Q&A: "How Do People Pass Drug Tests Even Though They Still Get High?"
Q&A: "How Do People Pass Drug Tests Even Though They Still Get High?"
Contains Subjective Input
Originally January 14, 2019
The info contained in this answer pertain only to urine drug screens, and not hair, blood, or saliva samples. Lots of people preach specific tricks to help you cheat a urine screen: jello packets, detox drinks, putting bleach in the urine cup…none of those really work, save for possibly the detox drinks, though not because they contain anything special. The real magic elixir: water. Plain, regular water, and lots of it.
Urine screens look for a specific concentration of a drug or its metabolites (what the body converts the drug to) per mL of urine. By drinking a lot of water the day of the test, the person undergoing testing can lower the detectable concentration substantially. Whether dealing with a fat-soluble drug such as THC (in marijuana) or a water-soluble one like heroin or cocaine, this method of sample dilution can tip the balance between failing and passing.
While every guide gives slightly different instructions, usually this method involves the test subject beginning to pound water starting six hours prior to the test. Doing so anytime before that (e.g. days in advance) won’t really influence the test too much. At any rate, leading up to the time of the test, consuming at the bare minimum a gallon of water is recommended, with many sources advising the testee to keep chugging it even when they feel full and nauseous.
Other beverages can also be consumed; some guides suggest green tea, for example. Anything with caffeine in it will work as a diuretic and increase the body’s rate of urination, which can help or hurt the test subject’s chances depending on how much fluid they’ve already consumed and when they have to take the test. Most “detox drinks” on the market work simply because the directions tell the consumer to drink x glasses of water after downing the drink a few hours before taking the test. However, really a person only needs basic water for this trick to work if it ever would work; spending $40 on an expensive placebo is truly unnecessary.
The test subject must urinate at the very least anywhere from 3 to 8 times prior to the urine screen itself, in order to expel existing toxins and insure that only what they’ve just drank comes out and not anything already in the body. When somebody consumes that much water, the kidneys stop processing what they were working on and shift their focus to simply pumping out this excess of water that has suddenly appeared. Thus, ideally what ends up in that cup is nothing more than regular water. When the time comes to go, this method usually urges testees to let the beginning of their stream pass into the toilet and allow urine from midstream to collect into the cup before finishing in the toilet. Allegedly, the beginning and end of a stream contain more toxins than the middle.
If the testee has to take only a simple “dipstick” test, this method works best. Dipsticks involve a test facilitator taking the sample, dipping little stick-like panels into the urine, and waiting a few minutes for the results to show up. The cups used for these urine screens sometimes have thermometers in them to make sure the testee’s sample actually contains their pee from right then and there, but rarely do they try to prove it as a diluted sample. Suspicious samples such as a completely clear urine could prompt certain test administrators to send it to a lab for further analysis, though proving dilution doesn't necessarily prove that the subject took drugs. Doing that costs money though, and most agencies don't feel like spending the extra cash to confirm that a cup filled with what looks like water actually contains more or less unadulterated water. While an extremely clear sample can arouse suspicion, there are ways to handle that.
Sometimes, samples are sent to a lab. Tests analyzed this way have a few more hurdles to jump over than a simple dipstick. These tests look for samples diluted with too much water, usually doing so by screening for creatinine. Creatinine is a metabolite of creatine, a protein that we as humans ingest and our bodies invariably process. If the sample has no drugs present but also has an extremely low or non-existent creatinine level, then the administrators will likely label it as a diluted sample—that’s just as bad as failing in some situations; in other contexts, that prompts a re-test, and so even then a diluted sample at least buys the testee some more time.
Labs may also test for pH, specific gravity, and the presence of other bodily byproducts; the first two things don’t lead to determining the sample as diluted (in this sense), but if it tests for the presence and concentration of other contents like nitrites, this could screw things up for the test subject trying to fly under the radar. Testing for nitrites also helps to catch fake urine’s presence.
In order to make one’s urine yellower, many people consume a fairly large amount of certain B vitamins like B-12 the night before and morning of. In order to increase the levels of creatinine that will show up on a urine test, eating lots of red meats and/or creatine supplements should do the job, starting to do this 3 or 4 days before the test through the night before.
