how long does thc stay in your system

[spacecadet]

i saw on youtube a guy who sell tinctures saying the thc only stays in your system for 24 hours the same if you ate a eatable. does any one know if this is true. i all ways thought it stayed in your system for up to 30 days no matter how you take it.

 

[tennesseetoker]

it all depends on your body fat percntage and how much you sweat drink water or acidicy things 24 hrs. hell no though my brother has passed random drug test in 24 48 and 72 hrs of smokin and passed em all. He has impecable luck though too.

 

[♥Mo♥]

I have always heard that because it is the metabolites that are detectable, THC can last 30 days or longer depending how heavy of a consumer you are.

 

[cheesey]

According to the website of Columbia University's Health Services:

Marijuana itself does not "stay" in your system, but the main chemical in marijuana, THC, does. It fact, it may stay in your system forever because it is stored in fatty tissues of various organs.

Despite being stored in body fat, THC is only detectable for a certain amount of time. Many drug tests, including urine tests, look for 9-carboxy-THC which is the by-product of your body metabolizing the THC in your fat.



Marijuana Detection Times
Frequent users blood drug test (defined as someone who smokes several times per week)
THC: 4-8 hours after smoking
THC by-product: 2 or more weeks after smoking

Frequent users urine drug test
THC by-product: 2 weeks to a month after smoking (3 months for extremely heavy users)

Infrequent users blood drug test
THC: 3-4 hours after smoking
THC by-product: 2-3 days after smoking

Infrequent users urine drug test
THC by-product: up to 10 days after smoking

See the website via the Related Links for more information.


Additional input from other WikiAnswers contributors:

* I attended a court ruled drug class and learned that marijuana has a half-life in your system. How long it takes to leave your system depends on how much you smoke. But the time maxes out at around 45 days. One smoking session for someone with a clean system takes about 3-4 days to be clean. Smoke 2 days later and then have to wait about a week, and so on. The time it will take roughly doubles every time you smoke until it maxes at about 45 days to be clean. So if you are maxed out and you wait about 2 weeks and then smoke again, you're basically back to 45 days.

This also depends on the test. Most job drug tests only test down to about 100 nanograms, which isn't dead accurate but will pick up if you are a smoker obviously. Court-appointed tests can test anywhere down to 10-20 nanograms, which is very accurate, and can also detect high levels of water, and any other drug test liquids. You can not fool those tests, and drinking water and tea does nothing for getting weed out of your system at all. The ONLY way to get it out is time, because it is in your blood.

* Marijuana can be detected in urine for nearly a week after smoking. Blood tests can be more accurate, and it might take a month to be totally clear. Hair tests show every drug ever taken when that hair was growing - this is why you see so many drug addicts with shaved heads or buzz cuts, by the way. Also by the way: taking laxatives and drinking wacky chemicals won't "cheat" a drug test. It will just make you go to the bathroom!

* I don't usually smoke marijuana but I went to the comedy show and smoked a blunt. I smoked the blunt on February 29, 2008, and took a urine test for a job on Tuesday, March 11, and tested negative. My height is 5' 7.5" and I am overweight (254 lbs.), but I go to the gym 4-5 days a week and drink plenty of water.

I recall reading a while back that weed -- if you are a rare user -- usually stays in your system 3-4 days. But to be safe, I would say a 10-day "test window" after you last smoked will give you a negative result. If you are a regular user, you will definitely have to detox yourself for at least 30 days.

Also, when you take those drug tests, it stipulates that if there is any reason to believe that you have tried to deceive the test it would be treated as a positive and you won't be hired anyway. Therefore, I'm sure they also test for those substances that will give you a negative reading when they do the test.

* I don't smoke weed regularly, but only every few months, over the duration of about a week. Whenever I've had to do a drug test, I just drank plenty of water (lots!) on the night before the test -- and on the day of the test -- and it came back clean. I also take a hydrochlorothiazide pill and I'm sure that helps too.

