If you are wondering how long does cannabis stay in your system? The answer may surprise you.
Cannabis generally stays in your system depending on various factors, like the amount you intake, your metabolism, and your fitness level. For starters, if you are a frequent heavy user, cannabis can stay in your system for more than 3 months from the last consumption, and if you just take it occasionally it may leave your system in about 3 days.
In this blog, we are going to talk about everything you need to know about cannabis and its effect on your body, and how to remove its effect faster and perform better on an upcoming drug test.
Cannabis also known as weed, marijuana, or ganja is generally made up of a chemical compound THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) that makes you feel high when it enters your bloodstream. This THC is the main reason people smoke cannabis and it is what comes up in the drug test.
According to Federal Law, the THC is what makes cannabis illegal and most marijuana drug tests are designed to only detect THC, other non-THC-based components of marijuana do not come up in the drug test which means, A person can still consume marijuana-based products, and hemp and it will not cause you to fail a drug test. CBD is also a component of marijuana but it does not show up in a drug test.
To clearly understand how long marijuana stays in your system and how fast can someone flush it out of your system, you need to understand how these tests work, again it all depends on the amount you consume and the metabolism of the person who uses it, but there are certain studies that can give you a rough idea.
A marijuana drug test can happen in 4 forms:
- Urine Test
- Blood Test
- Saliva Test
- Hair Test
How long does cannabis stay in urine?
A urine test is generally the most commonly used drug testing method a person undergoes in employment or and if you are an occasional cannabis user (2 times a week) its effect can stay in your urine for up to 3 to 4 days if you are a moderate user (3-4 times a week) its effect can show in urine for up to 10 days, and for a heavy user (daily or multiple times a day) its effect can last for up to 30 days, but eventually, it will get out of your system.
According to a study done by Clinical Chemistry, The THC concentration was found to be the highest in the urine test in the first 8 hours of smoking weed, after which its effect started to decline.
How long does cannabis stay in blood?
Blood Tests are not a very common method for general cannabis detection but it does happen. When smoking weed, THC immediately reaches your blood from your lungs, and from there it reaches your brain and other organs making you feel high.
For an occasional marijuana user, the THC in the bloodstream can be detected from the moment of smoking and can stay up to 2 days, for A moderate or frequent user the THC can be detected for up to 25 days from the last usage.
Although when smoking, the THC reaches the bloodstream and its components are quickly broken down and distributed to the tissue that results in a high and the high fades when the THC dissolves from the blood, some of the metabolites of THC stay there for a longer period of time which can be detected in a drug test.
How long does cannabis stay in saliva?
In a saliva test for an occasional user, weed can be detected for up to 24 to 72 hours from smoking and in the case of heavy users it can stay up to 30 days.
People generally think that cleaning the mouth will precipitate cannabis from saliva but it is very likely that even after cleaning, weed can still get detected because its metabolites can still be present in the saliva.
Saliva tests are generally preferred for drivers on roadside testing.
How long does cannabis stay in hair?
Cannabis in hair can last up to 90 days, as hairs are dead so cannabis can stay there till it grows out.
Although hair follicles testing are not very accurate because if a person is sitting close to someone who smoked weed and exhales its fumes nearby, then there is a good chance that the THC may be transferred to the nonsmoker’s hair, which makes him fail the hair folic drug test even without consuming.
How long does cannabis stay in your system if you are fit?
When you consume weed, the THC compounds get stored in the body fat and can stay there for months, which means marijuana will stay longer in your system if you have a higher percentage of body fat. If you are a fit person who exercises regularly or has a fast metabolism then there is a good chance that THC will depreciate from your body quicker than usual.
Exercising also affects the THC in your body, as I mentioned, THC stays in your body fat, and if a person exercises or burns fat the THC also burns out and leave the body but right after exercising THC concentration will peak up then it will gradually decline so don’t go for a drug test right after exercising.
Other factors like weed potency, dosage, hydration, mental health, and body sensitivity also affect, how long cannabis will stay in your system.
How to pass a drug test for cannabis?
The most accurate answer for this is Time. With time cannabis will eventually leave the system, but there are certainly other methods that you can use to clear weed out of your system faster and pass a cannabis drug test because let’s face it for the states where recreational weed is legal, it is not fair to even do cannabis drug tests but, it happens.
How to detox marijuana out of your system?
There are certain things a person can do to naturally detox from weed and pass a drug test:
- Stop smoking weed immediately: if you are applying for a job, or a drug test is coming up in near future then you have to abstain from smoking marijuana till the drug test.
- Start exercising: You need to start doing HIIT exercise (High-Intensity Interval Training) as soon as you can to flush THC out of your body fat. Also keep in mind that do not exercise within 24 hours of a drug test, because while exercising the THC from your fat will burn and it will immediately spike up in your body before precipitating, so if you went to a drug test just after exercising, there is a good chance of failing the drug test.
- Hydrate: Try to drink water as much as you can, this will help the THC to dilute in your body and pass through urine. Drinking over 4 liters of water every day will be enough to kick start your body system to pass weed completely in over a few weeks.
- Eat Healthy: Start eating healthy fruits, vegetables, and natural oils which are rich in antioxidants, this will help your body to cleanse and detoxify itself and pass the THC from your system through stool.
Although, these natural detox methods will take time to remove THC from your body.
Conclusion
Marijuana can stay in your system from 3 days to 3 months after last use, and if you stop smoking it will eventually leave your body but there are certain ways that will help you remove marijuana (THC) from your body fast, depending on your requirement.
Just eat healthily, drink a lot of fluids, and sleep. It will increase the detoxing process.