The drug abuse surge has prodded more employers to add pre-employment drug tests in their recruitment policy. Thus, people who use cannabis often ask how to get weed out of your system.
According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, 55 million American adults are currently using weed or marijuana. To make the work environment much safer and promote the full use of their potential, employees oftentimes undergo random drug tests.
THC can stay in your system for months if you use it regularly. Different drug tests have different detection windows. So, even if you survive the pre-employment drug test, you might not be so lucky with random tests.
In this article, we are going to break down how to get weed out of your system, debunk the myths about detoxification, and share tips to find the best solution to flush out toxins.
How Long Does It Take to Get Weed Out of Your System?
Most of the time we end up believing a lot of misleading claims when it comes to detoxification. These myths lack scientific evidence and often cause health issues. The three most common myths are:
- Myth 1: Drinking gallons of water doesn’t work to remove THC trapped in fat cells contrary to popular belief. However, it can dilute urine samples making it suspicious.
- Myth 2: Unfortunately, detox teas are no better than water. So, they cannot eliminate THC residues from the body.
- Myth 3: In contrast to what many think, rigorous exercise doesn’t speed up the detox process. Excessive sweating means drinking a lot of water which can make your urine diluted throwing off THC metabolites concentration.
Instead of resorting to unhelpful methods, you should give the body enough time to detox THC residues naturally. The body’s natural detox process will kick in to purge the entrapped THC from fat cells right after quitting pot.
The liver flushes THC through feces, sweat, and urine. The whole process can take a couple of days or a few months depending on your metabolism.
Factors Affecting the Detoxification Time Frame
- Usage Frequency: For heavy users, it can take months to detox THC from the system.
- Metabolism: People with a high metabolism flushes out THC faster.
- Body Fat Percentage: Since THC is stored in your fat cells, individuals with higher body fat percentage take longer to detox.
- Exercise: Simple but regular exercise melts fat and eliminates toxins.
- Age: The body’s metabolism declines with age so younger people detox faster and vice versa.
How Long Does Weed Stay in Your System?
Below is a general guideline for different types of THC exposure, but keep in mind that these are approximate ranges and can vary from person to person:
| Type of Exposure | Detection Time in Urine | Detection Time in Blood | Detection Time in Saliva | Detection Time in Hair |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single Use (up to 3 days) | 1-3 days | 1-2 days | 1-3 days | Up to 90 days |
| Occasional Use (3-4 times/week) | 3-7 days | 1-2 days | 1-3 days | Up to 90 days |
| Moderate Use (daily) | 1-2 weeks | 1-7 days | 1-3 days | Up to 90 days |
| Heavy Use (multiple times/day) | 4-6 weeks | 1-7 days | 1-3 days | Up to 90 days |
Most Common Types of Drug Tests
Another thing you should consider when wondering about how to get weed out of your system is the drug test type since the detection time also depends on it. Some of them are:
Blood Test: The blood sample is analyzed to find THC for a cannabis drug test. THC can persist in blood for up to 4 hours.
Hair Drug Test: 1.5 inches of hair is collected for the test and it can identify the presence of drugs for 3 months.
Saliva Swab Tests: A cotton swab is used to collect saliva to test for drugs. Usually, it can detect THC for 24 hours to three days.
Urine Sample Tests: It is the most common drug test and can identify THC from 3 to 30 days.
What Role Does the Body Play in Drug Metabolites Detection Times?
Relying on the body’s natural detox process may not be the quickest way to get weed out of your system but it certainly is the safest. The body’s kidney function, metabolism rate, and fat storage play a crucial role in shortening or lengthening the drug detection times.
If your body has low fat, the kidney is in good health, and you have a high metabolism then the body will flush out THC metabolites faster shortening the detection window.
Ways To Clean Out Your System In 24 Hours
Don’t expect a detox method to clean the accumulated THC in just a day even though some detox products promise outlandish results. Steer clear of these products to avoid getting scammed. However, a few detox products such as Detoxify Mega Clean can mask the presence of THC to help pass a drug test in a day.
Detoxify Mega Clean is a detox drink that contains herbs and vitamins to hide THC residues so drug tests cannot detect its existence leading to a negative test result.
Some also suggest using detox pills to pass a drug test. But do detox pills or drinks work? The answer is both yes and no.
- These detox products don’t work: The products lack scientific evidence for their effectiveness. Some of them may have diuretic substances but that can only make you urinate frequently. Peeing profusely does not necessarily mean that the body is removing toxins but can create health issues.
- Detox pills and drinks that work: Some detox pills come packed with natural detox ingredients that trigger the body’s detoxing process so it can flush out toxins faster. Toxin Rid detox pills are such an example. The pills come with dietary fibers and detox liquids for a complete detox experience.
