united by a desire to see compassionate and evidenced-informed approaches to drug and alcohol use. NZ Drug Foundation Staff. Articles on a public health approach to drugs in Aotearoa New Zealand are regularly published here. Sign-up for notifications. A sprinkling of poppy seeds in a muffin or over a bagel may sound utterly innocent, but the consumption of these seeds is still regularly flagged by urine tests as opium.

While most false positives triggered by poppy seeds can be easily overturned, the National Institute of Drug Abuse suggests skipping a poppy seed snack altogether before a drug test, just to be safe. Why can these seeds trigger a false positive? And is it possible that another culinary rumor is true — that eating poppy seeds can actually get you high? Madeleine Swortwood is an assistant professor of forensic toxicology at Sam Houston State University who has researched the intoxicating and potentially deadly effects of poppy seeds.

She explains to Inverse the science behind this tiny seed and how it can go from a harmless snack to a dangerous tonic. The kind of tiny, dark seeds, often sprinkled on bagels or into batters, is the starting point of a plant called Papaver somniferum , commonly known as opium poppy. This poppy has been cultivated since early history for its medicinal and pain-relieving properties and is a base source from which addictive alkaloids like morphine and codeine can be extracted.

And that can just sort of coat or contaminate the seeds and so when the seeds are harvested, they can have morphine and codeine on them. Typically, food-safe poppy seeds are thoroughly washed and processed to remove latex residue, but even then they can still contain small traces of opium. You would probably get sick to your stomach before you would get high.

Poppy seeds used in baking come from the same plant that produces opiates, including morphine and codeine. The poppy plant cannot be legally grown in the United States, meaning all poppy seeds sold in this country are imported from countries where cultivation is permitted. While the seeds themselves contain negligible amounts of opiates, they can be contaminated with plant debris and require washing and processing to reduce opiate contamination to safe levels.

This tea is typically used for medicinal, therapeutic, or recreational purposes and can concentrate the opiates from a batch of seeds. Consumers of these seeds may not be aware that the effects from the consumption of the seeds may be because of opiates. In addition, opiate contamination levels can vary widely from batch to batch, putting those who drink the tea at increased risk of accidental overdose or other health consequences.