The Definitive Guide on How Long Does THC Stay In System
Cannabis, pot, or marijuana is derived from the cannabis Sativa plant.
The plant contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which produces a ‘high’ sensation when cannabis flowers are smoked, vaped, or ingested in edibles.
THC boasts numerous health benefits, including tranquillity, calmness, and relaxation.
For this reason, consuming THC is attractive for recreational and medical cannabis consumers.
Once you have consumed cannabis, how long will it linger in your system? And can drug tests detect the psychoactive ingredient, THC, long after the ‘high’ fades
THC ‘high’ can last a few minutes to a few hours.
However, the cannabinoid can remain in the body for a few hours, some weeks, or up to 90 days, depending on your unique body, how much you took, and your frequency of usage.
Generally, the higher your dose and the more frequently you use cannabis, the longer it will stay in your system.
If you consume cannabis daily, drug tests may detect THC in your body several months from the last time you used it.
Read on to find out “how long does THC stay in system,” and the factors that make THC stay longer in the body.
We’ll also delve into different drug tests to see how long they will detect THC in your system.
Finally, we’ll highlight some factors that influence the length of THC stay in your system and if there’s any way to facilitate the breakdown of THC.
How Does THC Manage to Stay In Your System for Longer?
THC is broken down in the body into byproducts or metabolites. These metabolites are lipid-soluble chemicals that bind to fats in the body. So the more fats you have, the more THC you store. But how long does THC stay in system?
The fat-stored THC metabolites are gradually eliminated from the body through metabolism, urine, and feces.
For this reason, the THC metabolites can take longer to leave your system, especially if you have more fat molecules.
While there are many cannabinoids in weed, most drug tests aim to detect THC in your system.
Drug tests measure THC metabolites and can therefore detect the compounds in hair, urine, and blood.
The time the THC continues to show in tests or stays in your body will depend on some factors. These can include:
- How much fat is in your body
- The dose of THC you consume
- How often do you consume the drug
- How sensitive is the drug test?
How Long Is Weed in Your System Detected via Different Drug Tests?
Multiple drug tests can reveal the presence of THC in your system. How long it can still be detected will depend on the drug test.
Urine, blood, hair, and saliva tests will show the presence of THC for different periods.
Saliva
Saliva tests are mainly used for roadside drug tests for drivers. They can detect same-day cannabis usage since they have a short detection window.
A 2020 study revealed that saliva tests could detect THC in oral fluids up to 72 hours after your last use.
Weed can be absorbed into the saliva through smoke exposure or active smoking. However, THC metabolites are only present in the saliva when you ingest weed or smoke directly.
Urine
What about urine? How long does marijuana stay in the urine? Urine tests are the most common drug testing method.
In jurisdictions where weed is illegal, most workplaces use urine tests to detect marijuana use.
A urine test can detect THC metabolites up to thirty days from the last day you consumed cannabis.
According to a 2017 review, the detection window of THC will vary in the following ways:
- For single use, a urine test can pick up THC even three days after your last use
- Moderate use of 4 times a week can be detected up to seven days after the last use
- Daily or chronic use will be detected even 15 days after the last consumption day
- If you use weed multiple times a day, a urine test can detect THC even 30 days from the last time you used it.
Blood
As with saliva, marijuana stays in the blood for a short time. According to a study on the metabolism of cannabis, a blood test can detect THC and its metabolites for 3 to 4 hours from the time you use it.
However, the amount of cannabis you use can significantly affect how long it stays in your blood.
A different study suggests that if you’re a chronic cannabis consumer, THC can remain in your blood for up to 25 days after the last time you consumed it.
Hair
THC and its metabolites can remain in your hair for up to 90 days from the last time you consume the compound.
After consumption, THC can reach hair follicles from sebum, sweat surrounding hair roots, and small blood vessels.
Because hair grows by about 0.5 inches every month, the 1.5-inch hair taken to test for THC can show if you’ve used cannabis in the last three months.
