An age-old question for many cannabis consumers has been, how long does cannabis stay in my system? There are several different answers to this question, and no one answer is right or wrong.
How Long Does Weed stay in the System of an Athlete?
The short answer for “how long does weed stay in my blood” is anywhere between 10 to 30 days. Many different factors determine how long cannabis will stay in your system.
The More You Consume, The Longer It Lingers
Just like if you sit in a room blazing joints all day, the smell will linger all day and even into the next, and in an essence, cannabis will do the same in your body. The more you consume, the longer it takes for your body to clean out typically.
Dosage
The dosage of cannabis that consumers utilize varies from consumer-to-consumer. Someone could only be smoking a puff or two at night of a 10 to 14% THC strain of cannabis, or they could be smoking 3 grams of 80% THC cannabis concentrates throughout the day. Obviously, this will affect how long cannabis stays in their system.
Body Weight
Body weight is another contributing factor. THC attaches itself to fat cells. This means that typically the more you weigh, the longer it takes for cannabis to get out of your system.
Amount of Consumption
Chronic cannabis consumers who have high tolerances and consume large amounts of cannabis, over long periods of time may experience cannabis in their system for several months after quitting entirely. This is because when cannabis has saturated all of the available fatty tissues in your body it heads to the last place for fatty tissue, the brain. When THC is saturated into the fatty tissues surrounding the brain it can show up in urine tests for several months after the consumer has stopped using cannabis.
The process of eliminating the compounds from Cannabis in the tissues lining the brain is a much longer one than that of removing them from fatty tissues in say, the stomach. If you only smoke every once in a while and it’s a small amount it’s a pretty safe bet that your system will be clean within 10 to 30 days.
How Long Will Weed Show Up for On Drug Tests?
There are four basic drug tests utilized by medical professionals. Each one is able to determine whether or not a person has THC in their system.
- Hair Follicle Tests– Reports indicate that cannabis consumption is detectable by hair follicle test up to 90 days after consuming. However, other reports indicate that hair follicle testing can reveal any drugs consumed by an individual throughout their lifespan.
- Saliva Tests– Chronic or heavy cannabis consumers can expect weed to show up in a saliva test for up to 30 days. The occasional consumer has a much shorter window averaging 1-3 days.
- Urine Tests – You can expect cannabis to remain detectable via urine test for 10 to 30 days.
- Blood Tests– Cannabis is said to be able to be detected for an average of one to two days with blood testing but in certain circumstances has been detected for as long as 25 days after consumption.
What Makes Weed Stay in My System?
Some people wonder why weed stays in their system so long. Drugs like cocaine are out of your system in a couple of days. Weed unfortunately sticks around for what seems like forever.
The reason weed stays in your system so long is because cannabis is a fat-soluble substance. Cannabinoids bind to fat cells. This makes it difficult to remove them from the body quickly. The more you consume and the more you weigh, the longer it will take to remove cannabinoids from your body.
How Can I Get Weed Out of My System Faster?
If you’re looking to clear your system of cannabis to pass a drug test or just for personal gratification there are some steps you can take to speed up the process. Stay away from eating fatty foods during the time you’re looking to detoxify your body from cannabinoids. Drink lots of water but don’t over consume your H2O. Eat healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains.
Exercise is another way to help effectively remove cannabis from your system. However, it is advised not to exercise for a couple of days before taking a drug test for cannabis. The reason is, the spike in your metabolism from exercising could pull out cannabinoids from deep within fat cells stored in your body.
So when it comes to the question, how long does weed stay in my system, the answer is it depends. It depends on how much you consume, how often, the type of test being utilized and various other factors.