Are you about to take your drug test or simply curious about how long weed can stay and be discovered in your body system? As you will notice after you must have read this article to the end, the answer is not so straightforward. This is considering how many factors determine this drug test-related answer. So, read on for more information.
How Long Can a Urine Test Detect the Presence of Weed in a Person?
The time the THC compound in cannabis stays in a person’s body and can be detected using a urine drug test varies. This is based on several factors but the time range is between 3 days to a little over 4 weeks. This wide gap between the two extremes of this time range is because of factors that include:
How Many Times the User Uses the Drug
The chances of detection even after several days and weeks are increased for chronic users with an addiction to the drug. THC can be easily discovered even after a long time in such users.
More often than not, these are the kind of users that need rehab treatment (including an intensive detox program), because of the adverse physical and mental health implications of using this drug. By the way, weed and other abused substances and drugs can complicate things for women during pregnancy.
The Type of Marijuana Used
There are several kinds of marijuana and they have varying effects. As a result of the effects of some kinds of cannabis, the presence of the THC compound that they contain can be discovered in the body for longer periods. It is not the same for all kinds of cannabis.
How the Cannabis Is Used
Drug bioavailability is one term that is used to explain how effective a potent drug can be. This is because of how it reacts to the internal state of the body. How a drug is used contributes to drug bioavailability. For those that smoke weed compared to those who add it to their meals, they do not stay for the same period in the body. How the drug is used is a contributing factor.
Body System
Your body system is a deciding factor as well. This is especially as it has to do with your body’s metabolic rate. The presence of THC in those with slow metabolism can be detected even after long periods and vice versa.
Also, those with excess body fat are more likely to have THC stored up for detection even after longer periods. So, your body system indeed matters as well.
Urine Test – One of Many Drug Testing Options
To find out users of weed (marijuana or cannabis), several kinds of tests can be conducted for detection. Other drug tests to help detect the presence of marijuana (weed or cannabis) in the body of people include:
- Saliva
- Blood
- Examination of the hair follicle
However, the urine test option is the most used detection method. This is perhaps because this method is very easy to carry out on the part of the examined person, and by the party carrying out the test. Of course, the saliva test method is similar in this regard.
However, the saliva test option is not as effective as the urine test option. It is also the same for the blood test option. If the time the test is conducted is anything beyond 3 days (72 hours), the presence of the THC compound in the body system will not be detectable using both the blood and saliva test options.
Only the hair follicle test option does better than the urine test option. This is as the effects of cannabis’s (marijuana or weed) primary psychoactive compound – THC; can be detected for a much longer time. Frankly, this makes the hair follicle test option the best for the detection of someone positive for the use of cannabis (marijuana or weed).
However, its cost and process put it at a disadvantage. This is especially when compared to the urine drug test and some other tests for the presence of drugs in the body system. You can check the lifestyle page of the International Health Alliance website for more related content.
