Marijuana drug testing is being conducted at home, schools, and other organizations. It is done by various methods including urine tests, hair tests, saliva tests and blood tests. The active component of marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Marijuana drug test of any type checks for the presence of THC and its metabolites. Detection of the drug or its metabolites varies for different types of tests.
The amount of time after drug consumption, that a specific drug testing method can still show a positive result, is called detection period. Detection period varies based on several factors. Some of them are listed here.
- Age of person
- Gender
- Drug Interactions
- Any Disease Condition
- Type of Drug
- Mode of Administration
- Drug Dosage
It also depends on type of sensitivity of test employed, last time use of drug, and metabolic rate of the user.
Urine test is most commonly conducted for detecting drug consumption. Marijuana can be detected in urine for several weeks in a frequent user. Occasional use of marijuana can be detected for 10 days by urine test.
Metabolites of marijuana reach hair after 7 to 10 days of consumption. They can be detected by hair test for about 90 days. This is the most efficient method of detecting the drug. Because of its high accuracy, it is used by several organizations. As it can detect drug consumed much before, it is easy to detect the drug abused employees.
Saliva marijuana test can detect the drug for about 12-24 hours after consumption. Hence, it detects only the recent use of drug. Detection period for marijuana by blood test is about 2 to 7 days. Thus, detection period of marijuana varies for different types of tests. So based on requirements, different types of tests can be conducted. For example, saliva and blood tests can be performed for determining recent drug use.