* Most of the answers on this blog are incorrect. It depends on how often you smoke, and on your metabolism. If you smoke once a week for 3 months and stop, you'll be clean within 3-5 days. If you smoke daily for 3 months and then stop, but exercise daily, you're looking at 2-3 weeks. The best way to find out is to purchase a few urine tests. They're cheap, and you can use them at home.
I've never heard of a blood test for marijuana.

There are ways to beat a hair test. Cut your hair to a reasonably short length and use Aloe Rid daily. Soak your hair in an astringent and wash with Tide. Again, you can buy hair test and mail it in.

It doesn't take months.

* I know the best way to get bud out of your system in under 3 days. All it takes is for you to suck up and gulp down something nasty: It's called psyllium. It's a type of powder you mix in a drink. Drink this stuff fast; the longer you wait, the tougher it is to drink. Take it 3 times a day, and 3 days later, you'll be THC-free. You can get it at any local grocery store or health store.

* First, there are multiple types and qualities of drug tests and these can greatly effect the amount of time the marijuana will stay in your system.

Urine tests: This depends greatly on how much you smoke and the quality of the test. If you don't smoke often -- say, about once a week -- are skinny (because the marijuana residue is stored in the fat cells), have a fast metabolism (this determines how quickly you use your fat cells), and stop smoking (this is important) it will take about 3 or 4 weeks. But if you have a urine test to get a job, drink a lot of water -- I'm talking about liters -- a few hours before you go, and your urine will be so diluted that it will be impossible for the test to pick anything up.

Blood tests: This takes six months. Period.

Hair follicle tests: Well, since the residue will stay in your blood system for approximately six months, new hair growth in that time will have traces of marijuana. But, if you don't cut your hair after that, it will still be there. I have long hair. If you were to do a test on my hair follicles, you have my drug history for the last 2 years.

* If you smoke rarely (once a month or less) it takes a very short time for the marijuana residue to leave your system -- around three days. If you do it more than once a month, the time gets longer and longer depending on how often you do it.

* If you smoke about a $20 bag a day of mid-grade marijuana (approx. 4 blunts), it can take months.

* It takes an average of about 30 days for urine tests. When you smoke weed, the THC gets into your fat cells. Therefore, if you are a skinny person, then the THC will leave your system sooner than 30 days. But if you are a heavier person, the THC stays in your body for a longer time period. If it is an emergency, you can go to the GNC and get detox pills or herbal tea; these can clean out your system in as little as five hours. Be sure to read the directions. Don't eat 4-5 hours before you take the pill and drink a lot of water. It can get quite expensive, though: $30 for one little pill.

* Depending on how much you smoke, it takes 2-5 weeks, during which time it can be detected on a drug screen. If you need to pass a drug test for a job or any kind of certification, I wouldn't chance it; you should stay "clean" for 6 weeks. Super fast "detox" potions are expensive and unreliable.

* Marijuana can be detected in your urine for at least five weeks. If you want to pass a drug test, don't do any for two months to be extra sure.

* 30-45 days

In reference answer #1... it says to drink liters of water to really dilute your urine. But take caution to start flushing days before the test and then drink a moderate amount the day of the test. The labs or doctors that take your urine for testing know that people try to flush their systems. The first thing that is checked is the concentration of creatin: If you drink too much prior to the test and dilute your creatin levels, it shows up immediately and is considered an automatic fail!! Do not try diluting with toilet or sink water, as the urine temperature is checked immediately, and if not in range of the normal body temperature, that is also an immediate Fail.

* With marijuana, it is really not cut and dry. It can be gone in as little as a week, or it can stay in your system for up to 45 days. Unless you're smoking a quarter-bag or more a day, odds are it would not be longer than that, under any circumstances.

Others have hit on these same points, but I will say them again. A lot of this depends on how active you are, how heavy (fat) you are, and what you are trying to do to clean out your system. If you are fairly fit, and fairly active, you have a better shot at getting clean sooner than a fat, lazy person who watches television all day.

