Major U.S. Healthcare Company Warns CBD Use Could Still Produce Positive Marijuana Test

When using hemp-based CBD products, finding the right items with the advertised quantity of the popular cannabinoid is important not only for the experience, but also safety.

That’s according to Phoenix-based Banner Heath, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in the United States. The company issued a stern warning over the weekend, warning CBD users that choosing low-quality products from questionable sources won’t only compromise the experience and effectiveness of the cannabinoid in users’ bodies. Doing so could also result in a positive THC test and the consequences that come with it.

“CBD itself will not cause a false positive drug test but people can still test positive for marijuana because there could actually be small amounts of THC in these products, especially if they’re made from hemp,” Steve Dudley, director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, said in a statement.

Maureen Roland, RN director of the Banner Poison and Drug Information Center, cited the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent crackdown on at least five major CBD companies across the country as sign that federal authorities are also starting to take the matter seriously.

“There has also been an increase in Delta-8 THC products which can be derived from the CBD hemp in concentrated amounts and do have psychoactive effects, Roland said.”

CBD is a cannabinoid that isn’t supposed to contain THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis that produces a high. Many CBD products sold by legitimate vendors can still legally contain up to 0.3 percent THC, though, and lower-quality black-market products almost certainly contain more. Banner and other advocacy groups across the country claim that blood testing centers are seeing more positive THC results for people who claim only to be using CBD products.

Roland told the Arizona Republic that people using CBD products should buy them from a reputable distributor who can show through independent laboratory scans that their CBD products do not contain THC. Roland said authorities have also received dealt with a growing number of young children who ingest CBD products and end up in emergency rooms with symptoms of THC toxicity. She advised CBD users to exercise caution if they have young children in the home.