Posted on: 13.10.2022 Posted by: Brian Flay Comments: 0
(Last Updated On: 31.08.2023)

A quick question: how long does weed stay in your system? Do you know? Perhaps the quest to find an accurate answer to the question has brought you to read this article. So then, we are here to help you answer the question and tell you everything you need to know about drug tests.

Many people live with drug addiction, while many take club drugs recreationally. However, the Achilles heel for every weed user is the issue of drug screening and testing because they are here to stay. Generally, a drug test aims to detect drug use and misuse in a sample of urine, saliva, and blood or in the hair. Furthermore, drug tests are commonly used for cocaine, cannabis, alcohol, heroin, and codeine.

How long does weed stay in your system

 

As said earlier, drug tests can be done on urine, saliva or blood samples. The hair can be tested, too, though uncommon. However, most drug tests use urine samples. But, then, this begs the question: how long does weed stay in urine? A urine test can spot traces of weed within hours to several days or more before the test. However, how long a drug lasts in your body depends on the following:

  1. The type of drug.
  2. How much you used.
  3. How long you were using it before the test.
  4. Finally, how your body reacts to the drug.

You may also need to read about how to pass a drug test for THC to increase your chances of THC not showing up in your drug test results. What if weed does show up in your test results? Then it may cause you to lose your job or an employment opportunity, affect your eligibility to play sports or participate in any other event, and shift the outcome of a legal matter against your favor. Therefore, you must detox your body before going for a drug test.

THC Metabolism

THC metabolism refers to the processes involved in transforming and converting marijuana from one chemical form to another. As impacTEEN claims, the metabolism begins the moment marijuana is ingested and lasts until it is passed out of the body. Perhaps you do not know the relationship between marijuana and THC. THC is the substance that induces the effects of marijuana on your mental state.

One thing you may find strange is that THC only exists in raw cannabis flowers in tiny amounts. Instead, we have THCA, which is THC’s acidic precursor and shares the same anti-inflammatory effects. However, THCA does not produce psychoactive high in the body. THC becomes active only when you burn marijuana to smoke.

Generally, drug metabolism can happen in any biological tissue in the body. However, the liver is the primary place where drug metabolism happens. It’s because of the large number of enzymes in the liver. Furthermore, the metabolism of THC is determined by how marijuana is consumed. Marijuana can be inhaled or ingested in the form of edibles.

For example, THC enters the bloodstream quickly through the lungs when inhaled and reaches the brain and other organs within 6 to 10 minutes of achieving peak levels. In contrast, the path of THC to the blood and brain is not direct when marijuana is ingested because the marijuana must first be absorbed from the intestines and sent through the liver before THC makes its way into the bloodstream.

It is also worth pointing out that some people process THC differently from others. Enzymes responsible for metabolization vary from person to person. Therefore, a sufficient amount of UGT enzymes can help you metabolize THC faster and make the THC metabolites ready to be passed out of the body through urine or feces.

How Long Does It Take Weed To Leave Your System

Perhaps you are asking how long does it take weed to leave your system. Then, 80 – 90% of THC metabolites should be out of your body after the fifth day of taking marijuana. However, the remaining 10 – 20% will remain in body tissues and get released slowly with time. Thus, THC appears on drug tests weeks after taking marijuana. Similarly, you are more likely to fail a drug test if the THC content in your body is high. Therefore, you may need to use a THC detox to pass a drug test. If you need to know how to pass drug test for THC, keep reading.

CBD vs THC

CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) are two natural compounds in the Cannabis plant. However, their chemical properties and how they affect the body differ. Nevertheless, CBD and THC affect your mood, memory, sleep and pains. Furthermore, THC is what is at work when you feel euphoric after taking marijuana, and it is available in many forms, such as oils, edibles, capsules and tinctures. In contrast, CBD does not make you feel euphoric or high but helps with depression, migraine, nausea, anxiety and seizures. The side effects of THC and CBD are provided below.