The aforementioned method does not represent a fool-proof way to cheat drug screens, and for liability purposes let me say that I do not encourage anyone to try it, I’ve simply laid out what has worked for some people for informational purposes. Usually, this method works best when a person finds themselves on the fence between a pass and fail naturally: perhaps having used cocaine 3 days ago, the screen could go either way if taken without any preparation, but by drinking a lot of water it pushes their levels just beneath the cutoff detection concentration. Keep in mind that drinking a ton of water in a short period of time can actually do a lot of damage to the body up to and including death via water intoxication. Somebody who continues to dabble with getting high and uses this method frequently to pass tests will invariably do some type of damage by loading up on water like this.
Keep in mind that other types of drug tests do exist: saliva swabs; blood tests; hair follicle screens. By and large, most companies, doctors, probation departments, etc. choose to use urine screens because of how cheap they are, not to mention fairly non-invasive (unless someone watches the sample being taken), the speed with which they show results, and for their detection window of different drugs (not too short as with saliva that a user can stop for a day and pass, not too long like with hair tests that even one-time use in a 90 day period will show up). Usually, blood tests will happen in hospitals, like on an unconscious person in the emergency room or during a DUI arrest by police. Hair tests often happen in extremely professional contexts such as for hiring a highly specialized worker.
A few other methods exist to cheat urine tests, namely; substitution and fake genitals/synthetic urine can sometimes work.
With substitution, the testee has a clean and sober friend urinate into a little container, which they then bring to the test. As previously mentioned, some tests have thermometers built-in which only turn a certain color when a sample sits in the range of regular human urine. To get around this, test subjects have put hand warmers around their sample on the way into the exam or sat it on the car’s vent and cranked up the heat.
When the time comes to give the sample, this method won’t work if the test administrator watches carefully. If they don’t really pay attention or don’t even stand in the bathroom, then this method might work. If it gets sent to a lab, this method might make even more sense because the sample will display a natural creatinine level with no drugs. However, people playing with this method should make sure that they have someone of the same gender provide their sample. In one instance, after getting the results back from the lab, this person’s probation officer told the man: “the good news is, the sample came back negative for drugs. The bad news is, the sample also came back positive for pregnancy; oh, and you’re under arrest.”
The other major way that people [successfully] cheat urine screens involves using synthetic urine. Companies making these products boast that labs can’t distinguish it from real urine. This often remains true for some time until these labs catch onto the latest strains of synthetic urine and its properties, at which point companies come out with a newer generation of the stuff for sale. In this sense, a cat and mouse game goes on constantly. While it would of course work for a dipstick test, synthetic urine’s main use is to cheat lab tests. Dipsticks can’t determine the difference between urine, synthetic urine, bottled water, and Pepsi—it’ll just say whether that liquid does or does not contain said drugs. Meanwhile, lab tests can get rather complex. Many products require a minute or so in the microwave prior to a person heading out to take the test or they come with other products that keep it warm.
Delivering synthetic urine or a substituted sample into the cup can cause difficulties in many testees who have too much on the table to fail that drug test. Thus, some men purchase and wear products like the Whizzinator. Basically, they attach to their groin a plastic penis which can hold the liquid sample inside of it. When the test time comes, the test subject simply squeezes the head of this fake penis to release the sample stored within. That particular product sells as a “wet sex simulator,” since the law forbids cheating drug tests and products related to doing so. It comes with synthetic urine, it keeps the sample at body temperature inside the faux shaft, and the penis comes in several different skin tones. Test takers who choose to use products like the Whizzinator should make sure to order their corresponding skin color: rumor has it that one individual, faced with a surprise drug test the next day or two, ordered the Whizzinator. He then had the company overnight it and when he received his package, this pale male opened up the box to find that they’d sent him a Black dick. He tried to use it anyway, got caught, and his parole officer sent him back to jail.
One should note that attempts to cheat or tamper with urine screens violates the law in many places, including Pennsylvania where trying to use fake urine for a drug test constitutes a Class 3 Misdemeanor. Proving that somebody drank too much water to cheat a test inherently carries more difficulty than proving fake urine, though in some settings a dilute sample automatically equates to a failed test. Even just having clear urine can lead to ramifications in certain places; taking Vitamin B-12 and eating lots of red meat ahead of time play into a person’s passing by drinking a lot more so in some situations.
