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It may be legal to buy cannabis online in Canada, but that doesn’t mean that all employers are in favour of it. Those that aren’t often subject their employees to urine testing that tests for the presence of THC metabolites that show whether someone has consumed cannabis.
If you have a urine test on the horizon, then here’s what you need to know about how long cannabis remains detectable in your urine.
How Long Does THC Remain Detectable in Urine?
There’s no hard and fast formula that can answer this question definitively. Several factors govern the length of time for which THC remains detectable in urine. They include the frequency of use, the dose, diet and exercise habits and genetics. But before we discuss any of those, let’s explain what the urine test is looking for.
Urine tests are not designed to detect THC. Rather, they detect a metabolite known as THCCOOH that the body produces after THC consumption. This is essentially a waste product that’s produced after your body metabolizes THC, and approximately 15 to 20% of the THC consumed is excreted as metabolites in urine.
The Variables That Affect How Long Cannabis Is Detectable
One of the primary factors that determines the length of time for which you’ll return a positive test is the size of the actual dose itself. Essentially, the more potent your cannabis is, the more THC there is to metabolize and the higher the presence of metabolites in your urine.
Frequency of use is also another important contributor. First-time consumers may pass a urine test within 5 to 7 days. But if you’re a more habitual toker and consume cannabis daily, then you may require 4 to 6 weeks before urine metabolite concentrations drop below the detectable threshold.
These time lengths are not definitive by any means as everyone has different activity levels, genetic predispositions and body weights, all of which affect metabolic rates. If you’re anxious about passing a test, then you don’t have to worry about peeing clear; you only need to return a reading below the testing threshold, which is still above zero.
Edibles tend to stay in the body for longer than smoked or vaped forms of cannabis, but not by much. The THC from edibles may remain detectable for an extra day at most and is unlikely to affect the results of a test. The reason for this is that there is an additional stage involved in metabolizing THC with edibles.
After the THC passes through the digestive tract, the liver converts the delta 9-THC present in the plant to 11-Hydroxy-THC which is later metabolized to THCCOOH. Smoking or vaping cannabis flower or concentrates skip this step and go straight from delta 9-THC to the metabolite.
How To Make THC Leave Your System Sooner
Since the urine test for cannabis relies on metabolites, one sure way to increase the rate of excretion is to speed up your metabolism.
Diet is one way to achieve this, and certain foods can speed up our metabolism. Where fat consumption raises our metabolic rate slightly, a higher consumption of protein can raise it yet further, sometimes by as much as 25% above baseline.
Exercise is also a major player in driving the rate of metabolism. The harder you workout, the faster you metabolize. This means that exercising heavily in the run-up to a test will help your body excrete the metabolites.
Exercise also leads to an increase in muscle mass and less body fat. The ratio between both of these is also an important determiner of metabolic rates. Essentially, the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate and the faster you’ll metabolize THC.
Cleansing To Beat a Test?
If you’re caught off guard by a surprise test, then what can you do to give yourself the best chance of passing?
If you have several days before the test, then you can undertake a detox program. This serves to supplement the body’s detox pathways and remove metabolites at a faster rate than the body otherwise would. You can buy detox kits specially designed for THC detox, and many of them require seven days of use before they’ll guarantee a negative result.
If you have a same-day test, then there are several beverages that you can concoct that’ll send the detox pathways into overdrive for an emergency metabolite purge.
Lemon juice, cranberry juice, coffee, or a specially formulated cleansing drink can all help you enhance the excretion rate of metabolites in the run-up to an unexpected test.
Hydration levels are also critical. The more fluid you consume, the more metabolites are excreted in your urine, so it’s well worth staying hydrated if you’re anxious to excrete THC metabolites in the run-up to a test.
Why Urine Tests Fall Short
Urine tests are far from ideal. They don’t show how intoxicated a person may be, nor do they indicate how much a person consumed, nor when they last consumed it. Many employers have a zero-tolerance policy towards the detection of THC metabolites, and the stigma in some circles looks set to linger for some time to come. Fortunately, for those who have advanced warning of a test, it’s still possible to tailor your habits slightly. By taking the above tips into consideration, you can successfully navigate the stress of being subjected to regular urine testing in the workplace.
Buy Cannabis Online in Canada
If you’d like to buy cannabis online in Canada, then at My Pure Canna, we’ve got an extensive range of cannabis products from which you can choose.
We have abundant stocks of flower, concentrates, and edibles. Each is rich in THC and may require some mindful dosing if you’ve got a test on the horizon! If you’d rather play it safe and negate the possibility of a positive test, we also stock a range of CBD products for those who want to enjoy some of the benefits of cannabis without the fear of returning a positive test.
