The THC blood tests, urine tests, and even hair follicle tests used by employers to see if their employees and prospective employees use drugs, are in sharp contrast to the increasing legalization of cannabis herb in the United States. While medical and recreational marijuana laws are changing, company policy about cannabis has not.

Cannabis users faced with blood, urine, or hair follicle tests to detect THC can be forced to make a choice; either quit smoking cannabis or perpetually risk their jobs and opportunities for future employment. Most people can’t afford to abandon their employment just because companies are coming down hard on cannabis use, and therefore decide to quit smoking cannabis.

Just as there have been advances in THC drug testing in recent years, there have also been advances in THC and cannabis detoxing. Without using something to accelerate the process, one can test positive for THC for an unpredictable length of time.

Even if a cannabis smoker quits smoking, it can take a long time before they can pass a THC urine test or hair follicle test. What’s worse, just how long it takes for THC to finally leave their bodies is highly unpredictable, and depends on the individual as well as the situation. Thankfully, there are inexpensive at home drug tests that may help check the progress of a THC detox.

Often Cannabis users look for and apparently find ways to cheat the THC drug test, including many products sold to enable cannabis smokers to pass urine tests, hair follicle tests, and blood tests. The big question is, are these methods reliable enough to count on, with so much at stake?

Most cannabis users want a fast answer on what works, and how long to wait before taking a blood test, urine test, or hair test. These questions are hard to answer in a general way because it is hard to quantify how much THC is going to be found in a cannabis user’s blood or urine at any given point in time.

In many ways, drug testing is unfair to the cannabis user, especially the urine test. While most drugs are out of the system in a matter of hours or days, with a highly predictable time frame for passing out of the body, THC can show up in a urine test for 77 days or even longer, with many variables.

The urine test for Cannabis is also unfair to overweight people because they hold far more THC in their fat cells and it can take much longer for heavy people to detox. Some light cannabis users can be free of THC in their urine in only three days. Most of the time, it takes 10 to 30 days without smoking cannabis to yield a clean urine sample according to Herb.

Urine Test: 3-77 days [10 – 30 days for regular consumers, extreme case can take up to 100 days]

Blood Test: 1-7 days [1-2 days for light consumers]

Hair Test: 90 days [some sources say 110 days]

Blood tests for cannabis are designed to reveal only what the subject has done in the past week at most according to Herb. They were designed to determine intoxication levels for DUI situations according to The Clean.

Urine tests are the most economical way to test for cannabis use. The urine tests are based not on actual THC levels in the blood, rather it looks for THC metabolites in the urine.

THC hair follicle tests are used to gain data about the subject’s long-term drug history. Interestingly, hair follicle tests say nothing about the subject’s behavior over the past few days according to Hair Follicle Drug Test Info.

Employers who use hair follicle drug tests can see which drugs the subject has used in the past 90 to 110 days. Tests can be devised to check usage that dates even further back simply by using a longer hair sample.

Former cannabis users simply have to wait until the time is up, to take a hair follicle drug test. While some shampoos are on the market to strip the hair of such substances, they are costly and there is no certainty they will work.

THC blood tests, urine tests, and hair follicle tests reflect how the body metabolizes the THC in cannabis. After inhaling cannabis smoke or vapor, the THC flows through the bloodstream but often ends up in the fat cells as well as being excreted by the kidneys, bowels, and sweat glands. When fat is burned, THC is re-released into the body. This can happen unpredictably, months after the subject has quit.

THC from cannabis is stored in the fat cells, therefore heavier people who smoke cannabis are more likely to store THC longer than thin people who smoke cannabis. Frequent cannabis smokers and people who have smoked cannabis for many years or even decades have more THC stored in their fat cells than more recent users.

Former cannabis smokers, especially those overweight smokers experience a situation where THC has a sort of half-life, as levels of THC from former cannabis use fluctuate in the bloodstream. Planning months ahead for a drug test, and abstaining from cannabis for the entire time is the most certain ways to pass a drug test, but it can mean going a long period without a job.

In addition to abstaining from cannabis, former cannabis users can try to accelerate the reduction of cannabis in their bodies. Most products focus on a temporary negation or masking of THC in the urine, blood or hair for a few hours, but if one has quit, at least for the present, then why not totally detox and get cleaned up faster.

Gatorade for detox [Image by Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock]

Quitting cannabis can be difficult but many of the things that help subjects detox, can also make them feel better and improve their quality of life. Taking vitamins, blood cleansing herbs, and fruit pectin can improve a subject’s health dramatically, especially those who also want to lose weight.

THC from cannabis accumulates in the cells of the body, especially fat cells. THC from the fat cells can be excreted through the bowels, kidneys and sweat glands. Herbal blood purifiers like goldenseal, echinacea, burdock, dandelion, milk thistle and even guarana can help remove THC from the blood and other cells according to Herb.

THC from cannabis smoking can be expelled through the kidneys more quickly when facilitated by the herbs mentioned above, and plenty of water. Those who plan to pass a urine test, blood test or hair follicle test without quitting depend on the herbs and chemicals, but companies have gotten smarter. They test for some herbs like goldenseal, in urine tests, but these herbs clear out of the body much more quickly than THC, so one can use them, just not a few days before the test.

Another great way to detox from cannabis is through the bowels. By mixing Sure-Jell fruit pectin, powdered Gatorade, and water, one can not only remove THC from the body faster, one can also facilitate weight loss, reduce feelings of hunger while dieting, and even stabilize blood sugar according to Live Strong.

To prepare THC detox drink simply mix one gallon of water, 4 scoops of dry Gatorade powder and one 1.75 ounce package of dry Sure-Jell fruit pectin according to Herb. It is best to mix the dry ingredients first to prevent the pectin from clumping, then mix it in using a blender one spoonful at a time, blending between spoons. Pectin clumps when wet and once it does, it is hard to break up the clumps.

Exercise and saunas are a great way to detox from cannabis early in the process. Exercise will bring THC out of the fat cells. This can temporarily spike the amount of THC in the blood by as much as 15 percent but it also removes the THC, especially when combined with herbal blood cleansers and fruit pectin methods.

Getting active helps with cannabis detox [Image by Baiajaku/Shutterstock

It is confusing when people say don’t exercise before the test or don’t take goldenseal before the test. These people are thinking of a short-term process intended to mask THC. It is better to say, don’t exercise within a few days of testing. It is a good idea to do these things in the weeks after quitting cannabis but not immediately before testing.

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Taking vitamin supplements is always a good idea. B complex can be especially important during stressful times. B vitamins provide energy and a sense of confidence. With a regimen of supplements, blood purifiers, and vitamins, quitting cannabis is much easier, and it is possible to reduce the wait time before applying for that new job.

Detoxing from Cannabis, and removing THC from the body before a blood, or urine test can reduce the wait time significantly in most cases.

[Featured Image by ShutterstockProfessiona/Shutterstock]