Marijuana edibles are one of the best ways to consume THC. Most people prefer eating edibles because they produce psychoactive effects without the user experiencing the bad effects that arise from ingesting marijuana through smoking or vaping. Indeed that is a good reason to prioritize edibles, but it is important to know how edibles will affect your system compared to other marijuana ingestion alternative ways such as vaping.
Thus, among many questions you might ask about edibles, the most obvious one remains, “how long do edibles stay in your system?”. Of course, this is a relevant question, especially if you expect a drug test in the near future so that you prepare to avoid testing positive.
For that reason, in this guide, we will unveil the duration it will take for a cannabis edible to die in the body.
What Do Marijuana Edibles Mean?
Marijuana edibles, also known as cannabis-infused edibles, are edible forms of food products containing CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids. Plus, the edibles can also include ingestible items like candies or drinks.
Having said that, it means that you won’t be vaping or smoking marijuana edibles. Instead, you experience the psychoactive effect by directly eating brownie cookies, a gummy bear, or whatever infused with the cannabinoids.You can learn more about how to make weed brownies?
But is there a difference between taking edibles and vaping or smoking? Primarily, edibles pass through your digestive tract, which might take up to two hours, depending on your body’s metabolism, before you feel the effects. This is unlike smoking or vaping, where the cannabinoids get to the blood directly, causing faster effects than edibles.
How Are Marijuana Edibles Processed In The Body?
After you consume a marijuana edible, it goes down your digestive system as digestion takes place up to the liver. In the liver, the delta-9 THC is converted to 11-hydroxy THC by the body. After the process, the effect becomes more psychoactive, unlike when the THC is smoked.
It is good to know that the THC in the edibles takes longer before they start affecting the user, unlike when you smoke or vape. This is because the digestion of edibles takes place slowly, causing a delay of about two hours between the time in which you consume and feel high. That is unlike when one inhales THC; the effects show up very fast because THC is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream.
However, some edibles work more quickly than others. For instance, baked cakes melt in the mouth quickly, allowing the infused THC to reach the bloodstream more easily.
Remember, most people prefer edibles to smoked weed because the effect of marijuana edibles lasts longer compared to smoking or vaping. This is because you will only feel the effect for a few hours when you smoke. But with edibles, the effect can last longer, up to 12 hours.
How Long Do Marijuana Edibles Stay In The Body System
If you are wondering how long edibles will stay in your body because you are about to undergo a drug test, this section will explain everything you need to know.Furthermore, you can read about how long do edibles last.
First, you should know that the time taken by marijuana edibles to stay in your system depends on various factors. One of the factors is the cannabis’s exact half-life. The length is usually impacted by the quantity one consumes and whether the consumer is casual or habitual. In most cases, habitual use can lead to tolerance, thus requiring a continuous increase in order to feel the same THC effects.
It is also good to know that edibles take a very long time to process and metabolize, unlike inhaled THC. If you smoke marijuana, the THC effects will decline immediately after the highness wears off. But, if you consume marijuana edibles, the THC levels can take a day to reduce.
For that reason, habitual users of CBD edibles may have THC traces in their system for up to a month or even longer. On the other hand, occasional users can eliminate the THC levels from their system within one or two weeks, depending on the THC consumed.
But, to avoid testing positive in a drug test, the following are the possible drug test you might undergo and the duration that the edibles will stay in the drug test sample.
Edibles in a Blood Sample
Blood tests have a much narrower detection window than urine tests because they use a direct approach when testing for THC. For that reason, blood tests are only used to test recent use of CBD. THC can stay in the blood for about one to two days after consumption. However, regular users can show THC traces for 25 days.
If you consume a marijuana edible for only one day, a blood test can only spot it for one day. However, many sources say that the edibles remain detectable in the blood for only a few hours.
Edibles in a Urine Sample
Urine tests are one of the common ways of drug tests and have a big detection window. If you are an occasional user, or maybe it’s your first time, THC traces will show up in the urine tests.
The detection window extends only if you heavily use cannabinoids, and THC can stay in the system for not less than 30 days. In simple terms, the more one uses cannabinoids, the more they accumulate in the fat cells metabolizing at a fast rate.
Edibles in Hair Follicles
THC can stay in the hair for about three months until your body flushes it. But, authorities don’t use this drug testing method as they prefer urine tests. Urine is very easy to examine and indicates the most recent time period.
So, although the method has the ability to detect the availability of THC in the body for about 90 days, it is not the most accurate. However, the hair testing method is mostly used in testing drugs during clinical trials.
Edibles in Saliva Sample
The saliva test shows THC traces up to three days after consumption, especially in occasional users. Unfortunately, for heavy users, the saliva test can detect THC for 29 days after consumption.
