Air Force drug testing program threatened

Released: 27 Jan 1999

WASHINGTON -- In the mid-'80s, the standard urinalysis testing became an effective weapon in the Air Force war against drugs. Now, the program that has produced a healthy force of drug-free professionals may be compromised by something actually being touted as a healthy dietary supplement. It's called hemp oil.

Some health-conscious Air Force body builders and other hemp seed-oil consumers will now have to find alternatives. The Air Force has banned the use of hemp seed oil products because they contain tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive ingredient of the marijuana plant. In urinalysis testing, no distinction can be made between a positive test because of hemp oil ingestion and one caused by the illegal use of marijuana. Such test results pose a real potential to ruin careers.

Recent scientific studies at several private research firms and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology show the ingestion of products made with hemp seed oil nearly always produce positive urinalysis tests.

The AFIP has also found some level of THC in all hemp seed and hemp oil products tested. This is why the Air Force has amended its alcohol and drug abuse prevention program to forbid use of such products by airmen.

Most widely available over-the-counter dietary supplements and a host of other products containing hemp seed and hemp seed oil contain some level of THC. Although tests show the level of THC found in the commercial products is not believed to be significant enough to produce a psychoactive reaction in the body, the levels are indeed high enough to produce positive urinalysis results.

"In the interest of military readiness and good order and discipline, active-duty, Reserve and Air National Guard members are now prohibited from consuming any products containing hemp seed oil," said Lt. Col. Greg Girard of the Air Force judge advocate general's office in the Pentagon.

Recently, a number of new "hemp" products have appeared on the shelves of many health food stores accompanied by claims they contain high concentrations of essential amino acids and fatty acids. Girard was quick to add that the Air Force is not challenging such claims but rather pointing out that their use by airmen "effectively interferes" with the Air Force's ability to maintain a drug-free force.

"We don't want people testing positive and jeopardizing their careers because they swallowed something they may have thought was healthy and good for them," said Lt. Col. Peter Durand of the Air Force Surgeon General's Office.

As program manager for the Air Force drug abuse prevention and treatment program, Durand added that without the ban on hemp products, drug users could hide their crime simply by claiming they ingested a hemp-based dietary supplement.

Although it is illegal to grow marijuana in the United States, it is perfectly legal to import hemp products into the country. Hemp oil is most often used as a salad dressing or as a dietary supplement in capsule form. It can also be found in many consumer items ranging from cosmetics and soaps to snack bars and other foods. There is even a tofu substitute made with hemp oil.

"Service members need not be concerned that they are unwittingly ingesting hemp products in foods and drinks because," Durand said, "most of these products are still expressly marketed and sold in health food stores."