I, like many of my fellow Nexians, enjoy the use of that beautiful green leafy plant, marijuana. I realize that for various reasons cannabis is not for everyone, and unfortunately it's use conflicts with some people's jobs (meaning drug tests).

The more I researched into the whole drug testing enterprise, the more I realized that drug test's primary purpose is deterrence. So, I did a study of my own. By no means should my results be considered typical, or should anyone else assume their body will react the same. We all have different physiology.

Quick Drug Testing Background:

The common urinalysis test is known as the SAMHSA-5. It looks for five of the most common drugs, opiates, cannabanoids, amphetimines, cocaine, and phencyclidine (PCP). We are specifically worried about the cannabanoids. All other substances are generally only testable for a few days afterwards, even after a period of regular use.

The test for the cannabanoids does not actually search for THC, but instead looks for the body's metabolites. The industry standard for cannabis is 50 nanograms per milliliter of urine.

My Tests:

I am not a regular user of cannabis, partly due to the fact that I do have to worry about the random urine test. There is much documentation about the regular use and its effects on how long it will take to test clean. Generally, a daily user may take up to a month to test clean, a few times a week user may take about 1-2 weeks, and a once a month user may take only a few days. This last category is what I aimed to test.

The kidneys are the blood filters of the body. They remove toxins and other unwanted chemicals from the blood and body. The metabolites caused from the breakdown of THC in the body are among these filtered out chemicals. This is why urine tests are so common and practical, because they offer the most concentrated fluid in which to find some specific chemicals.

My tests were conducted using the first urination of the day. The body's metabolism slows during sleep, but the kidneys still keep filtering. Often, my body becomes dehydrated over night. The result is more concentrated urine that has been accumulating for 8+ hours. If any test will give a positive, it's the first pee of the day.

Six times I have tested myself the following morning of an evening using cannabis. Each time tested was at least 3 weeks from last cannabis use, often a month or two apart. On all six tests, the first morning after (about 8 to 10 hours after use) came up as expected "positive" test. 67% of the tests taken the following morning (about 32 hours after cannabis use) came up clean. So that's 4 out of 6 that I was clean in under 2 days. That is quite astounding! The other two tests I came up clean the following day, so about 56 hours later.

Generally, when I use cannabis I don't look to get very intoxicated. The four tests that came clean quicker were conducted using medium to weak potency bud, and about 3-5 good hits. The other two tests that took longer were done using high potency weed, and getting quite far out there. It is suspected, but not confirmed, that the high potency weed was a Sativa, or high Sativa hybrid due to the trippy and strong nature of the experience. What this indicates, is that potency/amount used also contributes to the lengthening of the testing window. The two longer tests certainly contained more THC than the other four, just based in personal experience, and the fact that the other four were conducted with old plant material. This is by no means a concrete explanation. other factors may alter results, such as hydration, exercise, and diet, among others.

Conclusion:

This test is by no means definitive, or even very scientific. To truly know how the body will react, one must see for them self. These tests do show that it is very possible to live a more free lifestyle, even with the presence of drug testing in the workplace. While I would not consider it for myself, it is very possible for a person to have some cannabis on a Friday evening, and test clean Monday.

There are other questions left untested. Such as the effect of administration, does eating cannabis change the detection time compared to smoking? What effect does hydration have? How long might it take after two weeks of daily use?

Perhaps in time, I may have the pleasure of testing these other questions. Big grin

Sources:
The tests I conducted are very much like the ones conducted here.

Other background information (which is mostly common knowledge) on drug testing came mostly from Erowid.com

It's interesting that you bring this topic up because I can recall my one friend telling me that despite the fact that he smokes everyday (and has been for years), he's never tested positive for weed with any test he's taken... his theory was that he has really strong kidneys, he has quite a high tolerance for cannabis so it could be that as well

This is helpful Mr. Peabody.

Can you give a synopsis of your body fat %, hydration habits and any other pertinent info?

Diet? Are you a vegan or do you eat at Burger King 3x a week?

Thanks

Thanks for the great questions!

I am average to a little above average body fat. I don't know the percentage, but at my slimmest I weigh 165 pounds (75 kilos) and my heaviest about 185 pounds (84 kilos). I am 5' 11" (1.8 m). If that tells you anything.

I eat a fairly well balanced diet, but I do tend to eat more fats and proteins than the average person. It works for my body. I have eggs in the morning and usually fruit for lunch and a mixture of carbs and protien for dinner. Though, in the winter time I can't keep myself away from the sweets, and usually put on a few pounds!

I am usually slightly dehydrated. I drink water through the day, but often not quite enough.

I also don't exercise very often.


I tried my best to keep my daily intake normal when I did the tests. I think upping my hydration would definitely help. I am not sure about changing diet. On one hand, if I ate more fat it might keep the metabolites around longer, since they are fat-soluble. On the other, eating more fat tends to let the body release fat from the cells at a different rate, so maybe more fat would get rid of metabolites faster.

It can also do with the state your body is in. Say you have been starting a new low-calorie diet. The body usually responds to this by holding on to the fat reserves as it is being stressed. This may slow the release of metabolites.

So there's a lot that can go in to it. The main thing I wanted to show was that a drug testing program is only really a deterrent. It doesn't have to stop someone from enjoying weed as long as they are careful about it.