Benzodiazepines: The benzo class contains a variety of prescription drugs, the most popular being Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Valium (diazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), Serax (oxazepam), Rohypnol aka “roofies” (flunitrazepam), Normison (temazepam) and Librium (chlordiazepoxide), among others. Benzos stay in the blood for 1–2 days typically and saliva 16–48 hours.
Like marijuana, the length of time urine screens can detect benzos depends on the amount used. Also, the detection time varies by drug, with longer acting ones popping up on UAs for longer. On average, one-time use of a benzo shows up in urine for 1–5 days. Chronic usage may have a person positive for 4 or even up to 6 weeks. Even a few days of using Valium (diazepam) can come up for several weeks. One source states that Xanax (alprazolam), used sparingly. shows up for 1–3 days, while Klonopin (clonazepam) done the same way will take 3–8 days to clear out and Valium (diazepam) 12 or more (usually more, according to almost all other sources).
Interestingly, some benzo urine tests fail to pick up the presence of some benzos. The template for this test was designed when Valium dominated the benzo abuse scene, and so they geared the test specifically for that molecule, although because of the chemicals’ similarities it would detect its cousins—at least, in theory. In the United States today, Xanax (alprazolam) has the most popular standing among recreational users, with many people also taking Klonopin (clonazepam) and Ativan (lorazepam). Curiously, all three of these sporadically fly under the radar in certain screens, even lab tests. Klonopin (clonazepam) in particular evades detection most often. Nobody can count on these drugs not showing up, though. Most drug tests have a benzo panel. The benzo test is rapidly replacing PCP as one of the 5 drugs screened for on the most basic tests available. The lab used for reference in this article also includes benzos in their standard screening.
Barbiturates: Their urine detection frame resembles that of benzos and marijuana, with larger doses and/or more frequent consumption remaining detectable for exponentially longer. Some drugs like phenobarbitol can take around 4 weeks to clear out (not from taking one dose once though, but even a couple days in a row can cause a person to fail for a while). Again like benzos, shorter acting barbs also leave the body faster. Since barely anybody has gotten their hands on a barbiturate since like 1973, this section doesn’t apply to that many people. Despite its absence of popularity, most 9 panel UAs include a barbiturate panel—probably because it is cheap and simple to test for, and so they tack it on to make the test look more extensive. The reference lab has barbiturates on the roster for its standard screening.
Buprenorphine/Suboxone/Subutex: Increasingly making the list of extended panel tests, usually test administrators need a separate dipstick or special request for Suboxone. One particular probation office uses a separate dipstick for Suboxone patients and known opioid users, while a well-known treatment center requested the additional buprenorphine screen on their lab tests every time. Additionally, the lab used for reference doesn’t include it as a standard screen, though they do offer a test upon request. In blood and saliva, nothing will likely show up past 24 hours. Perhaps because of buprenorphine’s large variation in half-life between individuals, different sources put the time that this drug shows up in urine anywhere from 2 (2–3) to 10 (7–10) days.
Cannabis/Marijuana/THC/Weed: Easily the most common illegal drug in the country, millions of Americans (and people elsewhere) could see their lives seriously damaged if administered a drug test. These tests only look for THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis; other cannabinoids that effect the human body won’t show up and thus CBD oils and the like will not change the results. Heavy users might have it in their saliva for nearly 2 days, though by 24 hours most people will pass. It leaves the blood by day 2 usually as well.
Naturally, the NIDA 5 (most basic set of drugs tested for) includes THC, as does the lab used for reference have it on its standard screen. The urine detection time for marijuana gives people the most trouble. “It stays in your system for 30 days” seems to sum up the public’s perception of this subject. For some—for many—it does show up for an entire month. Still, somebody who has not smoked in a long time could get high today and pass tomorrow or the next day: isolated consumption could stay in for anywhere between 1 and 8 days, generally falling on the lower side. Even smoking just 2 or 3x compared to 1 can keep THC detectable in urine for a lot longer—think 10 days to 3 weeks for the people toking a couple times a month. Daily users, meanwhile, could stop popping hot after 10 days, or it could take 30 days; some heavy users (and/or heavy individuals) might fail a UA for THC over a month later.
