How Long Do Different Drugs Stay in the Body?
Each person is different, so every person will experience differences in the amount of time various drugs remain in their system. The time it spends in the body can depend on your health and weight.
One uses half-life times to understand when half of a substance has been eliminated from the body. This measurement allows comparison and general timelines, though every person is different depending on certain factors.
Factors affecting the presence of drugs in your system
Some factors differ from person to person and will affect how long a substance will remain in blood or urine when tested. This variance means one can only give generalized estimates of times and not exact numbers for everyone. The main factors are physical activity and metabolism, frequency of use, and tolerance.
Different drugs and their half-lives
Each substance will have a different half-life and time they will stay in your body. The most commonly used drugs, or ones most commonly found when drug testing, have a wide range of values for the length of time in the body.
Cocaine
The half-life of cocaine is about an hour and a half. After that time has passed, half of the amount of cocaine will still be found in the body. Tests can detect cocaine for up to three days after initial used.
Marijuana
Cannabis has one of the lengthiest half-lives of any drug. Its half-life is anywhere from two to seven days and depends heavily on the frequency of use as it will accumulate in the system. The THC from marijuana may be present in testing up to thirty days from initial consumption.
Methamphetamine
This substance is the most widely used stimulant. A similar high is encountered when taking a prescription for ADD, though much less common. Meth has a half-life that is around eleven hours from initial use. It may remain present in the system up to three days later.
MDMA (ecstasy)
MDMA is referred to as Molly as well as ecstasy. It is a popular drug for those attending a club, rave, or a large concert. The half-life of MDMA is around eight hours, though this is a drug heavily dependent on metabolism to be flushed from the system. Therefore the length will vary from person to person, sometimes widely. It might remain in the system for up to four days.
Final thoughts
If you’re worried about the presence of drugs in your system, or if you have a concern about a possible drug test, there is only one way to ensure that you are clean. That way is to abstain completely. If you don’t partake in the first place, you won’t ever need to worry.