Side Effects of CBD

  • Fatigue
  • Diarrhea
  • Dizziness
  • Weight loss
  • Changes in appetite

Side Effects of THC

  • Anxiety
  • Red eyes
  • Memory loss
  • Coordinator problems
  • Slower or delayed reaction times

Despite the side effects mentioned above, neither THC nor CBD is fatal. However, this should not encourage you to take marijuana carefreely because high THC intake can affect your mental health or result in adverse psychiatric effects. Furthermore, you are about to hear what you will not like: THC and CBD can appear on drug tests even after several days or weeks of taking them. Do you know why? Because CBD and THC are both stored in the body fat.

In addition, CBD goes through the same metabolism processes as THC, which are determined by how weed is used. However, the body does not absorb CBD as much as THC. Thus, some drugs are passed out of the body unchanged through excretion.

It is worth knowing that not all drug tests can detect CBD, unlike most drug tests that can detect THC. This gives you a kind of buffer. However, CBD-sensitive tests can put you in a very unfavorable situation. Therefore, it would be best to avoid both products before a drug test.

Can You Test Positive From Edibles And THC Oil?

Before we proceed with providing the answer to these questions, let’s discuss what edibles and oils are. First, edibles are food or drink products that contain cannabis. These products usually contain THC or CBD and can be brownies, chocolates, gummies, candies, teas, oils and capsules.

Usually, edibles do not adversely affect the lungs, unlike smoking marijuana that is inhaled into the lungs. Thus, edibles can take hours to digest and may not achieve peak levels until after 1 to 3 hours of consumption, depending on the dominant concentration between THC (acts faster) and CBD. Perhaps you are asking how long do edibles last. Then, the effects of edibles may last about 6 to 8 hours when it reaches peak levels, making you feel high for prolonged hours.

Another important thing is that the nature of the food or drink consumed may affect the timing and potency of the THC or CBD consumed. Therefore, become conscious that edibles do not contain CBD and THC in equal proportion. This means that some edibles have THC as their dominant cannabis-based compound while others have CBD as the most prevalent. Nevertheless, the main characteristic of edibles is that they take longer to affect you than when you smoke marijuana.

THC Oil

On the other hand, THC oil is an extract from cannabis plants. Similar to edibles, the main substances in THC oil are THC and CBD, depending on the type of cannabis plant. Thus, cannabis oils with high CBD or controlled CBD and THC contents are used as medicinal oils. However, people eat, smoke or vaporize oils with high THC contents.

Furthermore, some people with disabilities use cannabis oil to help with sleep, reduce pain and anxiety, treat tremors or symptoms of epilepsy, and alleviate multiple sclerosis symptoms. However, cannabis oil used for these purposes must have THC content lower than 0.3% because anything higher makes the oil illegal.

Now back to the question: can you test positive for edibles and THC oil? Yes, THC oils with high THC content can make you feel high and test positive for a drug test. However, proving that a person tested positive for THC oil rather than marijuana abuse can be challenging.

Likewise, it has also been proved that it is possible to test possible from CBD oil products, mainly if the oil contains THC contents beyond what is deemed acceptable. On the other hand, the answer is also yes for edibles, irrespective of consumption. Even more surprising is that edibles are often detected in drug tests longer after use than when you smoke marijuana because they take longer to be processed by the body.

How Long Marijuana Remains Detectable?

Two of the most searched entries on google by weed users are “how long does Marinol stay in your system” and “how long does marijuana stay in urine.” However, what people are looking for in the true sense is how long THC stays in the body because it is what drug tests set out to detect. According to research, studies and experts, THC can remain in the body system for as long as 30 days and even stay in the hair follicles for several months. This is an extensive timeframe, and the factors influencing how long THC stays in the body are discussed below.

Rate of Metabolism

We have talked about metabolism earlier, which is the process that eliminates marijuana from the body. Therefore, a person with a high metabolism rate will pass out marijuana and THC faster and have a shorter detention window than someone with a slow metabolism rate. But anyway, weed users should consider ordering a good detox supplement before a drug test. Toxin Rid is one of the best products in this area.

