Concentrations of Morphine and Codeine in Paired Oral Fluid and Urine Specimens Following Ingestion of a Poppy Seed Roll and Raw Poppy Seeds

Interpretation of opiate drug test results can be challenging due to casual dietary consumption of poppy seeds, which may contain variable opiate content. Opiate concentrations in paired oral fluid (OF), collected with the Oral-Eze(®) Oral Fluid Collection System, and urine were analyzed after ingestion of poppy seeds from the same source, consumed raw or contained in a roll. In Part 1, 12 individuals consumed equal portions of a poppy seed roll. For Part 2, the same individuals consumed an equivalent quantity of raw poppy seeds, containing ∼3.2 mg of morphine and 0.6 mg of codeine. Specimens were analyzed both by enzyme immunoassay (opiates) and by GC-MS (morphine/codeine). Urinary morphine was between 155-1,408 (roll) and 294-4,213 ng/mL (raw), measured at 2, 4, 6 and 20 h post-ingestion. Urinary codeine concentrations between 140-194 (roll) and 121-664 ng/mL (raw) were observed up to 6 h post-ingestion. Following consumption of raw poppy seeds, OF specimens were positive, above LOQ, from 0.25 to 3.0 h with morphine ranging from 7 to 600 ng/mL and codeine from 8 to 112 ng/mL. After poppy seed roll consumption, morphine concentrations of 7-143 ng/mL were observed up to 1.5 h with codeine detected in only 5.5% of OF specimens and ranging from 8 to 28 ng/mL. Combined with the existing poppy seed literature, these results support previous findings and provide guidance for interpretation of OF opiate testing.