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CBD Extracts and Driving
More and more people are discovering cannabidiol, which they then legally purchase and use medicinally. There are topical creams for external application, CBD extracts, and even hemp flowers with high CBD content. In Switzerland and Austria, special CBD strains are even sold that can contain well over 10% CBD. Can a positive drug test be triggered by cannabidiol, potentially leading to further investigations or even job loss and license suspension?
The problem of a positive drug test without taking the actual drug should not be underestimated. For example, someone who undergoes regular drug screenings should avoid poppy seed cake, as it can lead to a positive test for opiates. Similarly, many CBD extracts contain traces of THC that can trigger a positive drug test when taken in high doses. Therefore, it’s important to distinguish whether the products contain CBD as a pure substance or with residual amounts of THC.
Positive Drug Test Also Possible Through CBD Extracts
Suppose someone needs high doses of cannabidiol and uses a weakly concentrated CBD extract with a maximum of 0.2% THC. This would be more problematic than taking a highly concentrated CBD extract with a maximum of 0.2% THC. The amount used for the same CBD potency would be significantly lower.
If, for example, a patient takes not 5 or 50, but 500 mg of cannabidiol and uses an extract with 1% CBD content, they would need 50 grams of it. If this contains exactly 0.2% THC, that would already be 100 mg of THC. This would be equivalent to one gram of a marijuana flower with 10% THC content. A positive drug test would be certain.
However, if the CBD extract were 50% CBD, only one gram would be necessary for 500 mg of cannabidiol. At 0.2% THC, this would contain only 2 mg of THC. Can a positive drug test practically be ruled out? Not entirely – when taking high amounts of cannabidiol, some rapid tests may unfortunately give false positives. However, since these rapid tests are only used to gather preliminary evidence, further tests are conducted, which will not result in a positive drug test as the final result.
Pure CBD Extract and Positive Drug Test?
Allegedly, part of the cannabidiol is converted to THC-COOH in the body. In a brief research, no reliable sources were found for this claim. There is also no known case where someone used a pure CBD extract and tested positive in the decisive test. If part of the CBD is metabolized to THC-COOH, these are probably extremely small and therefore insignificant amounts.
Why is this THC-COOH important? It’s the breakdown product of THC. In a legally admissible blood test for cannabis, both THC and THC-COOH as its breakdown product are tested. The THC value shows whether the tested person might be intoxicated. However, with a threshold of 1 nanogram per ml blood serum, one cannot speak of being high or impaired driving ability. Furthermore, everyone reacts with different sensitivity. With THC, the effect on driving ability cannot be calculated linearly like with alcohol.
THC-COOH is also tested to draw conclusions about consumption behavior based on its level. If a positive drug test shows less than 1 nanogram of THC per ml blood serum, but the THC-COOH value is very high, regular consumption with lack of „separation ability“ is assumed. The driver’s license could then also be lost.
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Anyone who exclusively consumes pure CBD extracts will have no THC in their urine, sweat, or blood. A positive drug test would therefore either be false or due to THC-COOH, which may be formed in very small amounts during the breakdown of cannabidiol. But even then, the value would be so low that regular THC consumption would not be assumed. At least no case is known where someone only took CBD and got into trouble because of a positive drug test.
However, many cases are known where the tested individuals had not consumed marijuana for days or even weeks and were still positive. Cannabinoids are stored in fatty tissue and are released from it only very slowly, which can lead to positive results even weeks after stopping consumption.
In Conclusion
Anyone who eats a lot of poppy seed cake or takes a CBD extract with up to 0.2% THC will certainly not lose their driving ability from it. However, if a positive drug test is not negative in the second testing procedure, this can sometimes be problematic. In Switzerland, up to 1% THC is allowed. Anyone who smokes their CBD strain in large quantities or takes their CBD extracts can therefore be quite certain that without intoxication and without impairment of their driving abilities, they risk their driver’s license.
If one were to receive an entry in their criminal record for such a violation, the workplace could also be lost for an educator or similar job. Such an entry in the criminal record, which must be presented annually in these jobs, is enough for the employer to have to terminate employment. But even here, no case is known where someone received such an entry in their criminal record for the sole consumption of CBD products. For this, a conviction by a judge would have to be present. However, CBD products are legal, even though they must be sold through pharmacies for medical use. Anyone who otherwise purchases CBD products uses them like chamomile tea for relaxation or hemp flower tea for good taste.
Hemp Seed Oil – For Information Only
There are documented cases of THC-containing hemp seed oil. Hemp seeds may contain cannabinoids that stick to the shells and get into the oil during pressing. A positive drug test after salad could thus be possible. The problem is now so well known that hemp seed oil is monitored more carefully. When hemp seeds are obtained from varieties with higher THC content, they are washed before pressing so that no THC is contained in the hemp seed oil. Even here, no one gets high from „salad“ or loses their ability to drive motor vehicles. A positive drug test from a rapid test would normally be refuted in the decisive blood test. But even here, a positive test with the usual troubles would theoretically be conceivable.