Staying hydrated is vital as it aids the kidneys to properly filter and purge toxins and waste out of the body. But excess liquid intake doesn’t speed up this process though it creates an electrolyte imbalance. It also makes the urine lose its yellowish color. Due to these causes the testers can flag the sample.
Detox Home Remedies That Don’t Work
A healthy diet, proper sleep, and regular exercise help with detoxification. So, you need to eat healthy, especially during detoxing. Instead, people opt for home remedies that lack research backing and ultimately don’t work.
- Lemon Water Detox
People often recommend drinking lemon water for THC detoxing. But Lemon water doesn’t have any detoxing elements. And the claim doesn’t have any scientific backing.
- Diuretics (Detox teas and liquids without using fiber)
While diuretics may temporarily increase urine production and flush some toxins, they primarily target water weight and may not eliminate drug metabolites. This approach can lead to dehydration, dilution of urine, detection suspicion, or false positive results.
How To Choose the Best THC Detox Methods?
Before settling for a detox method, make sure you have selected the best available choice. To do that consider the following factors:
- Type Of Drug Test: Find out the drug test type. Hair drug detox involves using a detox shampoo but for urine drug tests detox pills or drinks may work. For a saliva test, mouthwashes will be the most effective.
- Detox Duration: Choose a detox method based on how much time you have and the duration of the detox process. See if it is a 1-day or a 7-day detox program and decide which one suits you best. Also, check if the method is designed to help with the natural detox process or just masks THC from detection.
- THC Exposure: Your detox method should be in line with your toxin exposure. Light cannabis users can go for one one-day detox program, though people with heavy toxin exposure should detox for longer to remove THC completely.
- Brand Reputation: The effectiveness of a detox product correlates with the reputation of the brand as they wouldn’t risk their goodwill with cheap quality.
- Ingredients: Read the ingredients list to check for the active components and allergens and to confirm how many detoxing components the product has.
- Usage Instruction: See if the instructions are easy to understand and nothing complicated.
- Key Benefits: Review how the product differs from others and asses the benefits over others.
- Cost: Compare the cost with similar other options and choose the best in your budget.
How To Get Weed Out Of Your System Fast
- Sauna Therapy
It can enhance your metabolic rate for a while assisting in the fat-burning process so THC gets released and flushes out from the body with urine and stool.
- High-Fiber Diet
High fiber means healthy digestion supporting regular bowel movement so the body can purge toxins and drug residues better.
- High Liquid Intake
Drink enough fluid (water, fruit juice, coffee) during the daytime thus kidneys can expel more toxins. But make sure that you use this method along with complementary (other from the list), as just dinking water can make more harm than benefit.
- Exercise
Opt for a simple exercise routine to burn fat cells therefore THC gets discharged into the bloodstream so the liver and kidneys can eliminate them.
Fastest Way to Get THC Out of Your System
Eliminating THC takes time. Hence, the only option for fast detoxification is to hide its presence. The following is a list of methods that will come in handy if you have to pass a drug test in 24 hours or less. These methods won’t detox your body of toxins, but they will mask THC for 3 to 5 hours. This is enough time to deliver a test sample.
So, here are the working methods:
- Certo Sure Jell + Gatorade: Mix the Sure Jell with a bottle of Gatorade energy beverage and drink it to hide THC & pass a urine drug test. The fruit pectin is supposed to bind with THC residues and leave the system with stool. Gatorade contains lots of sugar which prevents the release of THC from fatty tissues into urine.
- Detoxify Mega Clean: this is another working way to mask metabolites for passing a urine test. This will work similar way to the previous method but the result will have more chance for success as it has potent ingredients along with diuretics and high levels of sugar (which is necessary for stopping the release of THC into urine as we discovered in the previous method description).
- Pizza + Hydrogen Peroxide: This method is for passing a saliva drug test. Pizza contains loads of oil thus, eating it means the fat binds the THC metabolites and the remaining residues are removed when you swish the hydrogen peroxide solution in your mouth.
- Hair Home Detox: We don’t recommend this method since it damages hair follicles though a lot of people use it to pass a hair drug test. The remedy is similar to the Macujo method but does less hair damage. The method includes using Old Style Aloe Toxin Rid Shampoo, any salicylic acid acne treatment product, vinegar, liquid detergent, and a dying kit.
Bottom Line
Detoxing from THC naturally takes time and patience. You have to quit marijuana while switching to a healthy lifestyle and stay hydrated. It is the best possible way but if you end up using detox products, keep your expectations realistic.
A few of them may help some people but not work on others. The effectiveness of detox products varies. We have listed the best ways in “how to get THC out of your system” to beat all types of drug tests.