How Long Does Weed/Marijuana Stay in Your System 3
Written by: THE BALANCE
Medically reviewed by Dr. Sarah Boss, MD
Last updated: January 21, 2026
Fact checked
Quick Summary
  • The growing legalization of marijuana has led to widespread use for both recreational and medical purposes.
  • However, many users remain unaware of how long cannabis and its active compounds stay in the body , a crucial factor for anyone facing drug testing, managing treatment, or working toward recovery.
  • Weed, also known as cannabis or marijuana, contains THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) — the psychoactive substance responsible for its euphoric effects.
Reading time: 15 min

The growing legalization of marijuana has led to widespread use for both recreational and medical purposes. However, many users remain unaware of how long cannabis and its active compounds stay in the body , a crucial factor for anyone facing drug testing, managing treatment, or working toward recovery.

Weed, also known as cannabis or marijuana, contains THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) — the psychoactive substance responsible for its euphoric effects. Once consumed, THC is absorbed into the bloodstream, stored in fat cells, and slowly metabolized over time. Depending on factors such as dosage, frequency of use, metabolism, and body composition, THC can remain detectable in bodily fluids from a few days to over a month ,and in hair for up to 90 days or longer.

Weed Detection Timeline

Understanding how marijuana is processed and eliminated from the system is essential for those undergoing medical assessments, workplace screenings, or substance detox programs. At Balance Rehab Clinic, we emphasize informed, evidence-based awareness as the foundation of long-term wellness and recovery from marijuana dependence.

Key Takeaways

  • Detection Time Varies: THC can be detected in urine for 3–30 days depending on frequency of use, and in hair for up to 90 days.
  • Influencing Factors: Body fat, metabolism, dosage, and frequency of use all affect how long marijuana remains in your system.
  • Testing Methods Differ: Urine tests are most common, but blood, saliva, and hair tests provide different detection windows.
  • Marijuana Dependence Is Real: Regular use can lead to tolerance, withdrawal, and cannabis use disorder.
  • Professional Support Helps: Medical detox and behavioral therapy at Balance Rehab Clinic can ease withdrawal symptoms and support lasting recovery.

The principal mind-altering ingredient present in the cannabis plant is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). THC travels from the lungs into the blood, where it is delivered to the central nervous system and other organs when a person smokes marijuana. THC affects parts of the brain associated with movement, feelings, coordination, cognition, reward, and judgment through its involvement with the endocannabinoid system.

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When inhaled, the effects are immediate and persist for about 1 to 3 hours. A user may not experience the impact for 30 minutes to an hour after eating edibles, and the effects can linger for many hours.

The following are some of the possible side effects of marijuana use:

  • Senses are altered
  • Time perception is skewed.
  • Coordination issues.
  • It’s difficult to think clearly or solve difficulties.
  • Having difficulty recalling information.
  • Mood swings are a common occurrence.
  • Fear.
  • Anxiety.
  • Paranoia.
  • Delusions.
  • Hallucinations.
  • Appetite increase.

The effects of marijuana are felt fast, generally within 15 to 30 minutes of smoking. When eaten, the effects of marijuana can take up to 2 hours to become noticeable.

The active compounds in marijuana cause a short-term “high.” Among the most common side effects are:

  • Feeling good about yourself
  • A feeling of calmness
  • Feel as if time is passing you by
  • Chattiness or giggling
  • Sensory perception is altered

The following are some other short-term effects:

  • Difficulty in concentration
  • Higher desire to eat
  • Issues with coordination
  • Lethargy
  • Restlessness
  • Faster heart rate
  • Mouth and eyes both get dry
  • Confusion
  • Feeling ill or dizzy
  • Paranoia or anxiety

High dosages of marijuana can cause delusions, psychosis, and hallucinations in certain people.

