Marijuana is one of the most popular psychoactive drugs, especially in Los Angeles California where it’s been legal for medical use since 1996 and is extracted from Cannabis plants. Basically, Marijuana dabs stay in your system up to 4 weeks. The chemical that provides its users with a ‘high” is THC. This chemical moves into your bloodstream and then passes to the other organs, where it causes many reactions, including behavioral as well as emotional changes. Some of the most common effects of marijuana use (especially for teens) are altered senses, paranoia, motor impairment, inability to understand time, mood swings, fear, anxiety, and much more.
What are Marijuana Dabs?
An increasingly popular method of using marijuana is the use of marijuana dabs, and a common question is how long do dabs stay in your system? This is a highly concentrated dose of the THC that is extracted from the marijuana by pressing the flower bud in a heated press. As the bud is flattened, the natural oils and resins leach from the plant and can be collected as wax dabs or concentrated THC. This is then smoked using water or butane pipe. This concentrated THC provides a faster, more powerful high. It also travels through your system faster.
What Happens to Your Body After Marijuana Consumption?
After marijuana is absorbed into your bloodstream, it quickly spreads throughout your organs including your brain, heart, and liver. THC is also absorbed into the tissues of your skin, hair, and nails. The THC absorbed by your tissues is later released back to your bloodstream, then metabolized and excreted through urine. However, in the case of chronic users, the buildup of THC in the body tissues occurs more quickly than it can be released. This reflects that a heavy user can test positive for marijuana use even months after the last intake of THC.
How Long Does It Take to Feel the Effects, and How Long Do They Last?
Marijuana is commonly consumed by smoking, allowing the user feel the effects of the cannabis after 2 to 10 minutes. However, when marijuana is consumed through dabs or dabbing, the user can feel the effects immediately. Extremely high temperature is applied on dabs — products with a highly-concentrated amount of THC — which are then inhaled.
Compared to smoking, dabbing is far more dangerous. Withdrawal symptoms acquired from dabbing are proven to be worse and more severe.
The euphoria or “high” feeling of dabs can last anywhere between 2 to 10 hours, depending on several factors, including:
- Amount of marijuana dabs consumed.
- The amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the dabs contain.
- The physical condition of the user, such as weight.
- The user’s metabolism, and if they have eaten anything before dabbing.
- Tolerance against the drug.
How Long Does Marijuana Stay in Urine/Saliva/Hair/Blood?
There are several drug tests that have been formulated and constructed specifically to understand whether one has been using marijuana or not. Most of these drug tests vary when it comes to an understanding of the time frame of use. These drug tests will answer how long does marijuana stay in Urine, Saliva, Hair, or Blood.
Some of the most frequently used tests for detecting marijuana in the system are as follows:
1. How Long Does Marijuana Stay in Urine
This is the most frequently used test for detecting marijuana in your bloodstream. For regular users who use marijuana several times a day, the test can detect marijuana in your bloodstream more than a month after the last use. For moderate users who consume it daily, the test can detect marijuana even after 7 to 21 days of last use. For users who take marijuana less than two times a week, this test can detect marijuana in your bloodstream after 1 to 3 days of use.
2. How Long Does Marijuana Stay in Saliva
Marijuana can show up on a saliva test up to 48 hours after use.
3. How Long Does Marijuana Stay in Hair
While this test can detect marijuana for up to 90 days after the last use, it can only produce reliable results for frequent and heavy users. This test is not suitable for those who use marijuana recreationally or are light users. However, it has been deemed one of the most reliable tests for frequent users.
4. How Long Does Marijuana Stay Blood
Marijuana, even in its metabolized form, can show up in a blood test 36 hours after the last use.
Factors That Affect These Drug Tests
The reliability of these tests can be affected by factors such as the concentration of THC in the marijuana, the frequency of use, the method of intake, and the type of plant used. The amount of THC that was consumed is the biggest factor in how long it remains in your bloodstream and can be detected. For some people, it might take more time for THC to be metabolized. Your level of hydration after use is another variable.
There’s no simple answer on how long it can last and how long it can be detected, since there are many factors at play, like:
- Usage Frequency This factor is the most influential on this list. THC in people who consume cannabis for the first time might only last for about three days, as long as it isn’t used again. However, cannabinoids in people who regularly use marijuana in any manner will be detected in the system for a longer time.
- Potency Some methods of using marijuana, such as dabbing, result in a higher THC intake. The more intake, the slower the body can break down its components.
- Gender Women have slower metabolisms than men, although there are things they can do to boost it, like exercising. However, if this is done right before a drug test, the results will likely be positive, since it is believed that physical activities causes fat cells to release THC. Also worth noting is that proper rehydration means that a lower THC concentration will show up in drug tests.
- Body Mass Index The amount of fat in the user’s body affects the metabolism, leading to a slower marijuana elimination. THC binds to fat, so users with high fat levels will take longer to process marijuana. This results in extended detection times of marijuana in the body.
- Genetics Genetics is one of the few detection factors that you can do nothing about, since they are inherent to your body. Some bodies have more drug-metabolizing enzymes compared to others. People who lack this enzyme are expected to have longer detection times.
- Hydration As mentioned earlier, the more water your body has, the faster it can metabolize cannabinoids. If you’re trying to have a negative result in your drug test, you might want to drink a lot of water to help your body decrease the concentration of THC.
