DOES CBD REALLY SHOW UP IN A BLOOD TEST?
CBD products are gaining in popularity and with its numerous potential health benefits, this rise in demand is no surprise.
While recreational marijuana use remains illegal for most of the country, certain types of CBD have become a staple for consumers looking to avoid the guesswork of legality. However, are there instances in which chowing down on some scrumptious CBD Gummy Bears will result in a positive drug test?
TYPES OF DRUG TESTS
You may be worried that the use and consumption of CBD products will show up in your blood test, but what about the numerous types of other drug screenings, as well?
Since you never know what type of drug screen you may be given, it is a good idea to be aware of the different types, how they are administered, and their potential outcomes.
SALIVA TEST
A saliva test involves swabbing the mouth and can also be called an “oral fluids test”. These types of tests are becoming a standard practice alongside urine analysis due to the ease of administration. Furthermore, it guarantees a more accurate test since it can be administered on the spot and provides rapid results depending on the substance of interest.
This option is also inexpensive and is easily accessible for at-home testing. However, this is not a preferred choice by places of employment or probation officers since a swab test will only pick up substances used within the recent past and can read false positives or inaccurate results due to cross contamination.
URINE ANALYSIS
Urine drug tests have long been the standard due to the wide range of drugs they are able to test for as well as their accuracy. Urine tests can be instant or lab-based, the latter taking several hours to even several days.
However, a rapid positive test will require another lab-based confirmation. This type of test is notorious for being easily scammed by those being tested and is slowly becoming replaced by other methods.
BLOOD TESTS
The blood test method of drug testing is not common as it is highly invasive and requires a needle for blood extraction. While this may sound less than ideal for those being tested, it is a quick process.
This method is not ideal as any substances taken by an individual will likely be metabolized and completely gone from the blood in just a few days. Therefore, a blood test is usually reserved for those interested in what is in the system at the time of testing.
HAIR TESTS
Hair tests are not a common procedure as the process is lengthy and expensive. However, it is a great option when needing to test back several months as our hair traps any substances from our bloodstream over an extended period of time. This method is not good when wanting to test recent use as the substance won’t appear in the hair strand for several weeks after use. Furthermore, the sample of hairs must be considerably large with at least 100 individual hairs needed for testing.
WILL CBD OIL SHOW UP IN A DRUG TEST?
The good news is, while most drug tests can detect numerous types of substances, test results will likely not report any presence of CBD since it is not a substance that inhibits your ability to perform tasks. This is especially true when using topical CBD treatments, like shampoos and lotions, since they do not enter the bloodstream.
CBD specifically is not likely to cause you to fail a drug test. However, if consuming CBD products orally, such as CBD oils, there may be some things you should know. As previously discussed, there are three main types of CBD products: full-spectrum, broad spectrum, and CBD isolate. The potential results of your drug test depends mostly on the type of CBD you consume.
Since full-spectrum CBD does contain trace amounts of THC up to 0.3 percent, there is a slight chance it can register on a drug test. However, it would take a large amount of CBD consumption for THC to be present on a drug test, so in most cases CBD consumers do not ingest enough THC to yield a positive test result.
In other instances, the THC amount labeled on a CBD product may be inaccurate, leading to mistakenly ingesting a higher amount of THC than intended, though this can usually be avoided by purchasing higher-quality products. In the case of blood tests, once again, it is highly unlikely CBD will result in a failed drug test.
This is because drug screenings are not testing for CBD. If you were going to be tested for CBD, it would have to be a specialized test, which is an extremely rare occurrence. However, CBD use can result in the detection of THC by blood drug tests.
THC is usually only detectable in the blood for one to two days depending on the individual. However, heavy use of THC, usually via marijuana rather than CBD products, can cause THC to be present in blood work for much longer.
HOW LONG DOES CBD STAY IN THE BODY?
CBD specifically does not stick around in your body for very long. While how long the effects of CBD last depend on dosage and the individual, your body will rid itself of CBD and its byproducts in just a few days. The amount of time CBD is in the body also depends on method of usage.
However, if you’re worried about a drug test, CBD is usually not the chemical compound to be concerned with when using cannabis products. As we have discussed, the trace amounts of THC that can be found in some CBD products can show up on drug tests. While the effects of THC typically only last for a few hours, it can be stored in your system as THC metabolites for up to a month.
However, when using CBD products with small levels of THC, it is likely you will not feel the presence of the chemical yet it can still be present in a drug screening. Drug tests do not test for THC directly, but instead THC metabolites since they stick around much longer.
In cases such as a hair strand test, the THC you ingest can deposit trace amounts of THC in your hair that can be detected for up to three months.