[UPDATED and bumped: Paul Armentano joins me on Today's Stash to discuss this study. Other notable findings are that one's THC-COOH levels do not decline in a linear fashion and that even during long periods of abstinence, you can actually test positive even after a series of negative tests. They even found that for heavy smokers, THC-COOH levels don't reach their peak until a few days into the period of abstinence, and some even tested positive 25 days into abstinence!
In other words, if you quit toking on Saturday, you peed negative on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then you pee positive on a Friday, it doesn't mean you started toking again during the week. This will be a critical point for defense attorneys to make to a court when a prosecutor claims a probationer's positive urine screen means he's started using marijuana again.]
Every Stasher knows that cannabis is the worst drug there is… when it comes to passing a drug test!
When your school or employer tests your urine for drugs, they aren’t actually detecting THC in your system. (THC, of course, is the psychoactive ingredient in pot that gives you the “high”.) What they are detecting is the presence of inactive marijuana metabolites, known scientifically as THC-COOH, or carboxy THC. The presence of these metabolites in your system do not mean that you are “high”; they mean that you have been “high” sometime in the past, from hours to days to even a week or two.
This is why we at NORML fight so much against urine screening to detect drug impairment, because most cannabis consumers who would test positive for THC-COOH aren’t impaired at the time of testing. Most of us are responsible consumers who might smoke a joint in the evening to relax or on the weekend to unwind, but we never would come to work impaired on cannabis, any moreso than your average weekend beer drinker would down a six-pack and a couple of shots before clocking in. Firing someone for THC-COOH in their system because you think they’re stoned on the job is a bit like firing someone for having a bottle opener on their keychain because you think they’re drunk on the job.
Now, new research from the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA) delves into exactly how long it takes regular cannabis consumers to produce both positive and negative urine screens.
An important issue for drug-testing programs is the ability to distinguish recent cannabis use from residual drug excretion. Exceptionally long detection times have been reported for cannabinoid metabolites in the urine of frequent drug users during abstinence. During the terminal elimination phase, an individual may produce consecutive specimens that test positive, negative, and positive again over time. This makes interpretation of cannabinoid urine drug test results difficult if it is necessary to determine whether positive results are indicative of new drug use or reflective of previous cannabis exposure.
Data were divided into three groups, 0–50, 51–150, and > 150 ng/mg, based on the creatinine corrected initial THCCOOH concentration. There were statistically significant correlations between groups and number of days until first negative and last positive urine specimens; mean number of days were 0.6 and 4.3, 3.2 and 9.7, and 4.7 and 15.4 days, respectively, for the three groups. These data provide guidelines for interpreting urine cannabinoid test results and suggest appropriate detection windows for differentiating new cannabis use from residual drug excretion.
Or in plain English, if you’re a light smoker, you need about five days to piss clean, a moderate smoker needs about ten days, and a heavy smoker needs fifteen days. Your mileage may vary based on what you smoke, how you smoke, when you smoke, what you weigh, how much fluid you drink, what you eat, and your own unique body chemistry, so if I were you, I’d double those figures. (And if you were me, you’d tell your employer you pee for enjoyment, not for employment, but I understand that not everyone is in such an enviable position.)
The study, “Urinary Elimination of 11-Nor-9-Carboxy-?9-tetrahydrocannnabinol in Cannabis Users During Continuously Monitored Abstinence”, appears in the October 2008 issue of the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.
Contact your elected representatives and urge them to 'Stop Arresting Marijuana Smokers'. 
It has gone on long enough , most have no idea what is being tested and all know there not testing for being impaired under the inference The drug test is a police watch a corporate intrusion which cause for the test is render past not present , The union, like carpenters union have distorted and destroy its membership given its signatory this goose step zealot enforcement powers for profit and it is has been used as a weapon where member where not told of the test and this is nothing more then an attack
read this paper if you really want to know about absorption and excretion rates. best one ive ever read. heavy on science though so not for the faint of mind. But good luck arguing this shit to a judge haha.
http://www.cannabis-med.org/data/pdf/2003-01-1.pdf
I can see crack,and all other hard drugs being punishable.Pot was legal in the 30′s,and it really helps with certain pain and mental problems..