As for passing a UA Test ("Pee Test")... Just to warn you, few of the "drink" solutions you buy at the head shops actually work. Don't fall for that. That is a very popular "quick fix" that often ends up getting someone a positive (i.e., failed) drug test result.

I am not a medical doctor, and I doubt any of these answerers are, but I will talk about myself as an example. For a long time, I smoked one small bowl of pot (about 4-5 hits) every couple of days, just to relax. I weigh 189 lbs and am 5'11" tall. In my case, the THC was normally out of my system in about 14 days, without even doing anything to try and flush myself clean.

To be safe, though, starting about 5 days before I expected my drug test, I would always begin drinking lots of water and lots of coffee, in addition to a gallon of cranberry juice each day (which is two normal-sized bottles of Ocean Spray that you would find in your grocery store).

I supplement these actions by taking Vitamin B Complex every day -- except for the day of the test. Vitamin B turns your urine neon yellow (almost glowing) for about 12 hours after taking it... which is a red flag to the testing facilities.

I use the Vitamin B and the cranberry juice, because both are notoriously famous for cleaning out your system. The key point -- in addition to Vitamin B and cranberry juice -- is quite simply to drink every liquid you can get your hands on. Exercise sure doesn't hurt things, either.

With Vitamin B and cranberry juice, lots of water and coffee, and strenuous exercise, I have actually got a clean test result less than a week after smoking

* The time varies with your weight, height, metabolic rate and how much you smoke or ingest. I read that the best way to get it out of your system faster for a urine test is by drinking a lot of water, exercising a lot and eating a lot--but going overboard with that can be bad for your health.

* It would usually take months for the weed to go away but you should drink lots of water.

* Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC can stay in a persons system from 2 to up to 90 days depending on several variables such as height, weight, physical fitness and substance usage. Occasional users would be clean within one week, a daily user can take up to one month, and a constant user can take up to almost 3 months

* a week

* Depends on how long, and how often, you smoke. If this was a one time bit, it will be physically out of your system beyond absolute testable threshold in 2 weeks. However, with exercise and large quantities of water, creatine and B vitamins, you can dilute your system and likely pass a test whenever.

If you smoke all the time, on a daily or multiple times per day basis, then it will be 4-6 weeks, longer if you are a fat ass. However, once again, you can dilute with a drink mix (expensive) or you can dilute. With dilution you may pass a test, give yourself 3 days if you can, while drinking that level of fluids whenever you can (but especially drink this mix the morning of the test, likewise if you're using a mix, then just follow it's label directions).

If urgent, you could also use synthetic urine in a kit, but be wary of designs that aren't resistant to a pat down.

* 4-7 days (although the daily, heavy user can sometimes be detected up to 30+ days).

 

[Capital G]

i was on probation for 6 yrs and recently was involved in a car accident (not my fault) and was given a urinalysis. i never failed 1 drug test while on papers nor the recent one from the hospital (whew! payday coming). anyway, i've taken drug test within 24hrs of smoking and passed them. i attribute my luck to routinely drinking gallons of water a day, routinely working out or working myself up to good sweats, staying away from red meat and pork. my mother is a nurse and she gave me some information that is paramount should i take a drug test with notice. our bodies can only use 100% of the vitamin percentages on the back of the vitamins bottle we/some of us use. the excess percentages are waste and are flushed from our bodies through urination. those extra percentages mask thc. furthermore, you should never take a drug test if you are dehydrated or your urine is yellow in any way. make sure you're pissing clear white before you take a drug test. a combination of these tactics and thc won't be in your system for very long or at least it won't look like there's any in it.

 

[spacecadet]

so eating, smoking,vaping or putting a few drops of tincture under your tong.. the thc stay in your system the same amount of time?

 

[Midnight]

When I used to smoke an eighth a day I had been clean for 45 days and tested positive. Tested again at 52 days and was negative.

