How Long Does Weed Stay in Your Urine?

By Lukas W,

How long does weed stay in your urine?

There are lots of different ways to test for traces of cannabis in a person’s system. Urine testing is by far the most common method of drug testing, especially by an employer. These samples are often collected on-site and then sent to a laboratory to be tested. THC can also be detected in hair, saliva, and blood. Since urine is the most common method of testing, how long after you smoke cannabis will THC be found in your urine?

It all depends on how much you smoke

One of the pitfalls of testing for cannabis through urine samples has to do with the exact chemical that is being tested for in the lab. The test doesn’t actually look for pure psychoactive THC, but rather the version of THC that has been processed by your body, called THC- carboxylic acid (COOH).

This leads to people testing positive for cannabis use long after they have consumed cannabis. And depending on your usage habits, it can be months after you stop and you will still test positive in your urine samples.

Fair testing

Researchers have found that everybody’s body metabolizes THC in slightly different ways. But, they still came out with a rough guide; on how the majority of people’s urine will test based on different consumption styles and timeframes.

  • Your first use will usually stay in your system for 5-8 days
  • If you use cannabis 2-4 times per week and then stop, you’ll test positive for 11-18 days
  • If you smoke 5-6 times per week, it’ll stay in your urine for 33-48 days
  • For Medical cannabis patients and people in the #smokeweedeveryday club, THC-COOH will stay in your urine for 49-63 days

For veteran smokers who have smoked for decades; they were even found with THC-COOH in their urine a whopping 77 days after stopping. That’s over two months!

These kinds of long-lasting positives can be a big problem for people who need to stop in a shorter time frame. They could have easily followed the rules of no cannabis use, but when tested, they still test positive.

The fairest tests that should be utilized worldwide is with the saliva, as THC will exit your saliva a mere 12 hours after use.