So, the bigger question I see here is, if you are going to be a drug user, then why try to have a job that doesn’t want drug users at it? And if you want a job that doesn’t want drug users, then why use drugs?
hey im bugging i need help im 20 6,4 174lbs skinny fast metabolism
got to job corps had first piss test 800+ i have 33-43 days to take another urinalisis and get a 15 or below
or i go home and im screwed
will i pass i drink 100% cranberry juice vinegar and water all day
stop[ped smoking cold turkey
drinking this shit to the point of physical sickness
was everyday smoker
will i pass what are my chances
reply here or email me colbygenest@yahoo.com
Thank you America, land of the political bullshit
And we were brainwashed into beliving communism was the enemy
ALL POLITITIANS SERVE UP CANCEROUS CRAP whatever color flag they fly
I just love how the government puts more time, effort, money, and resources to finding and punishing pot smokers like myself, then they do for coke/ crack, meth, rape, and all of the other way worse shit there is out there. It’s bloody redonkulous IMO. I would NEVER and have NEVER used any drug or drank on any job i have done. That is so far against what i stand for, however I do smoke weed. Hell I have smoked weed, done shrooms, coke, and a host of others (I’m no virgin mary nor do I claim to be). However, I am a light smoker I guess. Once in a while to sleep at night or relax, and i do not do much other drugs any more. Just weed and alc (weed is not a drug IMO), yet I am still sitting here tweaking balls about how long ago i smoked a bowl because i fucking neeeeed this job. go figure. I love my country but fuck me it is going titts up so quick you can get whiplash.
Im confused, Ive been smoking 3-7 hits daily for a week, before that, I smoked as much as I could all day every day. Id really like to know when to expect to be clean. I am 29, female, 5’5″, 120 pounds, fairly active, and I do take vitamins and drink a lot of water and wine, Please help me!!!!
Dreama
[...] detectable in the urine for up to 100 days or longer for a regular cannabis consumer and up to fifteen days for the casual consumer, even after quitting cold turkey. Metabolites in urine don’t tell you a driver is actually [...]
Fruit pectin, anyone???? This product is commonly found in your grocery store amongst the gelatin products, baking isle (presumably, grocer’s intended no pun here!) or wherever canning supplies are available for consumer purchase; it’s used in the canning process to preserve fresh produce in Mason Jars, after all. When a packet is added to 1 gallon of H2O, it’s alleged to successfully mask marijuana use temporarily giving sampled urine an apparent “clean-read”. The test subject must completely consume the mixture prior to bedtime on the eve of the scheduled test, urinating as needed. Consumption on the morning prior to testing of a B vitamin tablet (one which encompasses all varieties of the B vitamin available in supplement form, I’m guessing) has been alleged to replace color and nutrients, the lack of which may give away attempts to manipulate test results. Furthermore, I presume that adding a multi-vitamin and having a meal of some sort (at same time as the B vitamin) would be advisable in support of evidence of more well-rounded nourishment, maybe even letting the practitioner of the test know that vitamins are a regular part of the morning routine*, as well (*if this seems appropriate at the time: i.e. if questionnaire is given or subject is asked).
I have no suggestions as to urine expulsion strategies other than the obvious: don’t submit the 1st release of the day for testing and certainly, allow for the vitamins to metabolize prior to providing one’s sample. Pretty obvious, right?
I can’t say that I’ve personally been tested or ever had need for use of this tactic; this is why I use the word “alleged” a couple of times, so far. HOWEVER, not only was the individual who had originally advised me of this procedure as an alternative to testing positive someone I consider to be most competent in offering such advisement and aside from the fact that he’d found the info here on the NORML site…. BUT having myself advised family members and friends alike, I CAN SAY THIS FROM MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: NO ONE HAS FAILED TO GIVE A CLEAN TEST-SAMPLE AFTER FOLLOWING MY ADVICE AS OFFERED ABOVE. I can also say that a member of my family did describe to someone their prior success, which led to that person’s attempt to copy that success and their subsequent failure to do so. As my sibling recalled to me later on, the friend did not follow the procedure as directed.
I (and presumably, most people who visit this site) would love to see more info from those who’ve tried this method (with both successful and unsuccessful result), sharing detail of their exact application and execution of preparation for testing. I’d even more-so be interested to have access to any “official”, “scientific” data on the topic of masking one’s marijuana usage with ANY item currently available for consumer purchase (products both designed to aid in production of negative-read and those, like fruit pectin, which are not). Anyone with any bits or scraps of data are welcome to offer whatever they may have as well!
Of course, the fact that these tests are prevalent in workplace and probationary handlers’ protocol is unquestionably invasive and otherwise, inherently questionable and obviously, I’m opposed for reasons too numerous to mention but which sentiment I’m confident we all share. Still, my hopes are high for implementation of a new standard of logic to our country’s legal pursuits & practices!!
