The effects of marijuana are relatively brief, but traces of the drug may be detectable for a surprising long period of time. Before you use this drug, it’s important to know the answers to questions such as how does your body metabolize it, and how long does marijuana stay in your system?
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How Does Your Body Metabolize Marijuana?
Metabolization is the process through which your body breaks down food, medication, illicit drugs, and other substances so that they can be safely eliminated from your system.
For marijuana, the steps in this process vary depending on how the drug gets into your system:
- When you smoke marijuana, it is absorbed directly from your lungs into your bloodstream, where it is carried to cannabinoid receptors throughout your body. The direct passage from lungs to bloodstream to receptors is why smoking marijuana causes a rapid onset of effects.
- When you use gummies or other edibles that contain THC (the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana), the drug passes from your digestive system to your liver before being distributed to cannabinoid receptors via the bloodstream. This is why effects occur more slowly, though they may last longer and may become more intense than what you would experience from smoking marijuana.
When edibles pass from the digestive system to the liver, they go through what’s known as “first-pass” metabolism. At this stage, your liver converts the THC that you ingested into a metabolite called 11-hydroxy-THC, which can be more powerful than the THC itself. This metabolite is then delivered to cannabinoid receptors.
Marijuana that you smoke bypasses this initial phase of metabolism, which accounts for differences in onset, duration, and intensity of effects.
The THC and 11-hydroxy-THC molecules that attached to your cannabinoid receptors will eventually detach and pass through your liver, where they will be further broken down and prepared for elimination.
Research indicates that about 65% of marijuana exits your body in your feces, and about 20% is eliminated in your urine. The remaining 15% will pass via sweat, breath and other means.
How Long Does Marijuana Stay in Your System?
The speed with which marijuana and other substances are eliminated from your system is commonly measured in half-lives:
- One half-life is the amount of time that it takes for your body to eliminate one half of a substance.
- For example, if you ingested 10mg of THC, after one half-life you would have 5mg remaining. After a second half-life, the amount would be 2.5mg. After a third half-life, 1.25mg would still be present.
- It usually takes four to five half-lives for a substance to fall below a clinically significant level.
Experts estimate that the half-life of THC ranges from 18-30 hours. Using this estimate, it would take 72-150 hours, or about three to six days, for it to be eliminated from your system. However, as we will discuss in the next subsection, this duration can be influenced by a variety of personal factors.
Factors that Can Affect How Long Marijuana Stays in Your System
The half-life of THC is just one of many factors that can affect how long marijuana stays in your system. Others include:
- Your age, gender, weight, and metabolism
- How much marijuana you ingested
- The THC level of the marijuana you used
- How you ingested the marijuana (such as by smoking it or consuming an edible)
- If you consumed food along with edibles
- How long you have been using marijuana, and how much you typically use
Your history of marijuana use is especially influential. If you’ve only used marijuana once or twice, your body will eliminate a dose relatively quickly. But if you have a long history of heavy marijuana use, a similar dose may remain in your body for significantly longer.
How Long Will Marijuana Show Up on a Drug Test?
Often, someone who asks, “How long does marijuana stay in your system?” is actually looking for the answer to a different question: How long will marijuana show up on a drug test?
As with the answer to the first question, there’s no exact response to the second, as the many factors listed in the previous section can also influence how long you will test positive drug screen.
Also, the likelihood that you will test marijuana will also depend on what type of sample you provide for analysis. The general detection windows for the most common types of marijuana tests include:
- Blood: Up to 12 hours
- Saliva: 24-30 hours
- Urine: Up to 30 days
- Hair follicle: Up to 90 days (three months)
One of the reasons why urine and hair follicles have such extended detection windows is that drug screens don’t only look for the actual presence of THC in your system. They may also detect the metabolites that your body produces as it breaks down THC. Certain metabolites may remain present in your urine or hair follicles for an extended period after the THC itself has been fully eliminated.
How Can I Avoid Testing Positive for Marijuana?
The only certain way to avoid testing positive for marijuana is to never use the drug, or to stop using it well in advance of the test. If you’re not able to end your marijuana abuse for this or any other reason, it may be time to talk to a professional.
Contrary to a persistent myth, you can get addicted to marijuana. Symptoms of cannabis use disorder (which is the clinical term for marijuana addiction) include:
- Using marijuana in greater amounts or for longer than intended
- Having cravings for marijuana
- Spending significant amounts of time acquiring marijuana, using it, and recovering from its effects
- Failing to meet personal, academic, or work-related responsibilities due to your marijuana use
- Continuing to use marijuana even after incurring some type of harm (such as developing a health problem, being arrested, or losing a relationship) as a result of prior use
- Using marijuana in circumstances that are especially hazardous, such as combining it with other drugs or driving while under its influence
- Developing tolerance, which means you need to use larger amounts or more potent doses to experience the effects that you are seeking
- Developing withdrawal symptoms when you try to stop using marijuana
If you have been experiencing any of these symptoms, you should consult with your doctor or schedule an assessment with a reputable addiction treatment provider in your area. When you get the right type and level of care, you can end your marijuana use for good and begin to enjoy a healthier life in recovery.
Find Help for Marijuana Addiction in Atlanta
Valor Behavioral Health is a trusted provider of personalized outpatient care for adults and adolescents who have become dependent on marijuana and other addictive substances. We also offer dual diagnosis programming for patients whose addiction concerns are accompanied by co-occurring mental health challenges.
For details about how we can help you or a loved one, or to schedule a free consultation, please visit our Admissions page or call us today.
