2021-01-04

[public] 1.75M views, 145K likes, 2.28K dislikes audio only

Tom Scott

Check out Trace's channel! https://www.youtube.com/tracedominguez - start with brain-computer interfaces https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPJDA9t3_m8 or going to space https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jndESKr4SpI • There's an urban legend that poppy seeds can make you fail a drug test. Is it true? And if so: why? I ate a few bagels, and set out to flunk an opioid test.

👇👇👇 SOURCES and REFERENCES 👇👇👇

Drug tests don’t just work as a buzzkill, they can keep doctors and patients honest regarding some of the more dangerous drugs known to man. The problem is, poppy seeds can throw a giant wrench in that circle of trust! Poppy seeds come from the papaver somniferum flower native to Turkey, and even though they don’t contain opium, consuming the seeds has historically caused the tests to register opiate use!

In this video, I explore how these tests work, what they look for, and how something as simple as a bottle of seeds available at any grocery store, can cause a false positive for painkillers, heroin, morphine, and other drugs.

Encyclopedia Britannica: Poppy Seed

https://www.britannica.com/topic/poppy-seed

https://www.britannica.com/story/can-eating-poppy-seeds-make-you-fail-a-drug-test

Poppy seed, tiny dried seed of the opium poppy, used as food, food flavouring, and the source of poppy-seed oil. Poppy seeds have no narcotic properties, because the fluid contained in the bud that becomes opium is present only before the seeds are fully formed. The plant, Papaver somniferum, is an herbaceous annual native to Greece and the Orient. Poppy seed is an ancient spice; the seed capsules have been found in Switzerland in the remains of prehistoric lake dwellings.

Can Eating Poppy Seeds Give You a Positive Drug Test?

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-nutrition/poppy-seeds-drug-test#bottom-line

It’s possible that even just one bagel or muffin highly loaded with poppy seeds can lead to a positive urine drug test.

LabCorp: Testing Methodology

https://www.labcorp.com/frequently-asked-questions/drug-testing/toxicology/testing-methodology#:~:text=LabCorp%20performs%20initial%20drug%20screening,drug%20present%20in%20urine%20samples.

Quest Diagnostics: Testing Insights

https://education.questdiagnostics.com/insights/88In

DrugAbuse.gov

https://archives.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/drug-testing-poppy-seeds#:~:text=Over%20the%20past%2020%20years,can%20indeed%20produce%20a%20positive

Did you know that morphine, codeine, and heroin are produced from the seeds of certain kinds of poppy flowers? Morphine and codeine are often used as medications for treating pain, and all three—known as opiates—can be abused

Snopes (true!)

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/poppy-seeds-alter-drug-test-results/

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://epidemicsound.com/creator

Video supplied by Getty Images