The reason why THC and a few other drugs can remain detectable for so long and vary so much based on the amounts consumed compared to others has to do with how the body absorbs and processes it. Most drugs have water solubility, meaning they get absorbed by water in the body, and consequently don’t stick around in any one spot for all that long because soon enough whatever water it has absorbed into gets prepared for excretion, and it exits the body with urine. Meanwhile, THC et al have fat solubility, so those chemicals stick around in fat cells; the body slowly expels them as it burns the fat, but fat soluble drugs have a much better chance to build up and dig in to the user's body. Fatter users and those with slower metabolisms will retain traces of these chemmicals for the longest, as well as those who never exercise. Getting a lot of exercise in during the weeks and days before a test can help expel drugs stored in fat more rapidly, although the test subject should stop the strenuous activity 48 hours prior to the test—otherwise, they’d actually end up releasing more THC metabolites into their urine as they burn it off (it has to go somewhere after being booted out of the fat!).
Many critics point out that because drug tests pick up on marijuana way longer than other drugs, it encourages the population of users getting tested regularly to instead use other, much more harmful substances with shorter detection periods, like perhaps cocaine or heroin.
Cocaine/Crack: Stays in blood for about 3 days and 2–5 days for saliva. Urine detection periods can range wildly, showing up for as little as a few hours (typically when a person just snorts one line or just smokes one rock—which seems to happen rarely when it comes to the compulsively addictive drug cocaine). Meanwhile, extremely heavy, long-term users might test positive for over a week. The majority of users will fail for 2 or 3 days, and almost always between 1–4. Almost all drug tests include a panel for cocaine/crack, as it comprises one of the NIDA 5 (the most basic standard UA panel); the lab used for reference puts cocaine on its standard screen, too.
Fentanyl: This potent opioid has appeared a lot more regularly in the recent past, usually added into batches of heroin with or without the user’s knowledge, because it makes the effects stronger. Fentanyl also has more dangers than heroin because of its potency; consequently, it and its analogues killed around 29,000 Americans in 2017 alone. It has made a large impact and has a large prevalence in the drug world. For example, most heroin seized in Philadelphia had some fentanyl in it, often having no heroin whatsoever--just fentanyl. Despite how big fentanyl has grown in recent years, drug screens do not regularly look for it. Regular and extended panel UAs rarely include it, the standard screening list at the lab of reference lacks it; in fact, many probation departments don’t have fentanyl tests, and parolees can continue using opioids by buying batches of dope which contain solely fentanyl. Some places now stock separate fentanyl dipsticks to use accordingly. Likewise, people enrolled in treatment programs sometimes pull the same trick. Labs almost always have a test for it, available on special request; because the labs don’t put it in their package x-panel deals, it costs extra—a price which many pass on paying.
Because of its less common testing, the data provided cannot be relied on as much as others listed here. At any rate, one source says 2 days for blood and saliva and up to 5 for urine, while another source states up to 12 hours for blood, 1–3 days for saliva, and merely 8–24 hours in urine. In theory, the latter makes more sense due to its short half-life—shorter than heroin and other opioids which remain detectable for slightly longer.
Heroin (also morphine, codeine): Heroin, morphine, codeine, and several other substances will all show up on a drug test as the same thing: “Opiate.” Synthetic opioids such as methadone or fentanyl don’t typically trigger a positive for this category. Opiates as a group and a panel make up 1 of the NIDA 5 and one of the lab of reference’s standard screens.
Blood tests might show an opiate for 2 days and saliva for up to 3. In urine, the body can clear it in as little as 1 day or as many as 5 days (usually heroin addicts), with 3 days as the average, more or less.
LSD/Acid: Perhaps the single most famous and widely used psychedelic drug, acid does not find itself on extended panels, the lab’s standard screens, and almost no probation departments or treatment centers even test for it, and many labs don’t even keep a test available upon special request, perhaps due to the drug’s low abuse profile, or maybe because it only shows up in urine for 8 hours. That pretty much means unless a sample is collected while the testee is still tripping, then they’ll pass a test for it, making testing quite impractical to screen for. It does show up in testing rosters sometimes—more frequently than its cousin, psilocybin—but still is used very rarely.
