Getting cannabis out of your system faster: does anything really work?

The internet is full of tips on how to cheat drug tests and flush cannabis from your system. Unfortunately, much of the information seems to come from unreliable sources and is oftentimes very contradictory.

Drug tests are a common procedure at many workplaces and pose a real problem for both recreational and medical cannabis users.

If you’ve ever been concerned about passing a drug test, chances are you took to Google in hope of finding a simple, reliable form of passing. Instead, you probably found hundreds of articles and forums bombarding you with very contradicting information.

We can help you to clear some of the smoke surrounding the topic of cheating drug tests and share some different ways of flushing cannabis from your system.

Remember that none of these tips are foolproof, and the only way to ensure you test negative for cannabis use to is to stay away from the herb.

HOW LONG DOES CANNABIS STAY IN YOUR SYSTEM?

Before we look at some specific tips for passing cannabis drug tests, it's important to understand how long cannabis compounds and by products tend to stay in your body.

There are 4 main factors affecting how long cannabis stays in your system:

• How often and how much you consume: The frequency and amounts of cannabis you consume obviously has a big effect on how long cannabis compounds stay in your system. If you tend to only take 1 or 2 hits from a joint at parties every now and then, you’re generally less likely to test positive than someone who burns through a couple of bowls every night after work.
• You’re body fat levels: As we mentioned earlier, THC is metabolized and stored by the body in fatty tissue as THC-COOH. Hence, the higher your body fat levels, the more THC-COOH is stored around your body.
• Your metabolism: Just like we all react slightly differently to cannabis, our bodies also metabolize THC at different rates. Unfortunately, there is no easy way for you to know how well your body does at processing and eventually flushing THC and THC-COOH from your body.
• What and how you consume: If you vaporize or eat extremely potent flower (20%+ or concentrates), you tend to ingest more THC in a session than someone smoking a joint with regular strength weed (15%). This is due to the higher concentration of THC in potent flower or concentrates and the fact that vaporizing or ingesting cannabis actually deliver more THC to the body than smoking.

For irregular users, THC can usually be detected via a blood or urine test between 1-3 days after use. Hair follicle tests, on the other hand, can come up positive anywhere from 5 to 90 days after use.

Remember, these are just ballpark figures for irregular users. Regular cannabis users have more THC metabolites stored around there body and can potentially test positive via any of the above methods up to weeks after their last hit.

UNDERSTANDING DRUG TESTS

There are 3 main types of drug tests; urine tests (urinalysis), blood tests, and hair follicle tests.

Urine tests are arguably the most common type of drug tests use by employers mainly because they are inexpensive, simple to conduct, and can provide relatively accurate results. Urine tests test for THC-COOH, basically a metabolized form of THC which is stored in fatty tissue around the body.

While blood tests and hair follicle tests are less common, some employers still use them as they can be harder to cheat and may provide more accurate results.

For more information about these individual tests and how they work, check out our previous post on drug tests.

5 WAYS TO GET CANNABIS OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM FASTER

If you’re facing a drug test (either at work or for other reasons), here are some simple methods to minimize your chances of testing positive.

Keep in mind that none of these methods offer guaranteed results and the only surefire way to pass a drug tests is to not consume cannabis.

1. DILUTION

This is an extremely popular technique for passing urine drug tests, mainly because it is meant to be done 1 day prior to a drug test, making it a great option for people looking for fast results.

The dilution method for passing drug tests basically works on the principle of diluting your urine to below a certain threshold of THC-COOH (50 ng/mL).

The best way to dilute your urine is to drink plenty of water. Start by drinking 2-3 litres of water 1 day before your test and then 1-2 litres on the day. This should help push your THC-COOH levels below the 50 ng/mL threshold.

The one downfall to this method is that drug testing labs are well aware of this, and hence keep a close eye out for diluted urine samples which are typically clear and low in creatinine, a byproduct of muscle metabolism.

To avoid suspicion, it’s possible to alter the colour and creatinine levels in your urine by consuming 50-100mg of vitamin B2 or B12 and an above-average dose of creatine supplements few hours prior to your test.

The vitamin B supplements will help to make your urine yellow while the creatine will help to boost creatinine levels. Both of these supplements are available at drug or health food stores.

2. DETOX

Another popular technique used to pass urinalysis tests is to detox.

One of the best ways to detox is to do it naturally without the use of any detox products like pills or shakes. A healthy individual can cleanse their body of toxins in about 4-6 weeks by simply combining regular exercise, a healthy, balanced diet, and abstinence from drugs and alcohol.

If a natural home detox isn’t a viable option for you, you may want to try some trusted detox products. These products are designed to help flush toxins (such as cannabis metabolites) from your system in as little as 3-6 days.

Finally, if that also isn’t feasible, you may want to try a 24-hour same-day cleanser. These products are designed to temporarily flush your urinary tract of drug metabolites and give a clear urine sample.

3. SYNTHETIC URINE

Another way to cheat a urinalysis test is by using synthetic urine.

Available from a variety of online retailers, using synthetic urine is a great way to dodge a drug test as the sample is guaranteed to be free of any metabolites.

However, you’ll need to sneak the solution into the testing facility and keep it at body temperature (roughly 100°F or 37°C) to avoid suspicion. The best way to keep the solution warm is to microwave it at home and then wrap a hand warmer around it to keep it warm until the time of the test.

Remember that using synthetic urine is only a viable option if your testing lab provides you with a private bathroom to provide your sample. If so, remember to still urinate in the toilet (sometimes staff will listen outside to see that you’re actually urinating).

However, if the testers at your facility watch you as you urinate, this option is literally impossible.

4. HOME DRUG TESTS

Another way to help you prepare for a urinalysis is to take some test samples at home prior with a home drug test kit.

While these kits don’t actually come with any kind of supplement to help you alter your urine sample, they can help you test the results of either a detox or dilution method.

Again, this is only really viable for people facing a planned drug test, not those facing a random test within a short time frame.

5. SHAMPOOS

Hair follicle tests are considered the most accurate and rigorous type of blood tests. They are much harder to cheat than urine tests, and tend to test for long-term use rather than a single use of a drug.

The only surefire way to beat a hair follicle test is to shave every hair on you body (the test can be conducted with both hair from your head or body). However, doing so will likely arouse suspicion.

Hence, if you’re facing an upcoming hair follicle drug test, you may want to try specialized shampoos designed to help you get a negative reading. These products don’t guarantee a negative reading, but they may be worth a try.

FINAL THOUGHTS AND EXTRA TIPS

So, there you have it, 5 simple tips to help you pass a drug test and flush cannabis from your system.

Remember, none of these methods are foolproof, and all of them come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the best one depends largely on your preferences and the amount of time you have to prepare for a test.

Also, note that there is a lot of misinformation circulating the internet about how to pass drug tests. To round off this article, here are some final tips to help you pass an upcoming drug test and flush cannabis from your system:

• Don’t exercise prior to a test: If you’re a regular user, exercise can help raise THC levels in your blood. Don’t be fooled by sources telling you to exercise heavily before a test in order to “sweat” out any THC from your body.
• Don’t provide the beginning or end of your urine stream: The first and last parts of your urine sample are said to contain the highest concentrations of drug metabolites.