- Overall Physical Health Since someone who is sick has a slower metabolism, their body gets rid of THC metabolites much slower compared to a healthy person.
- Age A person’s metabolism eventually slows down as time passes by. A person aged 65, for instance, will metabolize marijuana significantly slower than adolescents.
- Method of Use When marijuana is smoked, vaped, or dabbed, the THC levels in the body don’t tend to last as long as when cannabis is ingested through edibles.
- Drug Test Type Urine tests, the most common type of drug test, can detect marijuana 3 to 30 days after usage. Saliva tests detect marijuana from 1 to 8 days after the last use. Blood tests are far more reliable since they can detect marijuana just 3-4 hours after intake, while hair tests can detect marijuana in a user’s body even after 90 days.
Ways People Try to Beat a Drug Test
Those who are afraid of being caught using marijuana often try to beat the drug test. It may seem odd to be drug tested for marijuana in a place like Los Angeles where cannabis is legal, but it does happen by employers and parents of adolescents who are under age. As a parent, you must make sure that your teen doesn’t fake drug tests.
One of the most popular ways is with the help of a detoxification kit. These kits are basically designed so that people can alter the urine by adding several adulterants such as vinegar, vitamin C, goldenseal, niacin, or even herbal teas. However, these kits are not really effective and do not remove THC from your system, and could be harmful.
Another popular method used by those who are trying to evade a drug screening test is to add bleach to the urine sample to mask the smell. Some people even submit urine that is not their own. However, such masking agents can easily be distinguished by tests that reveal any substances not normally found in human urine. Therefore, this is not something that a person can rely on.
Getting Help For You or Your Teen
Teen Drug addiction is one of the leading causes of teen deaths and causes significant mental strain to users. It is not right to look down on those who become addicted to marijuana. Instead, it is important to understand why they started using it in the first place and what are the causes of teen drugs addiction. It is only with this understanding that we can determine what kind of help they need to transition into a drug-free life.
With the help of Key Healthcare in Los Angeles, you will be able to find a healthy and organized solution to teen drug addiction where the teen will be weaned off marijuana through a proven process. An individualized program will be developed to meet the lifestyle needs while providing the help needed. Psychological counseling is also provided to help determine the reasons for the drug use and develop a healthy lifestyle that is drug-free.
If you or a loved one are suffering from teen marijuana addiction, and are interested in teen marijuana treatment to quit and begin living life again – it is possible with the right kind of help. At Key Healthcare, we offer teen marijuana abuse treatment, and our highest level of care is teen residential treatment. We offer the kind of support you need to live a long life without an addiction hindering you every step of the way.
Side Effects of Dabs and Dabbing
As technology advances, so do the tools used in the world of substance abuse. People tend to develop new ways to utilize drugs, whether legal or not. One of the newest inventions is dabbing. There has been much interest from people worldwide regarding the risks of this new trend.
Marijuana oil is proven to be more concentrated and far more dangerous than marijuana flowers. Although smoking and dabbing marijuana produces the same effect, dabbing produces intense and life-threatening symptoms that could be fatal. People who take marijuana dabs are prone to blackouts, severe dizziness, extra-fast heartbeat rate, severe coughing and chest pain, nausea, vomiting, excessive increase in appetite and blood pressure, and psychotic symptoms such as paranoia and hallucinations.
Since dabbing is relatively new to the substance abuse scene, not much information about it is available, leading people to misconceptions. Many people assume that dabbing is safer than smoking since they can instantly get high with one dose.
Users, especially teens, have to realize that a new way of taking a drug does not necessarily mean that it is safer than the old method. A study conducted in 2015 discovered that 80% of extracts examined were contaminated by harmful substances, such as pesticides, that are not removed from marijuana plants when they are processed.
Another alarming factor are the dangers of producing hash oil. This THC-concentrated substance requires a perilous way of production. Dabs are made by blasting a lighter fluid through the marijuana plant. Butane is then transformed to gas that lingers in the room. This poses a great risk, since even one tiny spark of fire can lead to a massive explosion. Many incidents have been recorded where dabbing caused explosions inside houses, resulting in severe injuries.
Frequently Asked Questions about Dabbing
Now that marijuana is being widely legalized in the United States for medical and recreational purposes, people are inherently curious about it. It is only right to spread awareness in order to prevent misuse and misconceptions.
Question: Will dabs specifically show up in a drug test?
Answer: No. They will show up as cannabis and will not be specifically identified as concentrates. Experts still haven’t invented a way to determine if someone has dabbed.
Question: Is a dab rig and a bong the same thing?
Answer: No. A bong is used to smoke cannabis through a combustion method. It uses a butane lighter or matches, so the user can then inhale the smoke through a passageway. A dab rig is more like a water pipe that turns marijuana extracts into vapor by using a torch and a nail.
Question: Will dabs stay longer in my system compared to cannabis flowers?
Answer: The answer will depend on how much THC you have ingested. The higher it is, the longer it will stay in your system. However, since using dabs produces higher THC levels than other methods, it is safe to assume that they will remain for longer in your system.
Question: Is there any way to speed up the excretion of metabolites from my body?
Answer: Yes. As mentioned earlier in this article, exercise and hydration could help boost a person’s metabolism. You could also choose to use a detox process to remove the THC faster, but this might cost a considerable amount of money.
