Fastest Ways to Get THC Out of Your System

Marijuana Detox: What You Need to Know

There’s nothing mysterious or magical about how marijuana leaves your system. It is, however, important to understand how this process works if you’re looking to be free of marijuana in your system by a certain date.

If you can understand how your body removes weed, you can then start looking at ways to speed along the process.

How our body removes weed: the basics

So, how does the human body actually remove marijuana from its system?

Despite what you might think, it’s actually a fairly simple process. When you ingest marijuana in any of its forms, it leaves behind compounds known as cannabinoids.

These cannabinoids are present in your urine, fat cells, and even hair cells, and your body has no particularly special way of getting rid of them. Instead, your body gets rid of these cells the same way it does everything else – by excretion.

In short, your body removes weed largely through urination and defection, though the cannabinoids in your hair follicles are also removed through hair growth and/or shedding. As such, any attempts to remove these compounds from your body have to follow the same processes as nature.

How long THC sticks around

The cannabinoid for which drug tests look is known as tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. This compound is detectable for different amounts of time depending on the test used.

The place that THC hangs around for the shortest amount of time is in your blood, as it’s only there for about thirty-six hours. It’s only in your saliva for a little bit longer, generally about forty-eight hours.

“Marijuana flower blooming medical cannabis plant. Source: depositphotos.com. Author: wollertz”

It does, however, stick around longer elsewhere. Detectable amounts of THC can be in your urine for up to three days and a month depending on whether or not you are a habitual user, for example.

The longest-lasting THC is found in hair follicles, as it can be detected there for up to three months.

Factors That Affect How Quickly You Metabolise THC

Note that at least insofar as urine is concerned, THC is a bit unpredictable in terms of how quickly it can be processed. A huge number of factors can influence how long it takes your body to metabolize THC, ranging from how often you exercise to the percentage of body fat that you have.

Even your diet and your personal metabolism can have a huge effect here. The biggest factor, though, is always going to be how much marijuana you ingest; those who smoke infrequently are less likely to have THC that sticks around in their systems for longer than the minimum amount of time.

How long is it detectable by drug tests

THC is generally detectable in your system by drug tests as long as it is present beyond trace amounts in your system. As you might imagine, though, that means that individual tests have different timelines.

You should fully expect a saliva test to be able to pick up traces of THC for up to three days, while a urine test might detect THC for over a month. Hair follicle tests are both the most reliable and most expensive, and they can detect THC in a hair follicle for up to three months.

How much THC is in my body

Smoking VS edibles

Oddly, how you consume marijuana can have an impact on how much THC remains in your body. While smoking sends a quicker dose of THC to your system, edibles actually cause the substance to take longer to process.

As such, edible users should expect to have more THC in their systems for longer.

Total body fat

THC and other cannabinoids are stored in your body fat. As such, they tend to stick around longer if you have a higher percentage of body fat.

As a rule, you should assume that the more body fat you have, the more likely it is that you have a greater amount of THC in your system during the lifespan of the cannabinoid.

Metabolism rate & overall health

A fast metabolism means the faster release of THC from your system. If you metabolize faster than normal, you can expect the THC to leave your system more quickly than normal.

If you have a slow system, though, the THC will stick around longer. Be careful with exercise, though – exercise breaks down fat cells, which can actually release THC into your system and cause short-term problems.

THC Detox: instructions

If you find yourself in need of a detox, it’s important that you do so safely. Taking some time to look at safe methods of detox will help you to get rid of the THC in your system without otherwise putting your health at risk.

Abstain from Marijuana

Let’s start with the obvious – if you’re going to detox, you have to start by stopping. Once you’re ready to detox, go cold turkey from marijuana in all of its forms.

If you’re not necessarily looking to beat a drug test, you may be able to safely and effectively detox just by waiting out the ninety-day timeframe of a follicle test.

Natural Detox

If getting rid of THC means getting it out of your system, a natural detox method is to simply push that process along. That means drinking plenty of water, pushing fluids whenever you can, and ensuring that you urinate often.

Is this going to clean you out in a day? Absolutely not! It is, however, also the safest way to detox.

A Winning Diet

If a food causes water retention or fat cell build-up, it’s bad for getting rid of THC. If you’re looking to purge your system, it’s time to look at nutrient-rich, healthy foods like fruits and vegetables.

Adding in foods with plenty of vitamins and minerals can also help to cut the time it takes you to detox.

Get Sweaty

Yes, sweat. Remember, you’re eliminating THC whenever you’re getting moisture out of your body.

This doesn’t mean that good steam is going to help you to beat a test, but it does mean that exercise is going to help to more quickly get THC out of your system.

Get Really, Really Hot

Yes, increasing your body temperature can help here. Again, higher body temperature equals more sweat equals more THC leaving your body.

“Closeup of young fresh marijuana, medicinal plant. Source: depositphoto.com. Author: Bezfous”

If you can crank up the heat, you can speed along your detox process.

Same Day Cleansers

Are there same-day cleaners on the market? Yes. Do they all work? Not necessarily.

These products can definitely fool a urine test, but they’re not foolproof. Only invest in them if you have no other choice.

The Water, Vitamin B, and Creatine Cocktail

This lovely cocktail does a little bit of everything. It helps to keep you healthy, it’s great for flushing fluids out of your body, and it wreaks havoc with THC tests.

All in all, this is the kind of go-to cocktail that can help you to pass a test if you don’t have time to truly detox.

Special Detox Drinks

Detox drinks aren’t made to really detox you; instead, they’re made to put you in a place where a urine test can’t detect the THC in your system for a few hours. Most of these drinks use the cocktail mentioned above, along with some other proprietary ingredients.

The cocktails that works the best are those that have very specific timing instructions.

Synthetic Urine

If all else fails, there’s synthetic urine. Synthetic urine is hit or miss, of course, and it can definitely get you in trouble if you’re caught using it.

If you do use synthetic urine, make sure to get something that includes a warming kit because urine tests can only occur when the product is within a certain temperature range.

Stay Calm and Marijuana Detox On

The important thing to remember here is that true detoxing can’t be done in a day. It will highly depend on your own personal metabolism and usage rates, but it’s also going to be impacted by the methods you choose.

You really do owe it to yourself to keep calm and keep following your detox plan.

How much time will it take?

Unfortunately, there’s not a clear answer here. If you’re a first-time smoker who is just looking to get the pot out of his or her system, a natural detox could take care of you in a couple of days.

If you are a habitual smoker, though, you may need a few months. Regardless, you’ll only know when you’re clean when you are able to pass a test.

Final Thoughts

The best time to think about detoxing is when you’re not in an emergency situation. If you know you have a test coming up in the future or you’re thinking of changing jobs, take a break from marijuana and focus on your health.

In time, you’ll be able to figure out a detox schedule that works for your needs.