Do you have an upcoming drug test? To understand how to pass a drug test, you’ll need to understand the ins and outs of drug testing.

You’ll have great options for preparation measures whatever the circumstances of your drug test might be, but there are many things you’ll want to avoid as well. 

After reading through our guide to passing a drug test, you’ll know exactly how to handle current and future drug test situations.

Introduction to Drug Testing

Drug testing is the process of collecting a sample of some bodily substance, i.e., urine or hair, and analyzing it either on-site or in a lab to determine if metabolites of drugs or alcohol are present in the subject’s system.  

Specific tests are conducted on-site, only being sent to a lab for confirmatory testing, while other tests can only be performed in a lab.

Drug testing is most commonly conducted as a condition of employment or sports team acceptance, but it may also be done to determine if substances played a role in an accident or crime or under other legal conditions.

However, drug testing doesn’t need to be done professionally. Many drug tests can be purchased over the counter by, for example, parents who are suspicious that their teenagers are using drugs.

What do Drug Tests Detect?

The most common substances that drug tests detect are opioids, psychedelics, cocaine, amphetamines, and marijuana. 

Some drug tests are designed to detect performance-enhancing drugs because they are strictly prohibited in sports. 

Most won’t detect alcohol because drinking is federally legal, so employers aren’t concerned. 

Although if there is a legal issue, such as a car accident, authorities may require a blood test to determine your blood alcohol level.

How to Pass a Drug Test

THC Testing Amounts

If you only have a little bit of THC in your system, you could still pass your drug test. The minimum amount of a substance, often referred to as the “cutoff level,” will always be above zero. 

For marijuana, the cutoff level in the initial screening is 50 nanograms of THC per milliliter of urine (ng/mL). If, for whatever reason, your test progresses to confirmatory testing, which is conducted in a lab, the cutoff level drops to 15 ng/mL.

The cutoff is much smaller if you’re taking a saliva test; it’s 3 ng/mL for initial testing and 1.5 ng/mL for confirmatory testing. 

Hair tests are measured in different units for obvious reasons. With hair tests, the cutoff level for THC is one picogram of THC per milligram of hair (pg/mg) and 0.1 pg/mg in confirmatory testing.  

Drug Test Types

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Let’s get into the general conduct of each drug test type.

Urine

Urine tests are the most common choice among employers, and they’re the most common type of at-home test. Like saliva, urine tests offer fast and easy results on-site, and anyone can perform them.

If you have to take a urine test, you’ll need to pee in a cup, and there will likely be some color-changing strip included for instant results.

Saliva

Saliva tests are also referred to as mouth swab tests because they’re usually conducted by swabbing the inside of the subject’s mouth to collect a saliva sample. Although much less likely, you may be asked to spit into a vial instead. 

As mentioned above, saliva tests are easy to conduct on-site, making them a rather common method for employers.

Blood

Blood tests are the most common for legal proceedings. They test for almost any drug you can take, in addition to alcohol. 

If you’re here researching drug tests because of an employment requirement, you likely don’t need to worry about taking a blood test. 

But, if you are given a blood test, it will need to be performed by a medical professional who will collect a couple of vials of your blood through an IV injection and send them to a lab to be tested.

Hair 

Hair follicle tests are not usually the drug test method of choice for employers (less than 10% of employers use them) because they require chopping off about a hundred strands of your hair at the root, and most people understand how invasive that is.

Additionally, many employers don’t care to limit their hiring pool as much as they would if they look as far back as hair tests do.

Perspiration

Sweat tests are very uncommon and are normally performed as a way to monitor drug use over an extended period of time. Sweat is collected through a patch worn on the skin that can detect drug consumption primarily of cocaine and heroin.

How Long Does THC Stay in My System

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The amount of time THC will stay detectable depends significantly on the type of drug test you’ll be taking. 

Average

The timeframes we have to offer are just for general reference; individual factors cause detection times to vary from person to person. 

That said, the average amount of time that THC stays in a person’s system is about a week or two.

Blood

Weed doesn’t stay in the blood too long. On average, cannabis will only remain in your bloodstream for a few hours. But, under the most extreme circumstances, weed can stay in your blood for 14 days.

Hair

Under all circumstances, weed will stay in your hair for ninety days. Unlike the other time frames we’ve gone over, this one is not variable.

Saliva

THC is usually detectable in your saliva for one to three days, making it a bit better for you than a urine drug test. But, it could be detectable for a week if you’re a heavy user.

Determining Factors

As mentioned, the window of time weed will be detectable in your system depends not only on the type of drug test but also on you.

BMI

If you have a low BMI, that typically means you have a fast metabolism, and your system won’t take as long to break down toxins as someone with a slow metabolism.

Think of how your body breaks down food, and equate that to how well your body will metabolize drugs.

Consumption 

The amount of toxins you consume is the amount of toxins that will build up in your system and, ultimately, what your system will be up against when you start detoxing. This is commonly referred to as your toxicity level.

The amount of THC in the cannabis products you consume makes a significant difference as well, as this can vary greatly between products.

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Where to Begin to Pass a Drug Test

With an upcoming drug test, it’s necessary to know where to start to make sure you pass your test. 

Stop Consuming

From this moment on, do not consume any more drugs until you’ve passed your drug test. No matter how you decide to cleanse, halting consumption is at the core of your detox.

There is just no way to pass your drug test if you’re consuming drugs at the same time as cleansing.

Determine Your Timeline

Your timeline is the deciding factor of your detox plan. To figure this out, look at the type of test you’ll be taking, your BMI, and your general toxicity level based on how much you consume.

From there, you can determine the most viable way to pass your test.

