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Drug Enforcement Administration

Granola bars contain hemp seeds, Army warns

Kyle Jahner
Army Times
Some varieties of Strong & KIND bars contain hemp seeds, raising concerns that soldiers could test positive for drug use.

Snacking "Strong & KIND" may put extra protein in your diet, but could also put you in danger of failing a drug test, the Army says.

The protein-focused line of increasingly popular KIND brand granola bars contains hemp seeds, according to both the Army and the company's website.

The Army thinks the seeds used in the "Strong & KIND" line — which can contain low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (aka THC, the active ingredient in marijuana) — could trigger a positive drug test.

Other lines of KIND bars, generally made of nuts along with fruit and other natural flavorings, do not contain hemp seeds. The Army & Air Force Exchange Service carries them in stores.

Flavors with the hemp seeds include Hickory Smoked, Roasted Jalapeno, Honey Mustard, Thai Sweet Chili and Honey Smoked BBQ.

Signs posted at some installations warn soldiers the bars are not allowed on post.

AAFES spokesman Chris Ward said that in March, AAFES issued a guidance alerting stores to the issue with Strong & KIND. He told the Army Times the offending bars have never been on AAFES shelves.

"Soldiers and airmen don't need to worry that we are going to sell them something that is going to make them pop positive on a drug test," Ward said. "If they can't have it we're not going to sell it."

KIND spokeswoman Stephanie Peterson noted in an emailed statement to Army Times that the seeds come from plants with far less THC than the species of cannabis used to make marijuana. The bars adhere to U.S. Department of Agriculture testing standards, and have a THC level of 0.001 percent, she said.

The Army did not immediately answer questions about whether any soldiers have been reported as testing positive for drug use based on eating KIND bars, or how much of the snack soldiers would need to eat to test positive.

Army Regulation 600-85 para 4-2, (p) bans any soldier use of hemp or products containing hemp oil. Violations can result in Uniform Code of Military Justice punishment or administrative action, as noted in an April press release.

The USDA notes hemp seeds contain "high-quality, digestible protein."

That's why Strong & KIND contains the seeds, Peterson said.

"We include hemp seeds in our Strong & KIND bars because they contribute protein, fiber and other important nutrients such as potassium and phosphorus. Hemp, when combined with the protein from almonds, peas and pumpkin seeds, provides all nine essential amino acids," Peterson wrote.

The Strong & KIND line advertises 10 grams of protein in a nutritious, 240-calorie snack. The company's website lists all ingredients for each product. The company drew a warning from the Food & Drug Administration for claiming the bars as "healthy" because of high levels of saturated fat. But the company maintains that the nuts that elevate unsaturated fat totals have been found by studies to be "wholesome and nutritious."

U.S. law technically bars products designed for human consumption from containing hemp; THC is a Schedule 1 controlled substance. But a 2004 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowed for hemp-containing foods with naturally occurring, non-psychoactive THC. That came after a Canadian importer sued over the 1999 seizure of foods that contained trace amounts of THC.

"(The DEA) cannot regulate naturally occurring THC not contained within or derived from marijuana — i.e., non-psychoactive hemp products — because non-psychoactive hemp is not included in Schedule I. The DEA has no authority to regulate drugs that are not scheduled, and it has not followed procedures required to schedule a substance," said the unanimous ruling, which the DEA has not appealed to the Supreme Court.

Industrial hemp, used for non-consumption products, remains legal for import and sale. But U.S. farmers cannot legally grow it; it comes from the same cannabis plant genus that produces marijuana. Hemp, a tall-growing subset of cannabis used for a variety of industrial purposes (largely due to a high fiber content) generally differs from the low-growing species of cannabis preferred for recreational drug use. Hemp contains far less THC (less than 1 percent) in general than the cannabis sativa used for recreational purposes (3% to 15%).

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