How Long Does THC Stay in Your System?

The effects of Cannabis fade quickly, but that doesn’t mean the drug has been completely eliminated from your system. The amount of time THC remains in the system can range from a couple of hours to 90 days, depending on various factors. Since so many people have reached out to us and asked how long does THC stays in the system, we have decided to write a bit more about this matter. Keep reading and you will learn about methods of Cannabis consumption, THC detection windows, and factors that can affect it. Knowing these facts is necessary for safe Cannabis consumption so make sure to read the following carefully.

The most common methods of Cannabis consumption

One of the factors that can determine how long will THC stay in your body is the way you are consuming the drug. Different consumption methods have different absorption rates. Thus, with some methods, you can feel almost immediate effects that don’t last long, while with others you need to wait for effects to appear but they are in most cases stronger and last longer.

Marijuana can be used in so many different ways and we are sure you are already aware of most of them. However, since we want to talk a bit more about THC detection we simply need to mention the two most common methods of Cannabis consumption: inhaling and oral ingesting. Other popular methods are sublingual and topical consumption but, in this article, we will only focus on the first two methods.

Inhaling

Inhalation aka smoking is the most common method of cannabis consumption and the quickest way of getting THC into your system. Since inhalants are entering your body through the respiratory system, the THC gets very fasts to your bloodstream and reaches the brain in matters of seconds. This is exactly why you start to feel the effects within minutes after smoking. Because of fast absorption rates, it is simpler for people who smoke Marijuana to monitor and control the amount of THC they put in their bodies.

Some like to describe smoking Marijuana as fast food – it is quick, gets the job done, but it isn’t healthy. As you already know, smoking is damaging to the lungs and that is why people have started to look for other, healthier ways of consuming Cannabis. Today, you can find different types of inhalants that don’t have negative effects on your respiratory system, but you can also find other types of consumption, such as oral ingesting.

Oral Ingesting

If you are not a fan of smoking and vaping, you should opt for oral consumption. The demand for Cannabis edibles is on the rise because people have realized they can get a stronger high without damaging their lungs. Even though this is a much safer and healthier method of Cannabis consumption, you need to learn how to do it the right way. If you opt for oral consumption you need to know that you will have to wait a bit for effects to appear, but once they do, they will be much stronger and last longer than effects you feel after smoking Marijuana.

In most cases, the first effects will appear after 30 minutes of ingesting edibles. However, sometimes you need to wait even longer (an hour or two)! Consuming edibles on an empty stomach can cause the effects to appear faster but this isn’t a recommendable thing to do since you could fall into a bad trip. Thus, to avoid any problems, it is better to ingest edibles after a solid meal. The effects in total can last up to six hours or even longer, depending on the products you have consumed, its dosage, and the consumer itself.

People who have never consumed edibles usually aren’t aware of the delayed effects. Because of that, they ingest even more products in the hope the effects will appear faster, but doing that is a huge mistake. It is better to wait and to use only legally produced edibles because the dosage of these products is regulated.

Factors that affect detection time

The length of time marijuana remains in your body depends on many different factors, including your gender, body mass index (BMI),  metabolism, method of consumption, THC dosage, etc. Here is in what way these factors can affect the THC detection time.

Body Mass Index, metabolism, and sex

When it comes to body fat, people who have higher body fat concentrations and a slower metabolism will metabolize THC slower than those who have less body fat and a faster metabolism. This is because THC is stored in fat cells of your body and the more fat you have, the slower your metabolism is and the slower you will excrete THC. And, since females have more body fat than males, it is considered that women metabolize THC slightly slower than men.

THC dosage, method, and frequency of consumption

We have already mentioned different types of cannabis consumption and how they produce different effects. But, consumption methods also affect the detection time. If marijuana is inhaled, the THC levels in the body will drop much faster than if you ingest it. Edibles take longer to break down in the body and that is why they take longer to leave your system.

When it comes to THC dosage, it is important to point out that tests look for THC and not Marijuana. So, the more THC you have put in your system, the more you will need to wait for it to leave your system. Those who are consuming Cannabis and its products regularly will have a higher THC dose in their body than those who are occasional users. Thus, they will need more time to eliminate THC and other chemicals that are linked to it.

Test sensitivity

We can’t talk about the amount of time THC stays in a body without mentioning tests that can detect its levels. There are various tests that can detect THC in your system and these tests are of different sensitivity. Obviously, tests that are more sensitive can detect lower doses of THC as opposed of tests of lower sensitivity. To help you understand this better, we have listed the types of testing that are being used for detecting levels of THC in a system. So, here is what you should know about them.

● Saliva testing – THC is detectable in saliva for occasional users from 1 to up to 3 days and for chronic users THC up to 29 days. It is essential to point out that metabolites are present in saliva only if a person has smoked or ingested weed.

● Urine testing – This is one of the most common testing methods used for detecting THC. Urine tests can detect THC in the urine for approximately 3–30 days after use, depending on how frequently Marijuana was consumed.

● Blood testing – Because THC doesn’t stay long in the bloodstream, blood tests are usually not used. However, in some cases, if a person is a chronic user, THC can be detected even after 25 days as opposed to occasional users whose THC levels in the blood can be detected for 1 or 2 days after consumption.

● Hair testing – This is, without any doubt, the most sensitive type of drug testing. Hair tests can detect THC for up to 90 days after use! By examining one single hair, you can detect which type of substances person has used, and when these substances have been consumed.

But, can you get THC out of your body faster?

There isn’t much you can do to speed up the amount of time for eliminating THC from your system. Some time needs to pass before your body manages to break THC down. However, exercising regularly, eating healthy, and drinking lots of water may help you, but not drastically. So, instead of using home-made edibles with unknown dosage, opt for licensed and legal products that have a regulated dosage and rest at ease. You can check out our shops at any time and find a safe product that you will enjoy.