Small amounts of CBD and drug testing
March 1, 2019 11:36 AM Subscribe
I’ve got an important drug test coming up in 6 days. I’m panicking a bit because I had two shots of full spectrum hemp CBD in my beer at the bar, one yesterday and one maybe 4 days to a week ago. (I live in a state where cannabis is legal, but not allowed to be served with alcohol. But CBD can be sold with alcohol and to minors.) I read some articles about CBD users failing drug tests for trace THC and am now freaking out. Is my worry justified? What can I do?
You'll be fine. If you want to rest easier for the next 6 days, get yourself an at-home test from your local pharmacy.
posted by stinkfoot at 11:51 AM on March 1, 2019
posted by stinkfoot at 11:51 AM on March 1, 2019
Yes, get tests. Amazon is cheapest; my Dollar Tree also has them. The ones at Walgreens/CVS are a ripoff.
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:57 AM on March 1, 2019
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:57 AM on March 1, 2019
Start with taking an at home test with your first piss of the morning after waking up, before you drink anything. If you pass, you're golden (er, so to speak) - no further action required other than not consuming any more CBD products before your test. Just remember, if you can see a second line at all, even a faint one, you pass. As Etrigan is saying, it is very likely you will pass.
If you pop that test, you have a few options. One, if your final high stakes test is non-observed, is to get a synthetic urine substitute. The specimen validity test you most have to worry about with this plan is the temperature - you have to be confident you can keep it concealed, and within the temperature range for real urine, until you produce your sample. There is no point in doing this unless you are consistently failing at-home tests, though.
The other, lower risk, option is to get some more tests and experiment with what level of hydration and caffeine you need to produce a sample dilute enough to pass. Modern drug testing facilities will also do validity testing to find extremely dilute samples, but the thing about that is that (under DOT regulations and the normal pre-employment screen process that the big lab companies do) is that a sample that is too dilute but otherwise negative is not a failure - the procedure is just to bring you back in after a re-test, but you'll have had another day or two to clear out.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 12:53 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
If you pop that test, you have a few options. One, if your final high stakes test is non-observed, is to get a synthetic urine substitute. The specimen validity test you most have to worry about with this plan is the temperature - you have to be confident you can keep it concealed, and within the temperature range for real urine, until you produce your sample. There is no point in doing this unless you are consistently failing at-home tests, though.
The other, lower risk, option is to get some more tests and experiment with what level of hydration and caffeine you need to produce a sample dilute enough to pass. Modern drug testing facilities will also do validity testing to find extremely dilute samples, but the thing about that is that (under DOT regulations and the normal pre-employment screen process that the big lab companies do) is that a sample that is too dilute but otherwise negative is not a failure - the procedure is just to bring you back in after a re-test, but you'll have had another day or two to clear out.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 12:53 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
Traditional stoner lore involved apple cider vinegar in water - about a tablespoon per cup, a few times a day leading up to the test.
Other sites insist that this is scientifically unproven (so please buy our Kwik-Detox chemicals instead!!!), and some of them give other relevant info that might help:
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:34 PM on March 1, 2019
Other sites insist that this is scientifically unproven (so please buy our Kwik-Detox chemicals instead!!!), and some of them give other relevant info that might help:
The Half-life of THCA few sites push water + exercise as a way to increase metabolism rate and natural detoxing.
The half-life of tetrahydracannabinol (THC) concentration ranges between 0.8 to 9.8 days. There is too much human variation to even approximate how long THC will be detected in the urine of an individual. Infrequent users with a fast metabolism will have the shortest detection time. Obviously, frequent users with a slow metabolism will have long detection times.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:34 PM on March 1, 2019
In a recent similar situation I got these drug tests. Certain prescription meds will also show up - Adderall comes across as meth and Lamictal shows up as PCP but as long as you show them current prescriptions you shouldn't have a problem.
I also went no/low carb and drank a lot of water. I found a lot of different answers from the google but this is what my pharmacist told me when I asked him. IME as long as you aren't getting high 24/7 you can probably clear out the THC in two weeks or less.
posted by bendy at 9:10 PM on March 1, 2019
I also went no/low carb and drank a lot of water. I found a lot of different answers from the google but this is what my pharmacist told me when I asked him. IME as long as you aren't getting high 24/7 you can probably clear out the THC in two weeks or less.
posted by bendy at 9:10 PM on March 1, 2019
On reread - in six days with the minuscule amount you've consumed? Not a problem at all. Unless there was THC in your CBD drink I can't imagine why you'd test positive for it.
Buy your own tests if you want to be sure but I'm almost positive you're safe. After I had a few clean drug tests I started ingesting a bit of THC in the evenings and it the test would show clear in a day or two.
posted by bendy at 9:16 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Buy your own tests if you want to be sure but I'm almost positive you're safe. After I had a few clean drug tests I started ingesting a bit of THC in the evenings and it the test would show clear in a day or two.
posted by bendy at 9:16 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
For DOT dilutes are retaken but I would not mess around with purposely diluting because it can be also ruled as a refusal to test or as a positive. Just take a test a test at home and give a normal sample.
posted by cakebatter at 12:21 AM on March 2, 2019
posted by cakebatter at 12:21 AM on March 2, 2019
Yeah, to be totally clear, I’m pretty much certain that OP will test clean when they self-test, and if they do they should absolutely not try to dilute.
Just, if by some fluke they are throwing hot, dilution or substitution are the two viable courses of action. Neither is risk-free, and should not be undertaken unless the self test shows they are necessary.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 10:11 AM on March 2, 2019
Just, if by some fluke they are throwing hot, dilution or substitution are the two viable courses of action. Neither is risk-free, and should not be undertaken unless the self test shows they are necessary.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 10:11 AM on March 2, 2019
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posted by Etrigan at 11:45 AM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]