For that reason, if you don’t want to test positive for THC, it’s good to terminate marijuana use three to four days before the drug test. However, saliva tests are not one of the best ways to test for THC since there is a high chance for you to test negative after consuming THC edibles including CBD gummies, brownies and many more. Instead, urine testing detects available metabolites easily, making it one of the best ways for testing THC, unlike saliva testing, which doesn’t prioritize that.
Do Marijuana Edibles Show in a Drug Test?
Yes, all cannabinoids and edibles containing THC can test positive on all standard cannabis drug tests. Remember, munching edibles changes nothing from smoking as it will channel THC elements in the body system. In fact, the drug test when you have consumed edibles may detect THC content consumed a long time ago because marijuana edibles take longer to process.
Further, Marijuana edibles will also show in all drug tests, whether hair, urine, saliva, or blood drug tests. However, most workplaces use urine to test for THC because urine tests show recent THC use and not current impairment making it one of the best samples for THC drug tests.
Where Is Marijuana Edibles Legal?
Cannabis products are legalized in most states across the US as per the 2018 farm bill rule that requires all cannabinoids to contain less than 0.3% THC. For example, the popular states that have passed farm bills and state laws to legalize marijuana include:
- Colorado
- Alaska
- Oregon
- California
- Arizona (medical only)
- Florida (medical only)
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Nevada
- Missouri
- Rhode Island
- Washington
- Hawaii
- Maine
- West Virginia (medical only)
- Arkansas (medical only)
- Vermont
- Connecticut
- Utah (medical only)
- Delaware
- Pennsylvania (medical only)
- Illinois
- Oklahoma (medical only)
- Louisiana (medical only)
- Ohio
- Massachusetts
- North Dakota
- New Hampshire (medical only)
- New York
- New Jersey (medical only)
- New Mexico
Therefore, it’s legal to consume cannabinoids in those areas, even though each state has its way of licensing the companies that offer marijuana edibles. However, all the businesses that supply cannabinoids must have state licenses to sell the products.
On the other hand, some other states, such as Nebraska and Idaho, still prohibit the use of all marijuana-infused products, including edibles, regardless of whatever THC content they contain. So be watchful in such states in the US and even in other jurisdictions so that you won’t go behind bars for possessing marijuana edibles.
Reasons Why People Claim Marijuana Edibles to Be Unsafe
All THC-infused products have psychoactive effects. Due to that reason, they can cause confusion and hallucinations. In addition, some users experience severe panic attacks after consuming marijuana edibles.
Apart from that, some older users can experience cardiac issues if they consume edibles or other cannabinoids in high doses. Usually, this is caused by THC’s impact on the cardiovascular system. Moreover, THC-infused edibles can cause cognitive impairments or coordination issues.
On the other hand, in pregnant women who consume THC products, the THC can destroy the baby’s brain, impacting brain development. The same case applies to lactating women.
Another reason why people claim that marijuana edibles are unsafe is that it is very hard to know their strength before consuming them. So, some users find themselves misjudging the dosage power making them get strong effects.
Moreover, they claim that THC edibles are very addictive. An individual can become addicted to THC edibles, unlike in other marijuana forms. Besides, some edibles are crafted using harmful ingredients like gluten, GMOs, and artificial flavors, which are unsafe for human consumption.
Treading Current News About Marijuana Edibles
The legal reports about marijuana are constantly evolving. Below are the latest legal developments.
Montana Legalizes Marijuana
Montana citizens can now purchase medical marijuana, but the state is still putting in more relaxed legal measures. The 2020 initiative ballot sought to make recreational marijuana legal in all parts of the state and proposed laws restricting people under 21 years from consuming weed products.
Florida Declares Medical Marijuana Edibles Legal
Florida has now legalized marijuana edibles for medicinal purposes. The state will ensure that only licensed marijuana treatment facilities are issued with the products. According to the health department, many patients will be entitled to those health centers.
In addition, the state has legalized marijuana edibles to provide a good option to patients who find it difficult to smoke or swallow pills. This is because every patient is different and is entitled to their suitable methods of consuming marijuana products.
Missouri Is Now a Marijuana Edibles Vendor
Missouri legalized two dispensaries as the first place to purchase legal weed in October 2020. When these two dispensaries were opening, the only products allowed were cannabis flower buds. However, Missouri is expected to offer many marijuana products in the future.
Conclusion
In summary, you can buy weed online and it stays in your body longer than expected. But unless you use them consequently, they should be off your body system within five days after consuming them.
Habitual CBD users may lack many other options which they can use to flash the THC out. Therefore, if you know that you are going to have any upcoming drug test, abstain from consuming edibles or any other cannabis to prevent being caught up.
If you are among those who use weed edibles regularly and have an upcoming urine test, you will need 30 days before you clear the edibles. In the case of saliva and blood tests, you can test negative after a short time of using marijuana edibles, but in the case of hair follicle tests, marijuana metabolites may show up positive even 90 days after the last time you consumed the edibles.