Methadone: Extended UAs with 9 or 14 panels usually include methadone, and the lab used for reference has it listed as a standard screen. Blood tests might only have a detection window of 24 hours, yet in saliva, methadone can show for 7 full days (more commonly, 1–2 days). Urine tests typically detect the drug for 1–7 days, though perhaps up to 12 according to one source, which listed much higher numbers for a lot of drugs. Different tests may use different cutoff levels, which could account for such differences, as a lower cutoff level will declare the presence of a substance for longer than a higher cutoff level.
Methamphetamine: Although an amphetamine, separate tests exist to distinguish it from legally prescribed drugs like Adderall. Extended panels (e.g. 9 or 14 panel UAs) frequently put meth on their roster, as does the lab used for reference have it among their standard screens. Saliva can show meth’s presence for 1–3 days; blood will reveal it for about 1 day. Tests might only pick it up in urine for 1–3 days, though one source with higher numbers for many drugs says up to 5 is possible. Interestingly, by using the OTC nasal spray named Benzedrex, one might fail a urinalysis for meth for weeks.
MDMA/Molly/Ecstasy: This euphoric, psychedelic stimulant has gone by a variety of names over the years, but at its core contains a methamphetamine molecule. Thus MDMA would also cause positives for Amp and Meth on many tests. Extended panels frequently feature MDMA, and the lab used for reference has it as a standard screen. Saliva tests could pick up on it for 48 hours, maybe 3 days; in blood, MDMA shows up about a day. The urine can reveal the presence of MDMA for about 1–3 days, on par with other amphetamines; like methamphetamine, one source which lists larger numbers for many drugs states up to 5 days is possible—a figure which seems doubtful.
Oxycodone/Oxycontin/Percocet: This popular painkiller doesn’t show up on even many extended panel tests, although others do feature it and its presence on standard panels has increased in recent years. One probation department had a separate dipstick for oxycodone, yet used it for every single test. The lab used as a point of reference does not list oxycodone among its standard screens, though they do offer a separate test by request. Saliva shows the use of oxycodone up to 48 hours later, while in urine it stays for 1–3 days.
Psilocybin/Mushrooms: The chemical in shrooms that makes people trip does not find itself on extended panels, the lab’s standard screens, and almost no probation departments or treatment centers even test for it, and many labs don’t even keep a test available upon special request, perhaps due to the drug’s low abuse profile, or maybe because it only shows up in urine for 8 hours. That pretty much means unless a sample is collected while the testee is still tripping, then they’ll pass a test for it, making testing quite impractical.
Phencyclidine/PCP: This unpredictable hallucinogen has largely gone out of style, though the NIDA 5 includes it as one of five drug tested for on the most basic panels available. Benzos continue to gradually replace PCP’s position there, though officially it still remains; the lab used for reference has it as a standard screen of theirs. Like most drugs, blood tests only catch it for a day, whereas saliva detects PCP for as long as 48–72 hours. Meanwhile, someone who does the drug one time can expect to test positive for 1–8 days, although chronic users could have hot urines for 14 to 30 days or even longer.
Labs and even dipstick tests can detect far more chemicals than the ones listed above; those above just make up some of the most common substances in urine screens.
Once more: any information contained here has a purely informative and educational value. Under no circumstances does the author encourage anyone to try and cheat a drug test, or to use drugs in the first place. Drugs are bad!
Works Cited:
Contains Subjective Input
Originally January 14, 2019
With “don’t do drugs” being the lamest and least helpful response to this question, let me at least say that if a person has ingested a substance, its presence can be traced in their body for some time afterwards, so anyone who chooses to take drugs must take that into account when making a decision. Nobody should do any drugs, but realistically, those who choose to use are urged to at least take any precautions possible to minimize the harm done to themselves and others...
Also, none of the info contained here should compel a person to try and cheat a drug screen, especially one for probation etc. Also, numbers such as the detection windows listed one should take with a grain of salt, do more research elsewhere to get an even better estimate, and remember: individual circumstances and the specific test will influence the outcome more than having a general estimate from the internet.