 

[kMainRet8]

I have a question. I been smoking for 10yrs now. I use to smoke a lot like 5 yrs ago but for the past yr I have cut down a lot. The past couple months I been smoking 1 Gram every 2 days. I am 5'1 and 101lbs and I don't exercise, I just sit on my ass a lot but that after work lol. Anyways I cant get fat at all even if my life depends on it. The most I ever weight was 111lbs and that was me trying to get some weight and ate and ate for a month straight but, I stop trying to get some weight and end up losing that weight a week later. So im always between 98lbs and 103lbs... Any1 have any ideas how bad I have it? as in how long til I can get rid of thc from my body. Thank you

 

[medmaker420]

I love assumptions

I have had a TON of at home thc kits and actually have done a TON of research on my own to find out how long it takes to get out of somebodies system.

I am a daily smoker and can get clean in about 5 days, someone who is casual can get clean in the 3-5 day range but right around a WEEK can get you 100% clean within the job testing ranges as they do not go as low as federal/prison testing goes.

Now as far as what is needed to be done during those 3-5 days is dependent on the person. I personally spend the first 2 days Active while drinking alot of REAL fruit juices and popping b vitamins or multis and the last 3 days drinking peeing and eating and the thc is GONE.

go on eBay and get a bulk lot of thc testers and start testing yourself and see what you do to get clean faster, quicker and easier versus everything read/said online

 

[BasementGrower]

i was taking drug tests a while back.. and had to for a year. i been smoking the entire time.. i passed the drug tests using a detox drink. and it only was for the dip drug test not lab tests.. so im not sure how it works on lab tests.. but without the drink i failed 49 days clean of any type of cannabis substance.. but then after 56 days i was negative.. actually set a record at my probation office for the longest it was in my system.. they had actually proved it with a hair test. they thought i was still smoking.. until the hair test.

 

[qupee]

so eating, smoking,vaping or putting a few drops of tincture under your tong.. the thc stay in your system the same amount of time?

No. In my experience, eating it stays in your system longer. I'm afraid I've never experimented with tincture however.

Capital G - you shouldn't be dispensing advice about drug tests no offense but you are spouting BS.

Single panel urine dip tests are available on Amazon for $1 each and are accurate.

 

[powerrobbie]

I was undergoing testing just a couple months ago, at the time I only smoked a few bongs of hash a day before the tests, it was potent hash but literally a .3 of hash a day tops, thats it and it took 42 DAYS for me not even to test fully clean, but for the levels to be low enough that it counted as a "pass" 42 days for a very LIGHT smoker. So I personally call a big BULLSHIT on anyone saying they tested clean after a day or even after a week. Eating or tictures would most likely make it stay in your system for even longer as both are a very effective way of taking THC

 

[medmaker420]

agree or disagree what I stated is factual, your results are just different and doesn't make my results incorrect in the least.

everyone is different and like I said it is BEST to get some at home tests and do your own test to see what amount of days is needed based on YOUR smoking habits.

by the way 50ng is common and the only one worth using unless we are talking prison,fed issues

 

[vostok]

Budget 6 weeks, 8 weeks to be safe

 

[GP73LPC]

agree or disagree what I stated is factual, your results are just different and doesn't make my results incorrect in the least.

everyone is different and like I said it is BEST to get some at home tests and do your own test to see what amount of days is needed based on YOUR smoking habits.

by the way 50ng is common and the only one worth using unless we are talking prison,fed issues

you have to be doing something outside of the norm, because THC just doesn't leave your fat metabolites that quickly... i don't care who you are... i am not trying to disrespect you, only make sure others don't think they can pull off what you are able to accomplish. i am not doubting that you were able to pass the tests...

i was told once that fruit pectin (certo is the brand, used for canning) can block the fat metabolites for 3-5 hours thus allowing you to pass a test. the recipe is 2 packets (1 box, the entire contents) mixed with 1 gallon of water and drank over an hour. peeing will commence in a big way and i have indeed passed a test this way.

