Initially when SAMHSA came out with the testing rules in the late 80s, the
threshold was set at 300 ng/mL. At that cutoff, there were some people who
were taking poppy seeds that produced an initial screening positive. In
1995, the cutoff was changed to 2000 ng/mL, which resulted in much less
chance for false positive results to occur. In either case, the specimen
was confirmed by GC/MS which is the confirmatory method. At the new level,
a significant amount of poppy seeds would need to be consumed before a
positive would be reported.
I hope that this helps.
DAVID LOUGHMILLER
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandra Munsters" <smunsters At mac.com>
To: <toxicol At magpie.bio.indiana.edu>
Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 1:51 PM
Subject: [Toxicology] false positives for routine drug screens
> I've heard poppy seeds can cause a false positive drug screen. What
> other common foods or over-the-counter meds can do this?
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