With that said: nothing will really accelerate the body’s elimination of a drug, though exercise and drinking lots of fluids can do so slightly. Some people time their consumption with schedule drug tests. For example, somebody might see their probation officer one time a month for a urine screen. Thus, they use cocaine here and there for three weeks, then just don't do it for several days before the test and the body will have already eliminated it by then. However, if facing a drug test, certain precautions can be taken to increase the likelihood of a test subject passing…
The info contained in this answer pertain only to urine drug screens, and not hair, blood, or saliva samples. Lots of people preach specific tricks to help you cheat a urine screen: jello packets, detox drinks, putting bleach in the urine cup…none of those really work, save for possibly the detox drinks, though not because they contain anything special. The real magic elixir: water. Plain, regular water, and lots of it.
Urine screens look for a specific concentration of a drug or its metabolites (what the body converts the drug to) per mL of urine. By drinking a lot of water the day of the test, the person undergoing testing can lower the detectable concentration substantially. Whether dealing with a fat-soluble drug such as THC (in marijuana) or a water-soluble one like heroin or cocaine, this method of sample dilution can tip the balance between failing and passing.
While every guide gives slightly different instructions, usually this method involves the test subject beginning to pound water starting six hours prior to the test. Doing so anytime before that (e.g. days in advance) won’t really influence the test too much. At any rate, leading up to the time of the test, consuming at the bare minimum a gallon of water is recommended, with many sources advising the testee to keep chugging it even when they feel full and nauseous.
Other beverages can also be consumed; some guides suggest green tea, for example. Anything with caffeine in it will work as a diuretic and increase the body’s rate of urination, which can help or hurt the test subject’s chances depending on how much fluid they’ve already consumed and when they have to take the test. Most “detox drinks” on the market work simply because the directions tell the consumer to drink x glasses of water after downing the drink a few hours before taking the test. However, really a person only needs basic water for this trick to work if it ever would work; spending $40 on an expensive placebo is truly unnecessary.
The test subject must urinate at the very least anywhere from 3 to 8 times prior to the urine screen itself, in order to expel existing toxins and insure that only what they’ve just drank comes out and not anything already in the body. When somebody consumes that much water, the kidneys stop processing what they were working on and shift their focus to simply pumping out this excess of water that has suddenly appeared. Thus, ideally what ends up in that cup is nothing more than regular water. When the time comes to go, this method usually urges testees to let the beginning of their stream pass into the toilet and allow urine from midstream to collect into the cup before finishing in the toilet. Allegedly, the beginning and end of a stream contain more toxins than the middle.
If the testee has to take only a simple “dipstick” test, this method works best. Dipsticks involve a test facilitator taking the sample, dipping little stick-like panels into the urine, and waiting a few minutes for the results to show up. The cups used for these urine screens sometimes have thermometers in them to make sure the testee’s sample actually contains their pee from right then and there, but rarely do they try to prove it as a diluted sample. Suspicious samples such as a completely clear urine could prompt certain test administrators to send it to a lab for further analysis, though proving dilution doesn't necessarily prove that the subject took drugs. Doing that costs money though, and most agencies don't feel like spending the extra cash to confirm that a cup filled with what looks like water actually contains more or less unadulterated water. While an extremely clear sample can arouse suspicion, there are ways to handle that.
Sometimes, samples are sent to a lab. Tests analyzed this way have a few more hurdles to jump over than a simple dipstick. These tests look for samples diluted with too much water, usually doing so by screening for creatinine. Creatinine is a metabolite of creatine, a protein that we as humans ingest and our bodies invariably process. If the sample has no drugs present but also has an extremely low or non-existent creatinine level, then the administrators will likely label it as a diluted sample—that’s just as bad as failing in some situations; in other contexts, that prompts a re-test, and so even then a diluted sample at least buys the testee some more time.
Labs may also test for pH, specific gravity, and the presence of other bodily byproducts; the first two things don’t lead to determining the sample as diluted (in this sense), but if it tests for the presence and concentration of other contents like nitrites, this could screw things up for the test subject trying to fly under the radar. Testing for nitrites also helps to catch fake urine’s presence.
