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Air Force Bans Greek Yogurt

Doug Mataconis
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The Air Force has banned the sale of certain varieties of Greek yogurt:

The new target in the Air Force’s war on drugs: Greek yogurt with hemp seeds.

In keeping with the policy barring consumption of any product that contains or is derived from hemp seed or hemp seed oil, airmen must steer clear of one flavor of the popular Chobani brand of Greek yogurt — Blueberry Power Flip, the Air Force confirmed Monday.

Blueberry Power Flip comes with a side of walnuts, hemp seeds and chia that yogurt aficionados can “flip” to mix in, according to the Chobani website.

“The Air Force has not restricted military members from consuming Chobani Greek yogurt; rather, only Chobani yogurt that contains hemp seed or hemp seed oil is prohibited, just as any product which contains or is derived from hemp seed or hemp seed oil is prohibited,” said Capt. Adam Koudelka, the legal adviser for the Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory at the Air Force Medical Operations Agency at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

The regulation governing this yogurt is AFI 44-120, paragraph 1.1.5, which states that “studies have shown that products made with hemp seed and hemp seed oil may contain varying levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active ingredient of marijuana which is detectable under the Air Force Drug Testing Program. In order to ensure military readiness, the ingestion of products containing or products derived from hemp seed or hemp seed oil is prohibited. Failure to comply with the mandatory provisions of this paragraph by military personnel is a violation of Article 92, UCMJ.”

A more immediate concern for individual pilots is that the product could lead to false positives on a drug test, which would have serious consequences for a pilot’s career. But, never fear airborne fans of this product, the Air Force’s move has prompted Chobani to announce that it is removing hemp seeds from its products.

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14 responses to “Air Force Bans Greek Yogurt”

  1. Dave Schuler Avatar
    Dave Schuler

    But, Boss, I’ve just been eating yogurt! Yeah, yogurt.

  2. Mikey Avatar
    Mikey

    A more immediate concern for individual pilots is that the product could lead to false positives on a drug test, which would have serious consequences for a pilot’s career.

    The Air Force isn’t just pilots, you know. A false positive on a drug test could have serious consequences for the other 96% as well.

  3. DC Loser Avatar
    DC Loser

    I guess the Poppy Seed Bagel is not far behind on the banned list.

  4. Franklin Avatar
    Franklin

    I guess in order to truly judge the ridiculousness of this, I’d have to know how much hemp seed is used, what’s the maximum amount of THC that could be in there, and what measureable effect it has on anybody’s behavior. My initial guess is that you could probably eat a carton of that yogurt and there would be no noticeable effect except for excellent digestion.

  5. Doug Mataconis Avatar
    Doug Mataconis

    @Dave Schuler:

    Fortunately for me, I only eat Poppy Seed Bagels

  6. Doug Mataconis Avatar
    Doug Mataconis

    @Mikey:

    A fair point

  7. rudderpedals Avatar
    rudderpedals

    Watch out, the bong juice Big Gulps are next…

  8. Scott Avatar
    Scott

    I saw this a couple of days ago. It created a lot of humor in the office. Of course, this is an absurd outcome of the drug wars. Makes me wonder about the sensitivity of the tests. Will second hand pot smoke be just as hazardous?

    Yesterday, we also got warning not to read the Washington Post or the Early Bird( a DoD publication) because of the potential viewing of classified information and the effect it would have on the IT community within DoD. I understand the issue but it is still surreal.

  9. JKB Avatar
    JKB

    @Franklin:

    The problem isn’t the impact on physiology but the impact on the testing.

    Of course, the solution is to stop the zero tolerance and develop some concentration level that would indicate more than environmental exposure. But then that would upset the drug warriors as it would require thought and competency.

  10. grumpy realist Avatar
    grumpy realist

    I think we’ve now officially jumped the shark in the Drug War.

    When your positive drug test level is at this point, I also wonder about the error bars on the measurements. Wonder how many people have been falsely accused of ingesting…..nothing.

  11. DC Loser Avatar
    DC Loser

    I’m gonna pass on that hemp seed cereal they have at Trader Joe.

  12. al-Ameda Avatar
    al-Ameda

    The new target in the Air Force’s war on drugs: Greek yogurt with hemp seeds.

    Is The Air Force Times a subsidiary of The Onion?
    Honestly, it is nearly impossible to make anything up any more.

  13. Todd Avatar
    Todd

    This wasn’t so much a “ban” as a warning sent out to the field to avoid this yogurt .. the fear being false positives on random urinalysis. And really, anybody who may be subject to random drug testing at their jobs would be probably be wise to steer clear of any hemp seed oil products .. not because someone will think you’re getting high off of it, but because proving you’re not using something stronger if/when you pop a positive after a pee test could be a real pain in the ass.

  14. aFloridian Avatar
    aFloridian

    Yeah, not digging the headline that was chosen here. Granted, “Air Force Bans One Flavor of One Brand of Greek Yogurt” doesn’t have the same ring to it, but…

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