CBD OIL: Trick or Treat?
We get calls all the time from both individuals and employers asking about Cannabidiol (CBD) oil. Many people are using CBD oil as a “treat”ment for their pain, but they don’t want to get “tricked” and test positive on a drug test for their employment. It’s a fair question, and it is important for people to be educated about CBD oil if they want to use it and keep their jobs.
Cannabidiol is extracted from the flowers and buds of marijuana or hemp plants. It does not produce intoxication like the most active chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana. Marijuana contains both THC and CBD, but these compounds have different effects. THC creates a mind-altering “high” when a person smokes it or uses it in cooking, but CBD does not change a person’s state of mind.
CBD oil is considered a more natural alternative for pain management and according to the Oregon CBD Company has been clinically proven to alleviate symptoms of a variety of ailments including epilepsy, anxiety, chronic pain, breast cancer and more. Though it is not FDA approved, they claim the science is sound. There are hundreds of articles online that site the benefits of CBD, so if you want to give it a try, do some research and choose wisely.
The “trick” to ensuring you don’t test positive on your pre-employment or random drug test is to make sure you check the label and purchase from a reputable CBD company that has sourced its CBD directly from the hemp plant and that it contains less than .3 percent THC. Hemp products like CBD can legally contain up to .3 percent THC, and while it is unlikely that even high doses of daily CBD would surpass the federal limit of 50 nanograms THC metabolite per milliliter of urine, you should still be aware that regular and extremely high doses of CBD products could trigger a positive drug (THC) test.
Ultimately, CBD consumption is not commonly grounds for workplace discipline, but be responsible when purchasing and check your workplace drug policy for more information.