Notably, hair tests can sometimes be unreliable. They can show positive results even if the THC in your hair comes from secondary smoking or someone touching your hair after touching cannabis.
Factors Affecting How Long THC Will Stay in Your System
How long does THC stay in system? Several factors affect the length of stay of THC in your body.
Some of these factors relate to how you consume cannabis. This can include how often you consume it, the potency of the cannabis, the route of admission, and the dosage.
More potent weed strains and products such as concentrates have higher levels of THC, so they stay longer in your system.
Oral ingestion of weed leads to THC staying longer in your system than smoking weed.
Generally, the more frequently you use weed and the higher your dose, the longer THC will linger in your system.
Hydration, sex, body mass index (BMI), and metabolism are all factors that influence how long marijuana stays in your system.
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THC Dose
Cannabis drug tests only look for THC metabolites in your system. Therefore, the THC dosage of particular cannabis products will affect test results.
Notably, how high you feel is not an indicator of the THC dose. Other cannabinoids and terpenes can weaken or intensify the high feeling.
The good news is; most cannabis products you find at online dispensaries have dosage indications on the labelling.
For example, MMJ Express’s Boost Edibles Strawberry Gummies come in a container with 15 delicious gummies, each gummy containing 10 mg of THC.
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Metabolism
Metabolism is the breaking down of compounds in the body. The rate at which your body will break down THC metabolites will determine how long drug tests detect it.
How long does THC stay in system with respect to your rate of metabolism?
If you have a faster metabolism, your system will eliminate THC much faster than someone with a slower metabolism.
Usually, the healthier, younger, and more active you are, the higher your rate of metabolism.
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Sex
THC metabolites are fat soluble and therefore stored in the body fat. Since women have more fat men, female bodies can store a lot more THC leading to a slightly slower rate of elimination.
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Hydration
Dehydration will make THC more concentrated in your system. While drinking more water will not significantly affect drug test results, it might dilute the sample enough to warrant a retake of the test.
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Body Mass Index
Because THC metabolites are stored in fat cells in the body, having a higher BMI means you can store more THC metabolites; therefore, your body will take longer to get rid of them.
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Exercise
Exercising before a drug test may increase the THC concentration in your system.
In a small study to assess the effects of exercise on THC levels in the body, 14 regular cannabis consumers were tested for THC levels after 35 minutes of exercise.
The results revealed that exercising right before a drug test can increase the probability of positive results.
The test results from the study participant showed a significant increase in the level of THC after exercising.
Edibles vs. Smoking vs. Vaping
How long do THC edibles stay in your system? Weed that is ingested, as with edibles, will last longer in the body compared to smoked or vaped weed.
Ingested weed requires a longer time to break down compared to smoked or vaped weed.
Is There Anything You Can Do to Help Your System Get Rid of THC Faster
Whenever you consume THC, it will take time for your body to break it down.
You can do very little to speed up the time it takes your body to break down THC metabolites.
However, staying hydrated, eating healthy, and exercising can hasten the breaking down of metabolites in the long run.
Some creative solutions for eliminating THC from your system involve weed detox remedies and kits available online.
These kits and remedies suggest you drink lots of water to dilute your urine and use supplements such as vitamin B12 and creatinine to mask the dilution.
Note that these kits are not guaranteed to work. Also, drinking too much water can lead to a severe medical emergency.
Get Quality Weed at MMJ Express
Because cannabis is legal in Canada, random workplace drug tests are forbidden. Also, Canadian drivers cannot be randomly tested for weed.
So if you’re within Canadian borders, you can buy weed online at your favourite mail-order dispensary and enjoy the robust benefits of cannabis in the comfort of your home.
At MMJ Express, we stock the most expansive collection of weed products.
From cheap weed in Canada to premium concentrates like Caviar – Blackberry Gelato and shrooms like Shrooms – Penis Envy #6.
Buy weed online in Canada and enjoy premium weed products at affordable prices.
