Published: Journal of Analytical Toxicology, Volume 21, Number 6, October 1997, pp. 476–481.

Marijuana-Positive Urine Test Results from Consumption of Hemp Seeds in Food Products
Neil Fortner, Robert Fogerson, David Lindman, Todd Iversen, and David Armbruster

Commercially available snack bars and other foodstuffs prepared from pressed hemp seeds were ingested by volunteers. Urine specimens were collected for 24 h after ingestion of the foodstuffs containing hemp seeds and tested for marijuana using an EMIT immunoassay and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Specimens from individuals who ate one hemp seed bar demonstrated little marijuana immunoreactivity, and only one specimen screened positive at a 20-ng/mL cutoff. Specimens from individuals who ate two hemp seed bars showed increased immunoreactivity, and five specimens screened positive at a 20-ng/mL cutoff. A single specimen yielded a quantitative GC–MS value (0.6 ng/mL), but it failed to meet reporting criteria. Several specimens from individuals who ate three cookies made from hemp seed flour and butter screened positive at both 50- and 20-ng/mL cutoffs. Two specimens produced quantitative GC–MS values (0.7 and 3.1 ng/mL), but they failed to meet reporting criteria. Several specimens also tested positive with an FDA-approved on-site marijuana-screening device. Hemp seeds similar to those used in the foodstuffs did not demonstrate the presence of marijuana when tested by GC–MS. In this study, ingestion of hemp seed food products resulted in urine specimens that screened positive for marijuana. No specimens gave a GC–MS quantitative value above the limit of detection for marijuana.

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