Regularly smoking or consuming marijuana might have significant mental and physical impacts. You may have a higher chance of developing:

  • Impaired cognition
  • Memory deficits
  • Learning difficulties
  • Stroke and cardiovascular diseases.
  • Lung infections and bronchitis are examples of respiratory ailments.
  • Anxiety and depression 
  • Psychosis and hallucinations

If you use marijuana while breastfeeding or pregnant, your child is more likely to suffer birth abnormalities or issues with cognitive development.

After 1 to 3 hours, the effects of marijuana start to fade. Some side effects, such as memory loss or difficulty sleeping, can linger for many days.

The duration of the consequences of chronic use is unknown to researchers. Long-term effects of marijuana use might linger for hours, weeks, or months after you stop using it. Some of the consequences may be permanent.

The chemical compound THC, which is short for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active component in marijuana. THC is absorbed into the body when it enters the body.

Some THC is retained in the fatty tissues and organs for a short time. THC can be reabsorbed in the circulation through the kidneys.

THC is degraded in the liver. It possesses about eighty metabolites, although THCCOOH (11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and 11-OH-THC (11-hydroxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) are the most important.

These byproducts, which remain in your bloodstream longer than THC, are sought for in drug tests. THC and its derivatives are eventually eliminated in urine and feces.

Weed and metabolites or their by-products are measured in drug testing. These metabolites stay in your system for a long time after the effects of marijuana have faded.

Urine analysis

Weed is detected in urine for the below-mentioned amounts of time after the last usage:

  • Three days for casual users (up to 3 times per week)
  • Five to seven days for moderate users (five times per week).
  • Ten to fifteen days for chronic users (every day).
  • Over 30 days for chronic frequent users (several times per day).

Its fat-soluble nature implies that cannabis metabolites bind to fat molecules in your body systems. As a consequence, they may take a long time to excrete from your organ system.

Urine testing is the most often used technique of testing.

Blood testing

Weed is usually detectable in the bloodstream for one to two days, as per an article in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. Nevertheless, it has been discovered in some cases after 3 weeks. The duration of time till which it may be detected rises with chronic high consumption.

In seconds of inhaling weed, it is measurable in circulation. It is dispersed throughout the body’s tissues. Some of it is absorbed into the body and decomposed in the blood. Its metabolites might last for days in the circulation.

Blood tests can be used in laboratories to detect recent marijuana usage.

Testing of the saliva

Weed is measurable in saliva for the below mentioned periods of time after last use, as per a 2014 analysis of cannabinoids in oral fluid:

  • One to three days for occasional users
  • One to 29 days for habitual users

Smoking and being exposed to smoke might cause the weed to reach the saliva. Its metabolites, on the other hand, are only seen in saliva after cannabis has been inhaled or consumed.

Oral fluids could be used for traffic testing in states where marijuana is legal.

Hair Analysis

Substance use is monitored for up to 3 months using hair follicle testing. Weed enters the hair follicles through small blood vessels after using it. It is possible that traces of the drug will stay in the hair.

Because hair grows about 0.5 inches every month, a 1.5-inch hair section obtained close to the scalp can reveal a 3-month window of cannabis use.

There’s not much that can do to shorten the time it requires for marijuana to exit your bloodstream.

Once it is in your body, it takes time for your body to break this down. Exercising, eating well, and keeping hydrated can all help, but only to a limited extent.

On the web, you may find a variety of weed detox cures and kits. Many of these include consuming a lot of water for diluting your urine and then masking the dilution with ingredients like vitamin B-12 or creatinine.

In the vast majority of evidence-based research, these kits aren’t effective.

Many organizations have a drug plan in order that involves random testing for their employees as well as regular drug screening for all new recruits.

If you have lately used marijuana and are needed to take a urine sample on short notice for a job or other reasons, you will almost certainly fail the test. This is especially true if you use it frequently or heavily.

Even in jurisdictions where recreational cannabis usage is allowed, you can be terminated for failing drug tests.

Stop smoking or consuming cannabis or marijuana products is the only definite strategy to pass the test.

Even though there are numerous ideas on how to pass a marijuana drug test, most of them have shown to be urban legends. The following are a few of these dubious practices.

