How Long Do Poppy Seeds Stay in Your System?
Have you thought about how long poppy seeds can stay in your system? Many people are curious, especially if they might take a drug test for work. Eating poppy seeds can sometimes show up as a false positive for opiates, which can be a problem. So, how long can opiates from poppy seeds be found in your body?
It’s important to know how poppy seeds and opiates are connected. Now, let’s look at the science to understand more about this.
Understanding Poppy Seeds and Opiates
Poppy seeds are interesting ingredients with a long history and ties to opium. They’re from the opium poppy plant. Its name, “somniferum,” suggests it might contain opiates because it means “sleep-bringing.”
What are Poppy Seeds?
Poppy seeds are in many dishes worldwide, like on bagels and in pastries. Yet, when harvested, they might pick up the plant’s opiates. This happens because they’re so close to the opium-rich parts of the plant.
Factors Affecting Opiate Content in Poppy Seeds
The level of opiates in poppy seeds varies. It depends on where they were grown and the plant type. Also, how the seeds are processed matters. Washing or cooking them can reduce the opiates they carry.
A study found that poppy seeds may have up to 33.2 micrograms of morphine and 13.7 micrograms of codeine per gram. While amounts are small, they can make drug tests positive. Yet, they’re usually too low to make someone high.
In the army, the poppy seed defense is a big deal. Soldiers who test positive for codeine might get in trouble – even if it’s just from eating poppy seeds. This shows why drug test results that deal with poppy seeds need a careful look.
How Long Do Poppy Seeds Stay in Your System?
Eating foods with poppy seeds in them might cause you to test positive for drugs like morphine and codeine. Typically, the opiate amounts are too low to make you high. But, these seeds could still show up on a drug test. How long they stay in your system depends on how many you eat. For codeine and morphine, they might show up up to 60 hours after you eat them.
Studies show that processing in the U.S. removes about 90% of the morphine from poppy seeds. Opiates could show up on a test just two hours after you eat them. They might keep showing up in your urine for up to 48 hours, but sometimes even 60 hours, depending on how much you consume.
The chance of a positive drug test depends on how many poppy seeds you eat. Eating more seeds means you’re more likely to test positive. This is important because common foods like bagels, cake, and some desserts can have poppy seeds. They could make you fail a drug test.
After eating poppy seeds, morphine and codeine might be in your saliva for 2 to 4 hours. In urine, they can show up for up to 48 hours. Baked goods with poppy seeds generally contain 1 to 4 grams. Cleaning, soaking, or grinding them before use can lower the opiate content by 25% to 73%.
It’s best to avoid foods with poppy seeds for a few days to a week before a drug test. Even if the ingredients are listed, hidden poppy seeds can still lead to a false positive. So be careful what you eat.
Conclusion
Eating poppy seeds might make a drug test show a positive result for opiates. Yet, the levels are not high enough to make you high. The amount of opiates in poppy seeds changes a lot. This depends on where they are from, how they are processed, and how much you eat. To make sure you pass a poppy seed drug test, don’t eat foods with poppy seeds 2-3 days before the test.
Eating poppy seeds is usually safe. But, it could make your drug test look like you’ve used opioids. This is a big enough problem that the U.S. has made some changes. They’ve changed the drug testing rules to make tests more accurate when looking at food safety and opiate use.
It’s key to know the issue with poppy seeds and opiates. You should take extra care to make sure your drug test is correct. Knowing about this can help you follow the rules at your job or elsewhere. It can keep you from having problems with drug tests.
