Detoxing from THC

Whether you are applying for a new job that requires a drug test, or are taking a tolerance break, sometimes you need to detox from THC. In this chapter of our Body Guide, you’ll learn about detoxing from the cannabinoid THC.

Defining Your THC Detox

Essentially speaking, detoxing refers to removing substances from the body and abstaining from consumption. If you’re an occasional consumer, this process will be straightforward. If you’re a chronic cannabis consumer, meaning daily, the process is more complicated.

For a daily consumer or a medical patient, detoxing from THC can come with some unpleasantries, including irritability, a decrease in appetite, trouble sleeping, and increased mental health issues. Whether the above should be considered withdrawal symptoms or a mere result in the discontinuation of medicine is up for debate.

It is important to point out that the phrase ‘detoxing’ from THC could be a bit of a misnomer because science tells us that the toxicity level of THC is extremely low. No fatal overdoses have ever been recorded from consuming cannabis.

How Long Does THC Stay in Your System?

THC can stay in your system anywhere from 72 hours up to a month, or more in rare cases. How long THC stays in your system is based on a few factors, like:

• How Much Cannabis You Consume and How Frequently
• Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
• Exercising and Eating Habits
• Your Metabolism

People who eat healthily, exercise regularly, and have a low BMI tend to flush their bodies faster. However, detoxing from anything is a great time to increase your exercise frequency, eat better and drink more water. Avoiding fatty foods and junk food can also help speed up the detox process.

Foods that are high in sugar, unhealthy fat, and sodium will slow your metabolism because they retain more water. Your best choice is your diet of leafy greens and other veggies, lean meats, and fruits. The natural way to flush THC out of your system is to eat well, exercise, and simply abstain from consuming.

How Long Does THC Stay in Your Urine?

We learned a general overview of how long THC stays in your body as a whole. But how long does THC stay in your urine? When most people want to know how long THC stays in your system, they are typically asking about urine. THC can be detected in your urine for 3 to 30 days, depending on many factors we’ve discussed above.

THC is a lipid-soluble compound, meaning this cannabinoid binds to your body fat. Alcohol may be out of your system in a matter of hours, but cannabis takes longer. Contrary to the prohibitionist mindset, the amount of time cannabis stays in your system has little to no impact on its relative dangers as a recreational substance.

For the average drug test, THC can stay in the urinary tracts of most humans for up to 30 days. If you’re a daily consumer, you will want to give it all 30 days before you expect to pass a drug test. You may also want to purchase an at-home THC. While inexpensive and perhaps not very effective, these kits can provide peace of mind.

How Long Does THC Stay in Your Hair and Blood?

What about your hair and blood? How long does it stay there? As you may have guessed, it mostly depends on the consumer’s body, their frequency and method of consumption, and the sensitivity of the drug test.

THC is typically undetectable in your blood after 4-5 hours of consumption. THC stays in your hair the longest, sometimes up to 90 days. However, hair follicle tests are unreliable and can cause false positive drug tests.

How To Get Weed of Of My System

If you are asking the question “How to Get Weed Out of My System,” we are going to assume that you’re new to our platform and need a quick answer. Unfortunately, there isn’t one. If you’re facing a drug test and you’re worried you’ll come up positive for THC, the best thing you can do is drink plenty of water and abstain. Nothing sobers you up like time.

Bunk Detoxes

When you need to flush your system from just about anything, there exists a plethora of misinformation and claims that are simply not backed by science. Here are a few bunk detox methods that are not backed by any real science:

• Vinegar Detox Teas and Drinks
• Detox Teas and Drinks
• Cranberry Juice
• Niacin or Goldenseal

While the above might be healthy for your body for other reasons, there is currently no solid science to support the notion that any of it will help you flush THC from your system any faster.

Do You Need a THC Tolerance Break?

Sometimes, we all may need to take a tolerance break, which is a temporary and deliberate hiatus from consuming a substance or medication. For cannabis consumers, taking breaks allows our bodies to reset themselves to the cannabinoid THC.

Similar to eating spicy food (capsaicin) and taking Over-the-Counter pain medication, your body builds up a tolerance to a substance. This is true for cannabis, but in a different way, of course. Cannabinoids like THC that we put in our bodies interact with the endocannabinoid system or the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). The ECS is a complex, dynamic and responsive system that knows when it feels overwhelmed with THC.

To compensate for feeling overwhelmed, our ECSs essentially become desensitized. As such, we require an increased potency of cannabis, or more frequent consumption to feel the same effects. In general, the more cannabis we frequently consume, the higher our tolerance gets. So if you are consuming cannabis daily, you may benefit more from a tolerance break than the average consumer.

Who Should Take a Tolerance Break?

Patients who need their cannabis medicine daily might be unable to take tolerance breaks. That’s a different discussion entirely, one that you should have with your doctor. If they can do so, taking a tolerance break can ease the brain fog that can accompany chronic cannabis consumption.

Building up a tolerance to anything depends on the substance and the individual. Researchers have yet to fully grasp the way our bodies adapt to tolerance breaks. Brain images from regular cannabis consumers indicate a decreased number of THC receptors in the brain. In similar studies done on rats, males tend to develop tolerance breaks faster. But such studies have yet to be replicated in humans.

Don’t Neglect Your Mental Health

When we take a break from consuming cannabis, it can have a significant impact on our mental health. Cannabis is a natural mood booster for many consumers, and cutting yourself off from it can cause depression, mood swings, and other mental health ailments. Pay attention to your mental health and consider adopting practices like meditation, or remove yourself from stressful situations if possible.

Detoxing from THC or taking a tolerance break can be positive for any cannabis consumer. It saves money because not only are you buying less, but you will also need less to ‘feel it’ when you start back up again.

Cannabis advocates argue that the plant is akin to alcohol and that workplaces should no longer test for the drug if it’s legal in their states. Many big-name brands and corporate employers agree, including Amazon, are adopting workplace drug testing protocols that no longer include cannabinoids like THC.

What We Learned: Detoxing From THC

When learning about how cannabis impacts our bodies, the longevity in our systems is one of the most important things for consumers. Here’s what we learned in this chapter:

• The phrase ‘detoxing’ from THC is a misnomer because science tells us that the toxicity level of THC is extremely low.
• For daily consumers, detoxing from THC may come with irritability, decreased appetite, and trouble sleeping.
• THC can stay in your system anywhere from 72 hours up to a month, or more in rare cases. This timeframe depends entirely on your body.
• THC can be detected in your urine for 3 to 30 days, depending on several factors.
• THC is typically undetectable in your blood after 4-5 hours of consumption.
• THC stays in your hair the longest, sometimes up to 90 days. However, hair follicle tests are unreliable and can cause false positive drug tests.
• People who eat healthily, exercise regularly, and have a low BMI tend to flush their bodies faster.
• A healthy diet and exercise will help detox your system faster.
• There is much misinformation online about detoxing from THC, including bunk detoxes not backed by much scientific data.
• Cannabis consumption breaks can have an impact on our mental health.
• Many employers, including Amazon, are adopting workplace drug testing protocols that no longer include cannabinoids like THC.

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