CBD has no psychoactive properties, but it is still gotten from the cannabis plant. Is it still considered wrong to use in the military world? Will CBD show in a military drug test?
We’ll answer all of these questions, so make sure to stick with us!
The cannabis plant is a unique organism. It contains several phytochemicals that many scientists see in a positive light.
Many of these phytochemicals are known as cannabinoids. One of the most common is THC.
This cannabinoid is very popular for its psychoactive properties. That is, it has the ability to get you high when you smoke or ingest it.
In some places across the world, this compound is legal to use. However, it is strictly regulated.
Many employers frown against using it during work. The military holds the same opinion, and they often test for the drug to see if you’re fit to join the military.
However, what about CBD?
Will CBD Show Up in a Military Drug Test?
The short answer is no. But, allow us to explain a little further.
When you take CBD, you’re likely not taking it to get high. The chances are that you’re taking it for one of its different benefits. After all, the military can be fairly demanding.
However, if you’re going to be taking a military drug test, there’s the chance that you’ll get worried. If you are, you really shouldn’t be. CBD doesn’t show up in military drug tests. The reason behind this is simple.
Many military outfits across the country do not specifically test you for CBD. Instead, they check your body for THC.
If you have a substantial amount of THC in your body, they’ll simply assume that you’ve been getting high on marijuana. This could lead to different consequences, including losing your job as a military official.
Now, one thing you should know about CBD products is that they often contain very trace amounts of THC. According to the law, they cannot contain more than 0.3% of THC if they’re to be sold.
This is why you’re not likely to get in trouble if you take CBD before a military drug test.
3 Possible Reasons You Could Test Positive for THC Despite only Taking CBD
Now, we’ve already established that CBD shouldn’t get you in any trouble because the military doesn’t test for it. However, there’s still a fair chance that you could test positive for THC, even if all you ingest is a CBD product.
Here are three of the possible reasons:
1. Mislabeling
This might seem like such a simple problem to be overlooked. However, it is still so common that it often affects different people across the country.
You see, the cannabidiol market isn’t as tightly regulated as some others in the country. So, different producers sometimes mislabel their CBD.
They’d tell you that their product only contains the required amount of THC with no test to back it up. However, in reality, they have enough THC to show up in a test, even if it doesn’t necessarily get you high.
If you accidentally consume this CBD product, the chances are that you’ll get in trouble in your military test.
2. Secondhand Exposure
Strange as it may seem, this is a very real thing.
You could be exposed to people taking THC for several hours at a stretch. It could be that one party you attended on the night before resumption, among many other things.
Either way, there’s a pretty big chance you have THC in your system from other people’s blunts. In that case, it could show up in your drug test.
But, this is not always very likely to happen. The reason is that THC that gets into your system like that often exits pretty fast.
3. “Freaky Friday”
This might seem even stranger than the first two, but a study suggested that CBD could turn into THC in very acidic conditions. An example of this is in-vitro with simulated gastric fluid.
However, it is important to note that these in-vitro scenarios do not extensively represent the human stomach. As such, the possibility of CBD becoming THC in your body is very slim, if not nonexistent.
However, if it does happen somehow, it could get detected and get you in a bit of trouble.
Conclusion
Generally, CBD wouldn’t show up in your military drug test. The military simply doesn’t test for it.
However, your CBD product could contain more THC than you know. In that case, if you get tested, they could find THC in your body, and when that happens, you might be in trouble.
So, it might generally be better to take a break from CBD, especially before drug tests.
Sources:
- John Merrick, Brian Lane, Terri Sebree, Tony Yaksh, Carol O’Neill, and Stan L. Banks. Identification of Psychoactive Degradants of Cannabidiol in Simulated Gastric and Physiological Fluid. Accessed March 4, 2021, at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5576596/.
- Joseph Maroon and Jeff Bost. Review of the neurological benefits of phytocannabinoids. Accessed March 4, 2021, at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5938896/.