Will you pass a drug test after taking CBD oil?
The only way to guarantee that the CBD products you use will not show up in drug testing is to use products made from CBD isolate or broad-spectrum extracts.
Drug tests look for THC - not CBD
A drug test will only find what it's supposed to look for. If a substance is not specifically included in the list of compounds the test is supposed to look for, it will not show up in the results.
The substances that may be considered "problematic" by a given organization may vary. For example, most drug tests used by companies only look for signs of illegal drugs - such as heroin, cocaine or methamphetamines. Unlike sports anti-doping agencies, they don't worry about substances such as anabolic steroids.
There are no sports commissions or anti-doping agencies that have CBD on their list of banned substances, so there is no reason to test for it. However, world governments and anti-doping agencies do list THC as an official banned substance. Virtually all drug tests check for THC.
If taking CBD causes you to test positive on a drug test, it is because of the THC content, not the CBD content. The only way to completely avoid the possibility of failing one of these tests is to use products that contain absolutely no THC.
How do drug tests work?
Testing for drugs in urine, blood, hair or saliva requires high-tech laboratory equipment such as mass spectrometry, gas chromatography or immunoassays.
Home tests use a more primitive method involving reagents - a series of chemicals that react and change colour when exposed to the substances they are designed to identify. Here are the most common methods used to evaluate a sample for the presence of illicit or prohibited substances:
1. Mass spectrometry and gas chromatography
Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry are two methods that are usually used in combination to evaluate the content of urine, blood or saliva. Together, these methods are considered the 'gold standard' in drug testing.
These tests work by measuring the mass of different chemicals and plotting them on a graph. It provides a "fingerprint" of the various compounds present in the substance being tested. In some cases, an immunoassay provides an additional level of certainty that can help avoid false negative or positive results.
2. Immunoassays
Immunoassays look for the presence of specific antibodies produced by the body in response to a substance rather than looking for the substance itself.
Most drugs or medications cause a reaction in the body in the form of antibody production. The antibody is designed to recognize the compound that enters the bloodstream and labels it. Some antibodies mark substances as "safe", others mark them as "dangerous", which activates parts of the immune system to attack or remove them from the body. Antibodies can be used to identify drug use even after there are no longer detectable levels of the drug in the body.
Types of drug tests
There are many different types of drug testing methods that a company or sports organization can use to test for substances they consider to be a problem. These tests can be categorized by analytical method (reagent testing, mass spectrometry, gas chromatography) or by the resolution of what is being tested (urine, blood, hair or saliva). There are pros and cons for each type of test and some are better for the purpose.
1. Urine drug tests
Urine drug testing is the most common test today. They are cheap, non-invasive and reliable.
Most urine drug tests check for the presence of THC. More specifically, they do not look for THC itself, but for one of the main metabolites of this compound produced by the body, called THC-COOH. These metabolites can be detected in urine up to 30 days after use. If you have used a product containing THC only once or twice, the body should clear completely in about 3-7 days and the substance will not be detectable in a drug test.
2. Blood drug tests
Blood tests are much less common than urine testing because they are invasive, expensive and surprisingly unreliable in detecting the presence of various drugs or drugs.
As far as THC is concerned, blood tests can indeed detect whether a person is currently under the influence of THC. If the test result exceeds 2 ng/ml, the person is legally considered "impaired", but THC levels quickly drop to undetectable levels within about 24 hours.
3. Saliva drug testing
Another method that some companies use to test their employees is a saliva sample. This method is very uncommon because it is not as reliable as other tests.
THC will only remain detectable in a saliva sample for 72 hours. People who use THC daily for several weeks may not test positive until a week after they stop treatment.
4. Hair drug tests
Hair can also be tested for the presence of various substances. These tests can identify drug use over a much longer period of time, but are not as reliable as other forms. Hair tests often produce false positive or false negative results, so most organizations don't even bother with this type of test.
The threshold for THC in a hair test is very low - only one picogram per milligram. THC can be detectable in hair for up to 90 days.
Types of CBD extracts
The only products that are considered "safe" when it comes to drug testing are CBD isolates and broad-spectrum CBD products. By definition, none of these products contain any THC.
However, there are cases where products labelled as THC-free have been found to contain detectable or even high concentrations of THC. Whether by mistake or not, this could lead to a positive test result. This is why you should always use products from brands with a good reputation that also offer third-party tests to prove the absence of THC in their products.
1. Full-spectrum CBD extracts
(Little chance of showing up in a drug test) These products are made from technical hemp plants (cannabis plants with naturally low levels of THC). They are made to carry all the active cannabinoids, terpenes and other phytochemicals in the cannabis plant.
Full-spectrum cannabis oils are considered the most effective overall due to a concept called the entourage effect. However, due to the presence of THC in these products, there is a (small) chance that these products could show up in a drug test.
The concentration of THC in these products is very low (<0.3%), so it is very unlikely to be detected, but not impossible.
2. CBD isolate extracts
(It will not show up in a drug test) CBD oil isolate contains nothing but pure CBD as the active ingredient. All other cannabinoids - including THC - have been completely removed from the extract.
These products will not cause a positive finding in a drug test unless they are contaminated with THC-containing extracts. In one study, it was found that the acidic environment of the stomach can (theoretically) convert some of the CBD into THC.
However, this was an in vitro study, which does not necessarily correspond to the reality in the human body. The concentrations that were converted are so low that they are extremely unlikely to be detected in a drug test. This study has been called into question by other research, yet it is certainly worth mentioning.
3. Broad spectrum CBD extracts
(Extremely unlikely to show up in a drug test) Broad-spectrum extract falls in the middle between full spectrum products and CBD isolates. They contain several active terpenes and cannabinoids naturally produced by cannabis, with the exception of THC.
It is very unlikely that the use of these products would lead to a positive drug test result due to the absence of THC.
4. Products with a high THC content
(Very likely to show up in a drug test) This is a whole other category of cannabis products. These are products made from plants with a higher concentration of delta 9 THC (> 0,3 %). Even oils from these plants that contain high concentrations of CBD or are only mildly psychoactive are likely to cause you to fail a drug test.
If you are drug tested for any reason, you should avoid taking any extracts from such plants.
Summary: Will I pass a drug test after taking CBD oil?
The short answer is "most likely yes", but with some details to watch out for. A drug test does not look for CBD because it is not a banned substance. These tests look for a cannabinoid called THC.
CBD isolates and broad-spectrum products contain 0% THC and are unlikely to cause a positive drug test. Full-spectrum extracts contain very small concentrations of THC and could therefore (in theory) cause a positive test result. Products containing high concentrations of THC are very likely to cause a positive drug test up to a month after use.