How Long Does Marijuana Stay In Your System

How long does marijuana stay in your bloodstream? That’s a question on many people’s minds these days. With the legalization of marijuana becoming more common, it has gone from a harmful drug to an everyday remedy for a variety of ailments. With its ability to greatly reduce aches and pain within the body, it has very much become a necessity for most people. So, for many who depend on marijuana as a medicine, how long weed stays in your blood system must be a serious question.

THC and Its Relationship with Cannabis

THC is one of the many cannabinoids present in pot. It is also the major hallucinogen present in hash. While there is no doubt that it has benefits for the body, its hallucinogenic properties can be very troublesome. So how does it affect someone?

As soon as someone inhales marijuana and it enters their body, THC flows from the lungs into the bloodstream. And from there, in a matter of seconds, THC spreads into the brain and other organs. And since THC interacts very well with the endocannabinoid system, it can control parts of the brain that are responsible for sensation, memory, coordination, movement, and judgment.

Once smoked, THC can affect the body instantly and leave you feeling dizzy and distorted. Although the high for THC doesn’t tend to last very long, it can remain in your body for a much longer time. The high from the pot often lasts for about one or three hours. But marijuana lasts in blood for at least three days or for a month.

Some of the side effects of consuming THC are:

• Fear
• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Distorted sense of time
• Hallucinations
• Delusions
• Impaired coordination
• Trouble thinking or concentrating
• Increase in appetite
• And finally Paranoia

These are some of the side effects of inhaling THC. Of course, these side effects only remain until the original high of pot, and don’t stay after. However, THC stays in the bloodstream even after the initial high, and sometimes for a very long time. So, before we go into how long marijuana stays in your blood, let’s look at how the body processes THC.

Body processing THC

As soon as THC enters the lungs, various other body tissues and organs (like the brain and heart) begin to absorb THC. On the other hand, the liver starts to metabolize THC, which soon leaves the body through the urine. And since the tissues absorb THC, they eventually release THC over the course of a few days until nothing is left. In other words, weed stays in your bloodstream and is visible in tests long after your last smoke.

It is possible for THC to eventually leave the body over the next 48 hours in occasional users. That said, chronic users or people who smoke weed often store THC inside the fatty tissue much faster than the body can eliminate. So THC will stay in your blood for at least three days, and this term is often bigger.

Effects of THC Staying in the Bloodstream

Marijuana does not only affect the brain and motor functions, but it can also greatly affect the cardiovascular system. Pot can increase heart rate and cardiac output. An increase in cardiac output will result in peripheral vascular resistance and a drastic decrease in exercise performance. These are very temporary side effects of inhaling THC into the body. Eventually the body excretes THC, taking most of its side effects with it.

Consuming Cannabis

Types of Consumption	Methods	Frequency of Use
Smoking	Hand Pipes	Occasional users: up to three times a week Moderate users: four times a week Chronic users: daily Heavy chronic users: multiple time a day
	Water pipes
	Rolling paper
	Hookah
	Vape
Edibles	Food
	Ingestible oils	These products often use CBD and very less THC in their composition. And since these are often legal, you cannot get high and often don’t show up positive in a test.
	Tinctures
Topical	Cream

Factors That Influence How Long Marijuana Stays In Blood

Marijuana is a drug before anything else, and like many other drugs and hallucinogens, the person that is consuming the drugs also makes a big difference on how long the drug will stay in the system. And while many will think that there is not that big of a difference, the difference can be quite substantial. In other words, different people will react to pot differently. So, there is no real way of telling just how marijuana will affect someone, but there are factors that tell how long it will stay in the body and show up in a test.

1. How often do people consume the drug
2. How much body fat does a person have
3. The sensitivity of the drug test
4. How much a person smokes at a given time

All of these four factors can greatly influence just how long marijuana stays in your system. They can also influence the urine test or drug test. So, to answer your question, “how long does THC stay in the blood system”, it greatly depends on the test they are conducting.

1. Blood Tests
   Blood tests are a little indecisive when finding out whether or not someone has drugs in their system. The tests сan really find marijuana in a moderate user’s body even after 25 days, which can be a little hard to believe. But usually these tests can only detect marijuana in the blood within three days.
2. Saliva Test
   Various studies have shown that saliva can hold THC much longer than any other fluid produced by the body. So, a saliva test can actually yield positive test results much later in the smoker’s life. The test can find positive results in an occasional smoker one to three days after they smoked, and one to thirty days for a chronic smoker.
3. Urine Testing
   Urine testing is actually one of the best ways to find weed in the system. The test can detect marijuana in an occasional smoker for three days, a moderate smoker for five to seven days. Chronic smokers will be detected for 10 to fifteen days, and chronic heavy users – for more than 30 days.
4. Hair Testing
   Hair drug tests can detect drug use for up to 90 days after use, regardless of the smoker. THC travels to the hair through small blood vessels and trace amounts remain in the hair. And since hair grows 0.5 inches every month, a test with a hair follicle from the root can show results for 90 days.

After Smoking Weed

Weed is very much a hallucinogen, so you should always be careful when consuming it. It can alter your motor skills and decision-making. It can even make you hallucinate. So it is important that you do not drive when you are high. Also, you should not go near incredibly high places, and make sure you smoke weed in a secluded area. You may also feel a sudden urge to eat. But be careful not to eat too much, as it can result in food poisoning.

In conclusion, weed has now become acceptable on a wide scale, but many still do not accept it. You must keep in mind how much you smoke because your smoking habits can affect your fluid tests. If the tests turn out to be positive, you might have to face some unpleasant situations.