The poppy seed defense: scientifically sound?

Abstract

Since the infamous Seinfeld episode, there has been much doubt cast upon the relationship between the effects of poppy seed ingestion and testing positive for opiates. In the episode, Elaine fails a drug test after eating a poppy seed bagel for breakfast. A number of quasi-scientific sources, such as the TV show MythBusters, and several published scientific articles have since confirmed the effect of poppy seed consumption on positive drug testing. However, the amount of poppy seeds necessary for a positive result remains unknown. Additionally, the range of concentrations of morphine and codeine in poppy seeds makes it hard to determine a legitimate threshold value for the concentration of morphine in order to test positive, as there is currently no method that is able to conclusively distinguish poppy seed enthusiasts from drug users based on urine samples.