Cleansing Your System

This approach requires keeping well-hydrated and drinking a lot of water or drinks and urinating numerous times well before test, followed by the administration of vitamin B-12 to restore urine color. While diluting the urine may decrease the levels of THC in the bloodstream, it will not completely eradicate THC metabolites.

Certain people would also try exercising before the screening, but based on the test, this can backfire because the stored THC can be released from fat tissue into the blood, as per a study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Agents for Drug Screening

Various chemicals and herbal teas are reportedly capable of “cleaning” the organ systems of residues of marijuana, according to some companies. There isn’t much proof that any of the functions. The hitch is that the majority of them require prolonged use, during which time the body will eventually remove THC.

Manipulation of the Test

This entails contaminating the urine sample by adding anything to it. There have been reports of people adding bleach, Visine, detergent, or salt to their urine samples, but the lab can easily identify these substances.

There are many commercial urine test adulterants on the market, but none of them is 100 percent foolproof. If a different test is done for each of them, the laboratory will be able to detect them all.

Several factors determine whether or not a test discovers marijuana, such as:

Sensitivity testing

Lower dosages of marijuana can be detected by more sensitive tests. Urine, blood, saliva, and hair are among the tests available.

Dose of THC

THC, not marijuana, is the focus of marijuana drug testing. As a result, the quantity of THC consumed by a person is a critical component.

THC has a compounding impact. This indicates that somebody who smokes multiple times over many days has absorbed a higher THC dose and is thus more likely to test positive than somebody who smokes once.

The potency of each THC dose is also important. An individual cannot reliably estimate the potency of their marijuana without sensitive lab equipment.

The experience of being “high” is also unreliable because several things other than THC dosage can amplify or lessen this sensation.

Body fat

Individuals with more body fat may metabolize marijuana slower than those with less body fat because of fat stores marijuana.

The body mass index (BMI) is one method of determining body fat. BMI, on the other hand, isn’t a precise measure of body fat because weight, and thus BMI, rises with muscle mass.

Gender

Women often have greater body fat than men. This indicates that women may metabolize marijuana a little slower than men.

Hydration

THC concentrations in the body rise as a result of dehydration. Although drinking a lot of water is uncommon to have a substantial impact on a drug test, severe dehydration could.

Fitness and Exercise

Exercise has no significant effect on the pace at which THC is metabolized by the body. As per some research data, exercising before a drug test, on the other hand, might help.

The impact of 35 minutes of stationary bike exercise was evaluated in a brief study in which 14 regular marijuana users participated. The findings show that THC concentrations rose by a statistically substantial number, implying that exercising just before a drug screen may enhance the chances of a positive result.

Exercise, according to medical researchers, may induce fat cells to release THC. Individuals with a greater BMI experienced more substantial increases in THC levels, according to their findings.

Metabolism

THC, as well as other metabolic compounds linked to THC, must be eliminated from the bloodstream for a drug test to be negative. THC is normally eliminated faster by those with higher metabolisms than by people with sluggish metabolisms.

THC is detectable in small amounts in doping tests, and the quantity of THC in marijuana smoke varies. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of research studies being done to determine the exact amount of smoking required to fail a drug screen.

Regular cannabis users are far more likely to fail dope tests than casual users, according to studies. A study published in the journal Clinical Chemistry in 2012 looked at marijuana users who smoked a single cigarette containing 6.8 percent THC. THC levels in urine were greatest 0.6 to 7.4 hours following smoking. The study discovered THC in the urine of 100% of regular users and 60–100% of casual users using an extremely sensitive urine test.

According to a 2017 study, hair specimens from 136 marijuana smokers indicating heavy, light, or no usage of marijuana were tested, according to one authentic resource. Researchers clipped hair in 1-centimeter portions to test for up to a month’s worth of exposures for the study.

Positive tests were found in 77% of frequent users and 39% of occasional users. There were no false positives among non-users, implying that false positives in hair tests are uncommon.

In the treatment of marijuana use disorder, a mix of behavioral therapy and medicines may be useful.

