Officials toss lip balm containing THC from Alaska air base

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Officials say they had to discard hundreds of tubes of lip balm that were distributed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richards after they were found to contain trace amounts of THC, an active ingredient in marijuana.

The base's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office had been distributing the lip balm as it typically does with other promotional items, like water bottles and calendars, The Alaska Dispatch News reported. JBER spokesman 1st Lt. Michael Harrington said the lip balm was purchased mistakenly.

"Not everybody thinks to check the ingredients list on ChapStick," said Harrington.

The lip balm contained hemp seed oil, which is banned under U.S. Army and Air Force regulations.

The base's public affairs team had emailed JBER employees Wednesday, asking them to toss out the 400 tubes of lip balm.

"It's a real thing; kind of embarrassing, I guess," Harrington said.

While the lip balm "does not have a significant amount of THC to register on a drug test," the email says, it still falls under the ban on hemp seed products.

Harrington said the products were thrown out to "take the route of utmost caution."