How Long Does Cannabis Stay In Your Body?

You have a drug test coming up next week, and you’re sweating buckets.

(Too bad you can’t just sweat all the cannabis out of your body. At the rate you’re going, you’d be home free).

“How long does cannabis stay in your body anyways? It’s just a few days, right?”

Well…

It’s Really Hard to Say How Long Cannabis Stays In Your Body

Here’s the problem: it depends on the individual. A lot of factors can determine whether or not a person will test positive for cannabis use. Factors like

• How often you smoke
• The amount you smoke / % of THC in your cannabis
• Your age, weight, and metabolism
• How often you exercise
• The type of test being used

What Drug Testers are Looking For

THC, the chemical compound responsible for the “high” feeling you get when you smoke marijuana, actually moves through your body very quickly.

THC is present in your blood after consumption, which is why police officers rely on blood tests after a car accident in order to see whether or not you were intoxicated at the time of the crash.

But urine and hair tests work differently.

These tests aren’t looking for the presence of THC. They’re looking for a THC metabolite – a waste product of THC called THC-COOH.

This metabolite can stay in your system a lot longer than THC, and that’s why these kinds of tests are used to see if someone is a regular cannabis user.

Here’s How Long Cannabis Stays in Your Blood

Single use: 1-2 days

Regular use – up to 7 days

Here’s How Long Cannabis Stays in Your Urine

(Compliments of High Times)

Single use: 5-8 days
2-4 times per week: 11-18 days
5-6 times per week: 33-48 days
Daily use for 50-65 days – up to 77 days

Here’s How Long Cannabis Will Stay In Your Hair

Cannabis remains in your hair longer than it does in any other part of your body.

If you’ve only used cannabis once or occassionally, you should be okay. But if you’re a regular cannabis user, you’re looking at a 90-day detection window.

And don’t think that just because you have short hair or you’re bald, you can get out of a hair test. Testers have been known to take hair from other parts of the body, like your armpits, in order to get the sample they need.

This Is Why We Need Federal Cannabis Reform

The latest Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans favor the legalization of cannabis, and that marijuana’s popularity transcends party lines.

The verdict is in. Medical patients and recreational customers should be protected from losing their jobs and federal benefits because they used a substance less dangerous than alcohol. Reform needs to take place on the federal level.

Have you ever had to submit to a drug test while you were using cannabis? Did you test positive or negative? Share your stories with us on the Essence Facebook page.