Science and the general population are exploring new ways of experiencing it as the medical marijuana industry continues to leave its footprint on the field of medicine. Cannabidiol, or CBD, has stepped into the spotlight as a highly-regarded form of alternative medicine and has gained much traction in the medical marijuana industry.
CBD is a cannabis compound that many claim has medical benefits but without the feeling of being high. In fact, it can actually counteract the psychoactivity of THC. This makes it an appealing alternative for treating issues such as inflammation, anxiety, seizures, arthritis, PTSD, epilepsy, and more, for people who want to take benefit of its healing properties without getting “stoned” or resorting to conventional pain medicine.
It’s even being explored for its anti-cancer properties. Further adding to its trustworthiness is the fact that science has suggested CBD can safely be consumed even at high doses.
What are drug tests and what do they check?
Employers perform drug test to check for illicit substances including heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. They are allowed to craft a drug testing policy that meets the organization’s needs as long as it follows applicable law. Employers can make the job candidates to take a drug test and then hire them on a decision based on the results.
In the vast majority of cases, employers abide by the SAMSHA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) guidelines as it keeps them protected in a legal sense. For a considerable length of time Cannabis remains in the system after the psychoactive (attributed to cannabis’ THC content) effects disappear Depending on whom you believe, cannabis can remain in the system anywhere from 25 days to 15 weeks after consumption!
As a consequence, employers utilize a very specific test for marijuana in the urine. For marijuana to identify the drug and THC (also known as THC-COOH) which is marijuana’s main metabolite, an immunoassay with antibodies is used.
How much you should ingest for CBD oil to show up on a drug test?
If a person were to consume anywhere from 1000 to 2000 mg of CBD in a day, that would be enough to result in a positive for marijuana on a drug test. However, it would be a false positive. But if the sample were to experience a GC/MS (Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry) test to confirm if it’s really positive, it would then be found to be negative as those specific tests are more precise and do not discover CBD or other cannabinoids. Still, the risk is there.
And even though it’s a negligible risk, that’s sufficient to make some people not want to drink CBD oil at all for terror that they’ll end up with a false positive. But once more, not all CBD oil contains THC. With the popularity of CBD oil growing day by day, more and more companies is producing CBD oil to meet the demand. While shopping around for CBD oil, you’ll find not just a couple, but several different products, all of which promise quality.
It is not necessary that all of these companies making these oils are honest. In fact, some will go as far as providing inaccurate information of their labels just to make a sale. While examining your labels for information on the CBD oil’s contents and quality is very important, so is doing your investigation on the company itself. The best technique to do this is to check to see if the products have gone through correct testing.
But also look for third-party test reports not just look out for on-site test reports. That way you know that you’re actually getting a high-quality product. Another thing you might want to glance over is the product’s reviews. Are they mostly positive? Or, is there a mix of opinions? Go for the company that creates products that people trust the most.
How does CBD affect drug test?
For drug testing in the age of legal marijuana, what does all of this mean? CBD probably won’t show up on a drug test According to Quest Diagnostics Director of Science and Technology, Barry Sample. “If the product contains only CBD and has had the THC removed, then an individual being tested would not be expected to test positive for marijuana or marijuana metabolite.”
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the recommended cutoff level of THC is 50 ng/mL to pass a drug test. Most employers and officially authorized services choose to use SAMHSA certified labs as the standard, since it’s more liable to hold up in court. Most CBD consumers won’t have trouble passing a drug test as most hemp oil or CBD products are usually sold with much lower levels of THC (compared to marijuana).
It’s doubtful that CBD products alone would lead to a positive result on a drug test shown by research, it’s important to note that CBD was found to interact with the body’s metabolism of certain compounds. It means that CBD users who also use marijuana may in fact show higher levels of THC for a longer period of time than when using marijuana only.
References:
- Can You Fail a Drug Test Due to CBD? via US drug test Center
- Will CBD oil show up on a drug test? by Brittney Sanger via Herb