There are thousands of anecdotal evidence regarding the positive health effects of marijuana. Studies also continue to deliver promising results, showing marijuana’s potential to address symptoms of a wide range of diseases. Public perception about marijuana is also slowly tipping toward a more positive or at least a neutral tone.
Still, despite these changes, there are situations when you don’t want to test positive for weed consumption. A perfect example of such a situation is when you’re applying for a job and one of the requirements is to undergo a drug test.
So how do you flush out traces of marijuana from your body? The first thing to ask is what kind of drug testing process you have to undergo. Blood or saliva testing? Urinalysis? Hair analysis? Depending on the type of test you’re taking, results may show presence of cannabis derivatives for a different amount of time.
This leads to the next question, which would be how long does weed stay in your system? The answer to this question varies. For example, weed can stay in your blood for up to 25 days and in your urine for about 15 days. There are several things you can do to flush out marijuana from your system, like avoiding sweets or using detox kits from reputed sites, etc.
Let’s have a look at how long cannabis stays in your different body systems then:
How long does weed stay in your body?
Cannabis stays in your hair for up to 90 days, depending on the length of your hair. Meanwhile, weed can be detected in your blood for up to 30 days. When it comes to urine, it can stay from 3 to 30 days. Marijuana can be detected in saliva as well, and while it rarely stays there for too long (hardly for more than a couple of days), it can be detected immediately after consumption.
Obviously, these are not exact estimates, and a lot of factors are involved – such as the quantity of marijuana you consumed, how you consumed it, how frequently you consume it, if you use marijuana chronically or for a long time, your individual characteristics and so on.
So ultimately, your mileage may vary, but the broad ranges are:
- Saliva: 1 to 7 days
- Blood: up to 30 days
- Urine: from 3 to 30 days
- Hair: up to 90 days
Now that we have these details clarified, the next thing to do is to actually get the weed out of your system. How? The first thing you absolutely have to do is to stop consuming marijuana as soon as you find out that you have to undergo a drug test. After that, here are a few methods you can try.
Exercise and Avoid Sweets
Exercise releases fats and, therefore, THC as well because it’s stored in fats. The thing is, if your body releases fats when you’re about to undergo the test, you’ll likely get positive results. Thus, you should do vigorous exercise for about two weeks, then stop at least 2 days before the test. You should also reduce or completely cut out fatty, salty, and sweet foods from your diet while you’re trying to flush out weed from your body. These foods get in the way of fast metabolism, which in turn slows down the excretion of THC and its metabolites from your system.
Eat a High-Fiber Diet
A high-fiber diet can help eliminate marijuana from your system by making you poop. A significant amount of THC and its byproducts are actually removed from your body through bowel movement. By eating high-fiber foods, you’re giving your body an easier time in removing traces weed in your system. That’s because bile binds with fat-based waste, like THC metabolites, and soluble fiber binds with the bile. By eating fiber-rich foods, your body will be able to quickly and effectively eliminate bile from the intestinal tract, preventing THC metabolites from getting reabsorbed in your bloodstream. Of course, by having a fiber-rich diet, you’ll also do your digestive system a huge favor. Some of the best high-fiber foods include oats, leafy greens, berries, apples, and most nuts and seeds.
Take Diuretic Foods and Drinks
Diuretics help increase the amount of water and salt that the body eliminates through the form of urine. Diuretic drinks include cranberry juice, dandelion extract, green and black tea, and ginger root tea. Asparagus, berries, celery, and watermelon have also been proven to have diuretic effects. If you can, take these diuretic foods and beverages about a week or more before you have to undergo the test to achieve the best results.
Since you’ll be peeing a lot when you consume diuretics, make sure to rehydrate your body. Drinking water is still the best way to do this, and also comes with the bonus of replacing toxic body fluids with something clean.
Drink Vinegar
Some people swear by the effectiveness of vinegar in eliminating THC from your system, due to the high acidity. To make vinegar more palatable, try to combine it with lemon juice or other beverages. Moreover, make sure to limit your intake since the vinegar’s acidity can distort the pH levels of your urine and cause false positives.
Wash It off Your Hair
If you’re undergoing a hair analysis, it’s best to wash your hair using proven methods like Macujo and Jerry G. For the Macujo Method, you’ll need liquid detergent, some vinegar, salicylic acid shampoo, and the old formula of Aloe Toxin Rid shampoo. For the Jerry G Method, you’ll need peroxide bleach, hair dye, baking soda, Zydot Ultra Clean shampoo, and SynergyDetox Toxin Wash shampoo. Please note that these methods are used to cheat tests, so they are often illegal.
Get Some Detox Products
There are plenty of detox products being advertised, claiming to be able to flush out weed from your system. Often, they come in the form of herbal capsules, powders that can be added to your beverages, or even stand-alone drinks like juices or teas. If you opt for this method, make sure to take the products at least 14 days before you get tested. There are also detox products that can flush out the weed from your body in as fast as 7 days or even the same day. However, be prepared to spend more for these.
Whether you’re a casual or a long-time user, knowing how to flush marijuana from your system is good knowledge to have. Take note of these methods and remember to use weed responsibly.
Article edited and fact checked by our editorial team and updated on March 22, 2024.
About the author:
Dr. Claudio Butticè, Pharm.D., is a former Pharmacy Director who worked for several large public hospitals in Southern Italy, as well as for the humanitarian NGO Emergency. He is now an accomplished book author who has written on topics such as medicine, technology, world poverty, human rights, and science for publishers such as SAGE Publishing, Bloomsbury Publishing, and Mission Bell Media. His latest books are “Universal Health Care” (2019) and “What You Need to Know about Headaches” (2022). A data analyst and freelance journalist as well, many of his articles have been published in magazines such as Cracked, The Elephant, Digital Journal, The Ring of Fire, and Business Insider. Dr. Butticè also published pharmacology and psychology papers on several clinical journals, and works as a medical consultant and advisor for many companies across the globe.
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