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Does CBD Show Up on a Drug Test?
Does CBD Show Up on a Drug Test?

Does CBD Show Up on a Drug Test?

Blog and Opinions Red Slashes Mar 11, 2022
By: Kendra Lawrysyn

Does CBD Show Up on a Drug Test?

One of the top priorities for employers across Canada is to provide a safe work environment for their employees. Not only do employers have a duty to provide each of their staff with the resources, equipment and system procedures they need to complete their work, but they also have to ensure that they have the proper policies and practices established to ensure that their staff are fit for duty.

One of the most common additions to a fit for duty policy is the requirement for drug and alcohol testing. But what substances are drug tests specifically looking for? Regardless if an employer is utilizing a 12 panel drug test or a 5 panel drug test, each type of test is looking for indicators of certain Cannabis metabolites. Though both CBD, cannabidiol, and THC, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, are both cannabinoids found in cannabis, employers are only searching for the metabolites that may cause risk to their workplaces. This often arises the following concern for both employees and employers, will finding CBD in a drug test cause the employee to fail the test?

Though the metabolites in CBD aren’t currently tested for in drug testing, individuals that have consumed a CBD product may still may fail a drug test if the product also contained THC. CBD is not currently tested for in drug testing because it does not contain psychoactive elements that cause intoxicating effects, which in turn can cause the risk of an employee not being fit for duty; however, in today’s market, we are seeing an increase in the mislabeling and contamination of these products.

As discussed in David G, Evans. Article, Medical Fraud, Mislabeling, Contamination: All Common in CBD Products, there is a reasonable probability that the CBD products an individual is using will have an unreliable concentration and the potential to contain THC even if not listed on the label.

“In 2020, the FDA did a study on products that claimed to have a specific amount of CBD and those claimed amounts were compared to the FDA testing results.

Of the 102 products that indicated a specific amount of CBD, 18 products (18%) contained less than 80% of the amount of CBD indicated, 46 products (45%) contained CBD within 20 percent of the amount indicated, and 38 products (37%) contained more than 120 percent of the amount of CBD indicated. Of great concern is that 49% of the products tested contained THC.”

Moreover, Evans article goes on to specifically mention that “CBD may affect drug test results.”

Overall, CBD in its purest form will probably not show a positive result on a drug test that an employee is taking; however, with the common mislabeling and contamination in CBD products on the market there is the potential for these products to also contain THC. If the THC concentration in an individual is above the cut off levels of the drug test, this will outcome in a positive result.

Are you looking for more specific details on the effects of CBD and THC on a drug test? Reach out to one of our drug and alcohol testing experts at CannAmm today! We’d be happy to go over the details of CannAmm’s drug testing services and the information surrounding these topics.

 

Evans D. G. (2020). Medical Fraud, Mislabeling, Contamination: All Common in CBD Products. Missouri medicine, 117(5), 394–399.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7723146/

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