When arming yourself with the answer to how long edibles stay in your system, you never have to worry about whether you’ll pass a drug test or not. So read on!
By the end of this article, you’ll not only better understand what edibles are and how your body processes edibles— but you’ll also be well on your way to passing that random drug testing with flying colors!
What Are Cannabis Edibles?
Take your favorite food or drink, infuse some cannabis— and ta-da! You’ve found yourself on a tasty road to a more prolonged, more intense high.
You can make cannabis edibles at home (although getting dosage and taste right takes a lot of practice) or purchase them (where you can trust the professionals to give you accurate dosage with an excellent taste).
If you’ve never tried consuming edibles, we recommend trying something low dose.
CBD Edibles vs. Cannabis Edibles
CBD edibles and THC edibles are both types of consumed marijuana products. But while they are both found in marijuana and hemp— they are actually different chemicals. Your body processes edibles with THC entirely differently than how it processes edibles with CBD!
When you eat CBD edibles, your body doesn’t have a psychoactive response (the feeling of being high), but they can potentially help relieve pain associated with various medical conditions.
Cannabis edibles, on the other hand, have not only promising medical uses but also have psychoactive effects that produce the high most people associate with marijuana.
How Does Your Body Process Edibles?
Before we dive into answering the question “how long do edibles stay in your system?”, it’s helpful to understand how edibles work their way through your digestive system.
While smoked marijuana makes its way into your bloodstream almost immediately (as soon as your lungs absorb it), edibles take much longer to absorb into your bloodstream.
Edibles first have to make it through your digestive tract to be absorbed.
The amount of other food your body has to process in your system and the speed of your metabolism will determine how quickly your body processes edibles.
For example, if you had a big meal before eating an edible, it will take longer to feel the effects.
You can generally expect to feel the effects somewhere around an hour after you’ve consumed marijuana edibles.
How Long Do Edibles Stay In Your System?
Like smoking marijuana, once marijuana edibles find themselves in your digestive system, your body begins metabolizing THC.
According to The Cannigma, within five days, your body will have excreted about 80-90% of the marijuana metabolites from the edibles you ate, but the other 10-20% can take weeks longer to fully metabolize and even longer for those with excess body fat.
That’s because THC is a lipid-soluble chemical, meaning it binds to fat cells in your body.
How long will a test be able to detect THC in your system?
But how long edibles stay in your body isn’t the only question you may be asking— another common question is also: how long can marijuana edibles be detected in your system?
How long THC can be detected in your system depends on the quantity consumed but ranges anywhere from 4 hours to 90 days after you eat an edible. Also, it can depend on how frequently you consume cannabis and what type of test you use.
Here are a few common types of tests and how long they’ll detect THC in your body:
How long do edibles stay in your blood?
If you have to take a blood test the day after you consumed edibles— no need to fear!
Most likely, THC won’t be detected in your blood after about 4 hours, according to a Czech study on PubMed.gov. So as long as you aren’t going into your blood draw high, you are likely in the clear!
Keep in mind; this isn’t necessarily going to be true if you consume edibles or other THC products on the regular.
In that case, your blood could pop hot for THC days after you’ve consumed cannabis products.
How long do edibles stay in your urine?
THC levels can be detected in urine tests for at least a few days longer than they will in your blood.
According to the Mayo Clinic, if it’s your first time eating an edible or using THC, you can expect a urine test to detect THC for a few hours up to about 3 days.
The more you consume THC, the longer the time frame for a positive urine test. But even if you are smoking or consuming marijuana edibles every day for an extended period of time, your urine sample will likely come back positive for up to 45 days after you last ingested or smoked marijuana.
How long do edibles stay in your hair?
It’s pretty unusual to see drug testing done by analyzing hair.
The Society for Human Resource Management says only about 7% of employers test their workers this way. Hair drug testing is most effective at showing if someone is a daily user of marijuana.
According to a Drug and Alcohol review study, “hair analysis can be used as a qualitative indicator of heavy (daily or near-daily) cannabis consumption within the past three months. However, this approach is unable to reliably detect light cannabis consumption.”
Edibles and Drug Tests: What You Should Know
If you just found out about a random drug test or are worried one might be in your future, there are some steps you should take and some myths you should avoid to put yourself in the best position to pass.
Marijuana Detox: Myth or Fact?
Do You Metabolize THC Faster By Working Out?
Working out to metabolize THC isn’t only a myth—according to an article on PubMed.Gov, it can actually have the opposite effect! The study concludes that exercising right before a drug test may cause your fat cells to release THC and make you more likely to test positive!
Do You Metabolize THC Faster By Drinking Cranberry or Lemon Juice?
While cranberry and lemon juices are far from the most sure-fire ways to pass a drug test, it might be worth trying if the stakes are low and you’re looking for a cheap cleanse.
Both cranberry juice and lemon juice are known to help rid your body of toxins, so the gist is: they may help you “flush out” the THC levels from your body quickly, but they aren’t going to hide or camouflage what’s in your system.
The San Francisco Gate article also recommends drinking beet juice and blueberry juice to give your liver an extra boost in eliminating toxins.
Do You Metabolize THC Faster By Chugging Water?
Drinking more water means spending more time in the bathroom flushing toxins down the drain (literally). So go ahead, drink up! There’s no harm in being well hydrated!
What Products Are Most Reliable For A THC Detox?
If an upcoming drug test is something you are worried about and taking seriously, it’s probably wise to steer clear of juice cleanses and opt for something a bit more reliable.
Passyourtest.com offers an ultra detox program for $150 that gives you all the tools you need to remove toxins from your body within ten days permanently. In addition, it comes with a 100% guarantee, so you can get rid of toxins fast without having to stress about your upcoming drug test.
So the short answer to the questions “how long do edibles stay in your system?” and “how long will edibles be detected in your system” is… it depends.
But luckily, there are products out there like the detox program on passyourtest.com that mean you don’t need to worry about it after you eat edibles.
Enjoy your edibles, detox, and don’t stress!