Amount of THC Consumed

This is a no-brainer: the more THC you consume, the longer it will take your system to process and eliminate it. However, daily use of marijuana does not mean you will have a higher level of THC in your system than someone who takes marijuana less frequently. This is because some forms of marijuana are more potent than others, and the THC contents also differ.

Frequency of Use

It is usual for marijuana to remain longer in your system if you take it often or if you are a chronic user compared to someone who takes it occasionally. This is because taking marijuana can have a cumulative effect. Furthermore, research reports that marijuana is likely to remain for 3 days in the body of someone who takes marijuana for the first time, while it is 10 to 15 days for a daily user and 30 days and beyond for a chronic user.

Typesof Drugs Tests

This factor explains the reason people have more fear of taking some tests compared to others. For example, saliva tests have the shortest detection window of up to 24 hours for detecting marijuana, followed by blood tests with up to 12 hours, urine tests with 3 to 30 days, and hair tests with up to 90 days. Thus, it is easier to pass blood and saliva drug tests compared to urine and hair tests.

Body Fat

Body fats have their advantages. However, it does not work well for people with high body fat levels because THC metabolites attach themselves to body fats, which slows the rate of drug metabolism in the body. Therefore, THC metabolites are more likely to remain longer in your body if your body fat composition is high.

Genetics

Genetics also plays a vital role because it affects the amount or concentration of metabolism-accelerating enzymes in an individual’s body. Thus, if these enzymes are present in the appropriate concentration, the rate of metabolism and elimination will be faster.

Types of Drug Tests

Keep reading impacTEEN to get know more about it. There are five primary methods for illegal drug testing: saliva, urine, blood, hair, and sweat. However, our focus will be on four ways: saliva, urine, blood and hair tests. Test specimens are usually collected for these four tests and sent to laboratories for analysis. These four tests are discussed further below.

Saliva Test

For this test, saliva is usually collected and then analyzed to detect the concentration of marijuana in ingested substances. The saliva test is excellent at detecting same-day drug consumption or residual drugs in the mouth. However, in some cases, its short detection window of 24 hours and up to 72 hours for frequent smokers is a concern to drug test observers.

Blood Test

A blood test involves collecting small amounts of blood from the vein. Therefore, it is best and often used in times of emergency. However, blood tests are only great for detecting recently used drug substances, say between 2 to 12 hours. However, the test can be used to detect heavy drug use up to 30 days after last use.

Urine Test

If you are asked to go for a drug test, it should be a urine test 9/10 times. Wondering, on how long does marijuana stay in urine? A urine drug test is entirely accurate and has a detention window of up to 30 days, which is big enough to catch any continuous drug user. In addition, the urine test uses an individual’s urine, which is perfect for testing to detect weed metabolites. However, the urine test is a bit vulnerable because it can be tempered with synthetic urine. Nevertheless, it is still reliable, provided that the test observers directly monitor the collected urine samples.

Hair Follicle Drug Test

The hair test is the most reliable drug test because it cannot be easily manipulated or tampered with and gives information on an individual’s drug use over time. The hair follicle drug test usually uses a hair strand, allowing a drug test observer to detect drug metabolites in the hair follicle from the first week a drug is taken to the time the hair grows.

Furthermore, the hair test offers the most extended drug detection window. For example, scalp hair has a detection window of up to 90 days, while body hair has a window of up to 12 months. However, the hair test may not be the right choice for testing single-use or low-use drug cases.

Detection Windows

The use detection window of the four drug test types for marijuana is given in the table below.

S/N Testing sample Use detection window
1 Saliva Up to 24 hours
2 Blood Up to 12 hours
3 Urine Up to 30 days
4 Hair Up to 90 days

Furthermore, the different ways of using marijuana and use frequency are shown in the tables below.

