Detection time of cannabis in the body

For how long is cannabis (marijuana, hashish, etc.) detectable in the body?

Many consumers of cannabis products wonder for how long marijuana or hashish will remain detectable in the body. Afterall, nobody wants to risk losing their driving license or to test positive as part of an investigation. The detection time of cannabis strongly depends on how intensively it was consumed prior to the test and which method will be used for testing.

The detection time for blood, saliva, urine and hair testing is very different.

Detection times of cannabis in blood

In blood, active THC can only be detected for a few hours after consumption, whereas the degradation product/metabolite THC-COOH can be detected for a longer time frame in cases of regular consumption. A blood test is usually performed following an accident or during traffic control by the police - if the result of the rapid test performed was positive.

Detection times of cannabis in saliva

It is difficult to detect cannabis consumption in saliva – it remains detectable only for a few hours, after which individuals will test negative. The saliva rapid tests detect exclusively active THC and not its metabolite (degradation product) THC-COOH. It is only possible to detect cannabis consumption with a saliva test if the consumption took place within a few hours before the test.

Detection times of cannabis in urine

The question of how long cannabis consumption remains detectable in urine is not straightforward. Here it is really important to have a background on the ‘consumer behavior’. In cases of one-time consumption, it can be said with relative certainty that the detection time is 1-3 days after intake. However, if a person has consumed cannabis more than once, regularly or heavily over a period of time, the time span for detection becomes substantially greater. Since it is the metabolite THC-COOH examined in urine tests, the question about the time of consumption can usually not be answered very precisely. With regular cannabis consumption, the metabolite THC-COOH accumulates faster than urine can eliminate it from the body. Therefore, there are cases in which a urine test can still be positive for 2-3 months, even if consumption has not taken place since this time. This can have disastrous consequences, particularly in the case of police traffic control, when urine rapid tests are performed. The Drug-Detect Cannabis (THC) urine test allows you to test urine samples for traces of THC just as the police do, for example.

Detection times of cannabis in hair

In hair, consumed substances are permanently “stored”. This means the longer the individual’s hair, the greater the chance of cannabis use detection in a drug screening. Here, one assumes an average hair growth of about 1cm per month. Subsequently, this means that a hair strand of 6 cm is a record of consumption behavior over the past 6 months. Our Forensis Hair Follicle Test Cannabinoids (THC) is such a test which can be ordered at home and performed both privately or for legal matters.

Here you can find an overview of the detection times of many other drugs in saliva.