Far too often, people ask how long marijuana stays in their system. They listen to advice from their friends, which isn’t always accurate. And the length it stays in a person’s system varies, so it doesn’t matter if you detox for a drug test a week before or a month before, you could still test positive. 

First and foremost, it’s important to know how marijuana works to determine how long it remains in your system. For instance, marijuana is a mind-altering drug, meaning it affects how your brain works. It affects your thoughts and actions. Marijuana contains 400 chemicals such as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC. The THC binds to the cannabinoid receptors in the brain, which are in various areas of the brain including the areas associated with thought, pleasure, memory, coordination and time perception. Once the THC binds to the receptors, it activates them and affects these aspects of the person’s thinking. The amount of THC in the plant affects its potency, which has an impact on the effects it has on you. The amount of THC in it also plays a role in how long it stays in your system, so it can affect the amount of time you have to detox for a drug test. 

The length of time marijuana stays in your system depends on the test you take as well as how frequently you smoke or use any product with THC in it. Once you introduce it into your system, the fatty tissue in your body quickly absorbs it. It can remain in your fat cells for a week or sometimes longer than a month. The more cannabis you use, and the more frequent your usage, the more that remains in your system. If you only smoke once, the THC could be gone within days of the usage while those who use everyday test positive for marijuana for longer than a month. 

Keep in mind, you’ll tend to be able to pass a blood test for cannabis sooner than a urinalysis for drugs. A blood test detects the presence of marijuana in your system and not inactive metabolites. Therefore, a blood test only looks for recent usage as opposed to a urinalysis, which can detect usage in the past few weeks. It remains in your hair follicles for the longest amount of time. Keep in mind, how long cannabis stays in your system isn’t just dependent upon how frequently you use and how much you use. Your body plays a role as well. Some people eliminate it from their system sooner than others. Since it’s stored in fat cells, people who have more fat cells tend to have it in their system longer. 


If you’re worried about how long marijuana stays in your system, it’s a good indication you could use a ClearTest product to help cleanse your system.