OAKLAND, Calif. — A San Francisco Bay area businessman is blaming poppy seeds for a failed drug test that could force him to spend another year in federal prison.
Thomas Grossi of Lafayette was scheduled for early release from his 2 1/2-year sentence for owning three Oakland warehouses used to grow marijuana.
But a positive test for morphine sent the decorated Vietnam veteran straight back to prison.
Grossi is appealing the loss of his early release, saying he ate a poppy seed cake the day before the October drug test.
Federal prison officials denied the 64-year-old's first appeal. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons advises inmates that eating poppy seeds can cause positive tests.
Grossi's appeal to the prison bureau's national office is pending.
Thomas Grossi of Lafayette was scheduled for early release from his 2 1/2-year sentence for owning three Oakland warehouses used to grow marijuana.
But a positive test for morphine sent the decorated Vietnam veteran straight back to prison.
Grossi is appealing the loss of his early release, saying he ate a poppy seed cake the day before the October drug test.
Federal prison officials denied the 64-year-old's first appeal. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons advises inmates that eating poppy seeds can cause positive tests.
Grossi's appeal to the prison bureau's national office is pending.
