While recreational marijuana is legal in many U.S. states, some companies don’t permit workers to be high at work. Therefore, if you live in a state where recreational marijuana is illegal such as Florida, having a medical marijuana card while having marijuana in your system is a good idea. But how long does marijuana stay in your system after consumption? In this article we will learn about how several factors play a role in the duration of marijuana in your system.

While the effects of marijuana can last for up to 6 hours after consumption, it remains in your system for much longer. The basic cannabis compound that people refer to when evaluating how long cannabis can stay in your system as THC. While other cannabis compounds can be detected, they don’t usually remain in your system for long. Furthermore, most drug tests look specifically at THC, the compound responsible for the “high” you feel when consuming cannabis.

After using marijuana for the first time, THC may remain in your system for several days. However, long-term cannabis users may have THC in their system for months.

Data from the U.S. National Drug Court Institute estimates that an occasional or first-time cannabis user may test positive for THC up to four days after the last usage. Frequent cannabis consumers may test positive up to 10 days after the last usage. A frequent cannabis consumer can still test positive after one or two months after the last usage.

A 2004 review published in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring notes that THC is at its peak just three to eight minutes after consuming marijuana. After this time, the levels drastically fall.

Most drug tests on cannabis usually focus on THC metabolites. They have a half-life of twenty hours which is the time it takes for half of the drug to metabolize and leave the bloodstream. The other THC metabolites stored in fatty cells have a half-life of ten days to two weeks. A half-life is a time the body takes to metabolize half the amount of cannabis consumed.

The half-life of marijuana varies depending on the frequency of usage. Less frequent cannabis consumers can expect a half-life of about 1.3 days, but the half-life for frequent cannabis consumers is between five and thirteen days. Therefore, marijuana can remain in your system for one to ninety days, depending on your rate of consumption, your lifestyle, and the type of test.

• Amount consumed: When you consume high amounts of THC it will take a long time for your body to break it down and eventually remove it from your system.
• Frequency of use: Frequent cannabis users will more likely have marijuana in their system.
• Metabolism rate: Individuals with a high metabolism will tend to eliminate marijuana and its active metabolite, THC, faster than individuals with a slower metabolism. If you have a high metabolism, then cannabis leaves your system faster.
• Body fat percentage: Body fat also determines how long marijuana stays in your system. Since THC is fat-soluble, it binds to fat molecules and remains in the system longer. This means if you have a high concentration of fat, your body may metabolize marijuana more slowly.

How long marijuana stays in your system can vary tremendously. If you live in a state where recreational marijuana is illegal such as Florida and are using marijuana for your medical condition, having a medical marijuana card while having marijuana in your system is a good idea. Trilogy Medicinal in Port St. Lucie provides an effective way to get your medical marijuana card in Florida. Schedule with Trilogy Medicinal in Port St. Lucie today!

Sources

https://www.ndci.org/wp-content/uploads/THC_Detection_Window_0.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3358713/