Passing a Urine Test

You can curate your perfect plan to pass your urine test with your timeframe figured out.

Month+

If you have a month or more to detox, you’ll more than likely be able to detox naturally. All you need to do is stop consuming toxins (not just drugs but sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and food chemicals), and your detox organs will take it from there. 

When you stop consuming, your body has the chance to start breaking down built-up toxins; while you’re constantly putting toxins into your body, your detox organs can’t keep up, so the excess gets stored. But, ceasing consumption allows your system to flush out past toxins. 

We recommend you go beyond simply stopping consumption and take measures to support your body and shorten the process. Advised measures include:

  • Staying hydrated.
  • Eating a clean diet with light and easily digestible foods.
  • Exercising.
  • Sweating.
  • Resting whenever you feel tired.

Two Weeks

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If you only have two weeks to detox, you shouldn’t depend on detoxing naturally. To make sure you’ll detox in time for your test, use a 10-day detox program by PassYourTest to achieve a permanent cleanse in under two weeks.

Your detox program will come with everything you need, including all the detox pills, an instruction manual, and even a meal planning guide!

While using a detox program, you’ll want to follow the same advice we give for a natural detox; strictly avoid consuming toxins, eat light and clean food, and, importantly, stay hydrated.

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If you only have one week before your drug test, you will need to use a 5-day detox kit to make sure you’re clean in time. 

Like the detox program mentioned above, these guarantee a permanent detox; but they only take five days to get you clean. If you have an extremely high level of toxins, you may not get fully clean in five days. Luckily, the PassYourTest 5-day program comes with detox pills that allow you to urinate clean for a window of time to test clean.

Just like their ten-day counterpart, the 5-day detox kit requires that you follow all other detox procedures while going through the process.

24 Hours 

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If you have a drug test in twenty-four hours, we have good and bad news. 

The bad news is, you can’t possibly detox permanently in just twenty-four hours. But, the good news is you can still be ready to pass your drug test in the same amount of time.

You’ll need to do a same-day cleanse using detox drinks and detox pills. The cleansing products will allow you to flush your system to produce clean urine for a window of time. After the effects of the products wear off, you will again have toxins in your urine.

Even though this is just a one-day matter, you’ll still need to stop consuming drugs immediately and not start again until after your drug test to allow the products to work.

Passing a Hair Test

No amount of pills or drinks will help you pass a hair follicle drug test, so you’ll need to go a different route if you have that type of test coming up.

Don’t worry; we have an excellent method for passing a hair test that has nothing to do with shaving your head or wearing a wig.

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Our trusted method, and your only option if you have a hair follicle drug test and you’ve used drugs in the last ninety days, is a detox shampoo. This shampoo will rid your hair of toxins until your blood circulates through your scalp again in about twenty-four hours. 

Use this shampoo on your head and body hair as either will be fair game for your test.

Wash with the shampoo the day of your test, and be sure to carefully follow any specific instructions for guaranteed results. Make sure to let your hair breathe until it’s over, don’t wear hats, scarves, or even lay your head on a pillow.

Avoid At-Home Drug Testing Remedies

At-home remedies are tempting, but they aren’t advised for a variety of reasons.

  • Cranberry Juice – Cranberry juice is not strong enough to make your system start detoxing, but sugar-free cranberry juice can be used during your detox to help the process and provide hydration.
  • Certo – Using a laxative like Certo will make toxins that have already been broken down leave your body faster. Still, it will do nothing to break down the toxins, and taking too much can make you dangerously dehydrated.
  • Creatine – In theory, taking a creatine supplement may ease some detox symptoms, but it will not make you detox any more quickly. Additionally, our bodies produce this substance independently, so taking it as a supplement is not necessary.
  • Fake Urine – This is very dangerous due to potential repercussions. Using fake urine is highly illegal, and it is relatively easy to catch.
  • Another’s Urine – Using another person’s urine is just as illegal as using fake urine, and the consequences will be severe. Don’t risk getting caught doing this when so many detox options are available.
  • Water Pills – Like laxatives, water pills help you flush out toxins a little bit more quickly but do nothing to break down the toxins stuck in your system.
  • Goldenseal – Much like other home remedies we’ve mentioned, Goldenseal can be helpful to use while detoxing because it keeps your gut healthy. But, it can’t go as far as to make a detox happen.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar – Apple cider vinegar may or may not push a minimal amount of toxins from your body, but for how little it helps, it isn’t worth the irritation it’ll cause to your stomach. 
  • Baking Soda – Baking soda isn’t bad for you; it just cannot do anything for your detox.
  • Bleach – Bleach is incredibly toxic and should never be used for detoxing. It is dangerous, and the risk is not at all worth it.
  • Macujo Method – The Macujo Method is a popular home remedy for hair tests, but the results are not guaranteed like they are with a detox shampoo. Plus, the chances are high that you will severely damage your hair and skin in the process. 

At-Home Drug Test

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At-home drug tests are a great tool to test your readiness for your official drug test. Most detox kits and programs include an at-home drug test for customers to confirm the success of their product. 

If you decide to detox naturally, you should consider finding a trusted at-home drug test to make sure your body was able to detox in your timeline. 

These tests are best used at least one day before your drug test, so you have time to seek out other detox methods if that test is positive.

Final Thoughts

Finding out you have a drug test coming up used to be some of the worst news you could get, but it does not have to be the end of the world anymore. 

Science has come so far as to make it possible for anyone to pass a drug test under even the driest circumstances; you just need to know which options are the best for you. PassYourTest.com has a product to help you through your next drug test no matter your toxicity level or timeline.

 

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