So you need to take a drug test. You know they will be testing for THC metabolites. You may even know about when you will be tested. However, with this information you may still be left with several questions to know if you will be prepared or not. Consider the following as a brief overview of the different types of THC drug tests you could face, and key facts you will need to know about each to help you along the way.
Before The Test
The most common type of drug test by far is urine. Based on lab estimates 75-80% of all drug tests done in the USA are urine. The minority of the other 20-25% are comprised of blood, hair, saliva and “other”. Knowing what type of bodily fluid the test will be using is extremely important upfront information. Source material has a big influence on how long each specific metabolite will hang around.
How do you find out which test you will take? This is information you are absolutely allowed to ask long prior to actually showing up to provide the sample. You may even be able to take it steps further. After you ask where to go to provide the sample and what kind of sample they will collect, you may even be able to do some detective work about how that particular lab handles and processes samples. Some labs even post their methodology protocols for collection, handling, testing, and pass/fail cutoff directly on their website. If you can’t find this information, below is an overview of the most common considerations.
Hair
Luckily these are rare due to cost. Why luckily? Because metabolites of all sorts of drugs hang around here the longest based on hair growth. Also if the metabolites are still in the bloodstream, the hair will continue to grow with drug metabolites in it. ‘In it’ not ‘on it’. ‘On it’ suggests that it can be washed out, which it cannot. There isn’t a known way to expedite this process. It just takes time and lots of it. At least several weeks if not 1-2 months more commonly, sometimes longer. It is easily the most difficult of the THC drug tests to pass and has the highest scrutiny.
Blood and Saliva
These types of drug tests are the best. It’s definitely what you want to take if you had the choice – but you won’t get to choose. Easiest to pass. The most lax cutoffs, and stays in your system the least time. Responds well to detox methods
Urine
Easily the most common. Somewhat middle of the road in difficulty to pass. Several caveats here. Firstly, the sensitivity of the test counts. The default cutoff for urine test strip THC concentration is 50ng/ml in the USA. It is important to confirm this is the sensitivity of the test you will be taking. If you pass this test, the test is over and you pass. If you fail or get an inconclusive test result, the sample is confirmed via GCMS, or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Here, they are looking at the molecular level and the test is even more specific and sensitive, usually at 15ng/ml. You really don’t want it to come to that point because there will be a period of time in which you can pass a test strip, but not a GCMS confirmatory test.
There are several factors to consider when faced with urine THC drug tests. To estimate how long it may take you to pass, consider your: age, gender, body weight, usage, and time abstinent. Green Gone’s THC detox calculator tool can help you determine which THC detox kit to consider for your system cleanse.
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