S/N Drug use methods Explanation
1 Smoking It is the most typical way of using marijuana, which involves rolling marijuana into a cigarette and burning it before inhalation.
2 Vaping It involves using devices that vapourize the active ingredients in marijuana. This allows users to inhale marijuana without some of the harmful health risks associated with smoking marijuana.
3 Oral ingestion Marijuana concentrates in the form of oil or edibles either swallowed or digested in capsule form or cooked, baked or mixed with food.
4 Dabbing Quite similar to vaping but uses THC resins extracted from the cannabis plant. This resin is usually placed into a pipe and creates vapour immediately after heating. Marijuana users believe that dabbing produces more “high” than smoking marijuana.
S/N Types of drug use Use frequency
1 Single use Once
2 Moderate use 4 times per week
3 Chronic use Daily
4 Chronic heavy use Multiples times daily

Q&A

Is it legal to demand drug tests in the U.S.?

Yes, it is legal to demand drug tests in the U.S. Moreover, federal, state and private employees are all subject to drug testing in the U.S. However, the Supreme Court ruled that drug testing infringes an employee’s privacy. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court states that a drug test may be necessary to protect the health and safety of others.

Furthermore, there are currently no restrictions under the law that limit an employer’s ability to test an employee for marijuana in the U.S. However, an employer does not have to accommodate any employee who uses marijuana while on duty, though the employer may decide to accommodate off-duty marijuana use.

Who may be considered a frequent user?

If you are involved in daily or near-daily use of marijuana at an amount sufficient to cause intoxication, then you can be classified as a frequent user. Furthermore, according to research, regular users of marijuana are young people aged 34 and below, and this age category has the highest percentage of users entering treatment for marijuana use. Therefore, if you are a frequent or chronic marijuana user, it is essential to understand the benefits and risks of using marijuana at a younger age.

Is it possible to force metabolism?

Arguably, the rate of metabolism varies between people from birth. Therefore, some people are born with a faster metabolism than others, which means that this set of people will break down and eliminate marijuana faster from their bodies. What if you were not born with a faster metabolism rate? Then, it is possible to tweak your metabolism rate for some hours, though it doesn’t seem likely to reset your metabolism rate.

Activities that can slightly increase your metabolism rate are exercises, workouts, drinking water and caffeinated beverages, and getting good sleep. However, you must note that these activities only produce short-term results that do not affect what your metabolism will be the next day.

Is it possible to receive a false positive test for THC?

Yes, it is possible to receive a false positive test for THC. For example, you could have traces of THC in your system if you hang out with someone who smokes marijuana or find yourself in a gathering of smokers. However, the chances are meager because you may not have enough THC to confirm a positive test.

CBD oil can also make you test positive for THC, depending on when and how much you have taken the CBD oil. This happens because CBD oils contain controlled THC contents. Furthermore, there are times that the THC contents in CBD oil or other products exceed the percentage labeled on the product. Thus, a person can unknowingly consume a significant amount of THC that accumulates over time by using a CBD or THC product.

Conclusion

This article has discussed the four primary drug testing methods and their respective detention windows. Furthermore, you can deduce that you can also test positive for THC when you take marijuana through other ways different from smoking. However, the article established that CBD and THC had been medically reviewed and regarded as safe substances with medical benefits. Nevertheless, you must consider the side effects of taking marijuana and reduce your use frequency so that you do not end up in a treatment center.

In addition, it may be necessary to search for “Mega Clean detox drink near me.” Detoxify Mega Clean herbal cleanse is an excellent product to help you detoxify if you know you are likely to fail a scheduled drug test. Furthermore, the best way to pass a drug test is to abstain from marijuana use. Lastly, if you or someone is suffering from addiction to marijuana, addiction treatment or contacting an addiction rehab becomes necessary.

Author

  • Brian Flay

    Brian Flay, DPhil, is a professor of Public Health at Oregon State University. He was previously a Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Flay received his doctorate from Waikato University in New Zealand in 1976.