with that said i don't know if it was the certo or the dilution that worked. more than likely it was the dilution therefore i don't make this recommendation to people. if i had scientific proof it worked i would be spreading the information to the world, but i can't be sure...

with all of that said, i encourage others to test themselves...

as far as THC being detectable in urine please go to 'thccalc dot com' and see what they have to say... they also have a calculator i was unaware of which is linked from the main page...

i just plugged in my numbers and for a daily smoker it told me 37 days to get to 90% clean...

everybody go check it out and stay safe...

 

[medmaker420]

you have to be doing something outside of the norm, because THC just doesn't leave your fat metabolites that quickly... i don't care who you are... i am not trying to disrespect you, only make sure others don't think they can pull off what you are able to accomplish. i am not doubting that you were able to pass the tests...

i was told once that fruit pectin (certo is the brand, used for canning) can block the fat metabolites for 3-5 hours thus allowing you to pass a test. the recipe is 2 packets (1 box, the entire contents) mixed with 1 gallon of water and drank over an hour. peeing will commence in a big way and i have indeed passed a test this way.

with that said i don't know if it was the certo or the dilution that worked. more than likely it was the dilution therefore i don't make this recommendation to people. if i had scientific proof it worked i would be spreading the information to the world, but i can't be sure...

with all of that said, i encourage others to test themselves...

as far as THC being detectable in urine please go to 'thccalc dot com' and see what they have to say... they also have a calculator i was unaware of which is linked from the main page...

i just plugged in my numbers and for a daily smoker it told me 37 days to get to 90% clean...

everybody go check it out and stay safe...

I suggest everyone get themselves some home tests and see for themselves. I can see some taking a couple weeks but to say everyone will take that long is b.s. simply because that is NOT something that can simply be stated no matter what an online calculator states.

 

[GP73LPC]

I suggest everyone get themselves some home tests and see for themselves. I can see some taking a couple weeks but to say everyone will take that long is b.s. simply because that is NOT something that can simply be stated no matter what an online calculator states.

i agree, let everyone test for themselves...

but please don't tell people they can likely get clean in 5 days if they are a daily smoker. if that works for you, great...

but it will not work for 95% of the world...

that's all i'm sayin... the calculators are more accurate for most folks...

peace

 

[Hammerhead]

I agree body fat has a huge impact how long it stays in yuor system as well as how often you use cannabis. It can range from 1 week to 60 days ..

 

[accessndx]

Gonna get tested sometime in Sept. 2013. Being a heavy daily smoker that's relatively inactive and overweight....I assumed 6 months would be a "safe" zone for not smoking.
I gotta be honest however when I say that it's literally stressing me out to the max having to cut myself off with such a long duration of time.
I'd LOVE to know for certain what would be a definite 100% clean test without there having to be overkill on the time end.
If I had to stop for 3 months and could guarantee I'd be clean: you'd see 1 happy ass camper.

I'm absolutely going to get some home testers to see what my levels are initially and then monitor it periodically as I abstain.

But for the love of all that's sacred: if I could just get some consensus on what's the line in the sand for a fatty stoner that has been smoking like an 1/8th or more per day for decades...along with edibles and all other sorts of debauchery....I'd be psyched.

5 months? 4 months? 3 months? Anyone....Bueller....Bueller?

 

[powerrobbie]

^ At home tests do not actually show the levels my man.....That can only be shown in a lab. Maybe there is some at home tests that do but I have never seen one and if they did exsist they would cost a lot more then the regular ones I'm sure.... Also, 6 months is WAY overkill even if you are inactive and overweight and a heavy ass daily smoker. 3 months is PLENTY my man. I garuntee that you would be clean after a whole 3 months man....Trust me I have lots of experience with testing....If it is a urine test then I 100% garuntee that if you took 3 months off you would be completely clean.