Marijuana, contrary to public opinion, can be addicting. Marijuana addiction is diagnosed by medical professionals based on the existence of specific indications, symptoms, and behavioral changes. Marijuana addiction is considered a cannabis use disorder or marijuana use disorder in those who match the diagnostic criteria. Affected patients have a hard time quitting the substance, despite the fact that it creates issues in many aspects of their lives. 

Using detoxification kits and failing a drug test are two symptoms that your marijuana use is more severe than you are willing to confess. Premium luxury inpatient treatment provides a range of substance misuse treatment options, including fully residential inpatient rehab to a variety of outpatient options. The treatment facility is completely accredited and specializes in evidence-based therapy for all degrees of drug and alcohol abuse, and we are only a phone call away.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, about 30 percent of those who use marijuana will acquire a marijuana use disorder. Individuals using the substance before the age of 18 are four to seven times as likely to develop an addiction than those who start using it later in life.

Most individuals who become hooked on marijuana acquire dependence, which means that their bodies become reliant on the drug to operate properly. Symptoms of withdrawal can occur when a marijuana addict abruptly stops using the drug.

Marijuana withdrawal symptoms usually appear 24 to 72 hours after the last use, maximum in intensity in the first week, and linger for 1-2 weeks. Withdrawal symptoms linked to marijuana use include:

  • Irritability.
  • Headache.
  • Anxiety.
  • Depression.
  • Sleep deprivation.
  • Pain in the abdomen
  • Appetite decreases.
  • Fever/chills.
  • Tremors.
  • Disordered sleep
  • Sweating.

Although there are no FDA-approved prescription drugs to treat marijuana withdrawal, enrolling in an addiction treatment program that includes a detox period under medical supervision can make the process more bearable. Supportive care and drugs may be provided by healthcare professionals to alleviate withdrawal symptoms such as nausea and headaches. Sleep aids, anti-anxiety medicine, and anticonvulsant treatment have all shown potential in tests.

According to a recent scientific study, a combination of behavioral therapy and pharmaceuticals may be useful in treating marijuana use disorder, especially in persons who also have mental health issues. For somebody with a mental health issue and marijuana addiction, motivational enhancement therapy, contingency management, and cognitive-behavioral therapy may all be useful behavioral therapeutic approaches.

The high-end luxury detox and rehab for marijuana addiction have the best chances of recovery across all levels of healthcare including inpatient, residential and outpatient care. Premium amenities with upscale medical professionals and high-end alternative treatments for drug addiction are the hallmark of luxury inpatient and residential treatment centers.

Luxury rehab focuses on a holistic whole-body approach that entails healing of the body, mind, and spirit. Medically supervised detox and evidence-based behavioral therapies employed at high-end luxury addiction treatment centers have undoubtedly the best possible outcomes.

The premium upscale alternative treatments in luxury addiction treatment centers include yoga classes, meditation, equine therapy, massage, and spa treatments. Designed for high-level elites, sportsmen, and celebrities, Luxury premium upscale addiction treatment centers ensure the highest levels of confidentiality with private rooms and personalized schedules for therapies.

If you or a loved one is suffering from marijuana addiction, contact us right away, to begin with, your rehab process. 

FAQs

What factors influence how marijuana affects a person?
Marijuana’s influence on a person, like every other drug, is dependent on a variety of circumstances, such as the individual’s prior experience with the drug or other illegal substances, how the drug is consumed, biology (– for example, genes), and the strength of the substance (its potency).
Is it true that consuming marijuana leads to the usage of other drugs?
The bulk of marijuana users does not progress to using other “harder” narcotics such as heroin or cocaine. Nevertheless, according to other studies, people are more likely to use marijuana before attempting other narcotics.  Animal studies have also shown that when rodents are administered multiple doses of THC, they have heightened behavioral responses and changed neural activity not only when given more THC, but when given other medications like morphine. Researchers are currently investigating if a teen’s exposure to marijuana causes brain alterations that make them more prone to get addicted to weed or other drugs like alcohol, opiates, or cocaine.

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