***RON PAUL FOLKS! RON PAUL!!!***
**SOAPBOX (sorry..):
DON’T BASE VOTES ON PARTY LINES!
VOTE FOR THE LOST, ORIGINAL AMERICA AND CONSTITUTION, PRIOR TO THE ABUSE & OVER-USE OF CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
(something you MAY have READ about or HEARD RUMOR of but sadly, won’t REMEMBER unless born closer to the LAST turn of CENTURY!)!!
FIND REPRESENTATIVES OF FREEDOM & CHOICE!
AVOID ANYONE WHO WOULD SPIN HOT-BUTTON ISSUES: ISSUES WHICH CULTIVATE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO THE PERSONAL CHOICES, MADE BY OTHER PEOPLE FOR THEIR OWN IMPLEMENTATION… PROVIDED SAID DECISION DIRECTLY AFFECTS NO OTHERS.
KEEP PERSONAL ISSUES LOCAL (OR EVEN BETTER: KEEP ‘EM PERSONAL)
BUT ABOVE ALL, KEEP ‘EM FREE OF FEDERAL LAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Although the host of this site may, or may not, answer many of the posts I see here, I still value any feedback and enjoy reading the others. But I do have a different type of question regarding the same topic, only a different purpose. I have noticed the fellow previous folks are concerned with testing in regard to employment.
I am on probation in the state of Texas, 1 year, misdemeanor B. When it comes to the state, they operate on a 30 day-ish basis and have for years. They don’t and won’t, allow a 15 to 45 day flexibility so,(my question is) why or what is the reason for a non- negotiable 30 day thing? The state seems to think what we all used to, that it takes +/- 28 days for pot to vanish. If it’s known that the time limit isn’t known or reliable then why is it this way? Wouldn’t it beat all if clean people have to cheat on a test with some divinely obtained clean samples and get caught? “You see, your Honor, I used cat pee because I was afraid that all the not smoking I haven’t done would show.” The cat is probably high though so choose wisely!
I have had to take 3 pee tests because my specific gravity was too low to detect metabolites even with the expensive kits to help. I am one of the chillest people and am all business during the day. Their loss but for now I cross my fingers.
I’ve been smoke free for 47 days,have gulped down Vale Perma Clean for the past 15 days and still tested positive tonight. I’ve burned for 30 years on a daily basis and weigh 245. Someone said I’m screwed for up to 90 days. Tell me it aint so. The Vale is a joke. Bad headaches and piss smells terrible. Pros would probably know I’m masking. Suggestions?
Because other things can show up as a false positive for the marijuana metabolite THC-COOH. See http://www.canorml.org/healthfacts/testing.tips.html
Does anyone know why a Urine Test will show positive for THC when the person taking the test hasn’t touched marijuana in over 20 years?
norml and all individuals involved , youre a godsend for the info you give. we are the SecondComing
My brother only wants access visits to his son. He used to smoke all day everyday (good quality buds) but totally quit when the courts said he had to pass urine tests before they would even consider giving him week end access.
Cold turkey for over 45 days and 2 urine tests still consider him to be an unfit druggy parent because they came back positive.
Are these stupid tests hurting his son by denying him rights to his biological father? He’s as straight as a nail as far as I’m concerned!!
I’ve just come off of a 30 day suspension (unpaid)!! DOT random drug test. I would NEVER go to work impaired. I’m not really a heavy smoker. But marijuana does relax me. Why is it that we promote PUBLIC use of alcohol, but PRIVATE use of marijuana can cost you your job!!
In engish this means that each and every person will metabloize THC at their own speed. there’s no set timeline on how fast the Delta_9 component will leave you system. 10-45 days
I’ve searched high and low and found that there is no “true” answer to the question about urine testing. However, I was interested in find out out what constitutes “heavy” usage. If I take 6 hits from my dug out a day, everyday, is that “heavy” usage? Does “heavy” represent the amount smoked or the frequency with which any amount is smoked?
If an employer does not trust you enough to think you may be intoxicated then ya probaly dont want to work there anyways. Yet another archaic example of “REEFER MADNESS” Next they will want to check your prostrate to see if you had sex the night before.HOHOHO!!!!!
Still, it’s a violation of our right to privacy and what we do on our own time is no one’s business. As long as we aren’t showing up to work stoned the only test they need to worry about is how well we perform at our specific job. At least there was a study… but not on how fucking unfair and discriminatory testing for THC metabolites really is.