In order to make one’s urine yellower, many people consume a fairly large amount of certain B vitamins like B-12 the night before and morning of. In order to increase the levels of creatinine that will show up on a urine test, eating lots of red meats and/or creatine supplements should do the job, starting to do this 3 or 4 days before the test through the night before.
The aforementioned method does not represent a fool-proof way to cheat drug screens, and for liability purposes let me say that I do not encourage anyone to try it, I’ve simply laid out what has worked for some people for informational purposes. Usually, this method works best when a person finds themselves on the fence between a pass and fail naturally: perhaps having used cocaine 3 days ago, the screen could go either way if taken without any preparation, but by drinking a lot of water it pushes their levels just beneath the cutoff detection concentration. Keep in mind that drinking a ton of water in a short period of time can actually do a lot of damage to the body up to and including death via water intoxication. Somebody who continues to dabble with getting high and uses this method frequently to pass tests will invariably do some type of damage by loading up on water like this.
Keep in mind that other types of drug tests do exist: saliva swabs; blood tests; hair follicle screens. By and large, most companies, doctors, probation departments, etc. choose to use urine screens because of how cheap they are, not to mention fairly non-invasive (unless someone watches the sample being taken), the speed with which they show results, and for their detection window of different drugs (not too short as with saliva that a user can stop for a day and pass, not too long like with hair tests that even one-time use in a 90 day period will show up). Usually, blood tests will happen in hospitals, like on an unconscious person in the emergency room or during a DUI arrest by police. Hair tests often happen in extremely professional contexts such as for hiring a highly specialized worker.
A few other methods exist to cheat urine tests, namely; substitution and fake genitals/synthetic urine can sometimes work.
With substitution, the testee has a clean and sober friend urinate into a little container, which they then bring to the test. As previously mentioned, some tests have thermometers built-in which only turn a certain color when a sample sits in the range of regular human urine. To get around this, test subjects have put hand warmers around their sample on the way into the exam or sat it on the car’s vent and cranked up the heat.
When the time comes to give the sample, this method won’t work if the test administrator watches carefully. If they don’t really pay attention or don’t even stand in the bathroom, then this method might work. If it gets sent to a lab, this method might make even more sense because the sample will display a natural creatinine level with no drugs. However, people playing with this method should make sure that they have someone of the same gender provide their sample. In one instance, after getting the results back from the lab, this person’s probation officer told the man: “the good news is, the sample came back negative for drugs. The bad news is, the sample also came back positive for pregnancy; oh, and you’re under arrest.”
The other major way that people [successfully] cheat urine screens involves using synthetic urine. Companies making these products boast that labs can’t distinguish it from real urine. This often remains true for some time until these labs catch onto the latest strains of synthetic urine and its properties, at which point companies come out with a newer generation of the stuff for sale. In this sense, a cat and mouse game goes on constantly. While it would of course work for a dipstick test, synthetic urine’s main use is to cheat lab tests. Dipsticks can’t determine the difference between urine, synthetic urine, bottled water, and Pepsi—it’ll just say whether that liquid does or does not contain said drugs. Meanwhile, lab tests can get rather complex. Many products require a minute or so in the microwave prior to a person heading out to take the test or they come with other products that keep it warm.
Delivering synthetic urine or a substituted sample into the cup can cause difficulties in many testees who have too much on the table to fail that drug test. Thus, some men purchase and wear products like the Whizzinator. Basically, they attach to their groin a plastic penis which can hold the liquid sample inside of it. When the test time comes, the test subject simply squeezes the head of this fake penis to release the sample stored within. That particular product sells as a “wet sex simulator,” since the law forbids cheating drug tests and products related to doing so. It comes with synthetic urine, it keeps the sample at body temperature inside the faux shaft, and the penis comes in several different skin tones. Test takers who choose to use products like the Whizzinator should make sure to order their corresponding skin color: rumor has it that one individual, faced with a surprise drug test the next day or two, ordered the Whizzinator. He then had the company overnight it and when he received his package, this pale male opened up the box to find that they’d sent him a Black dick. He tried to use it anyway, got caught, and his parole officer sent him back to jail.
One should note that attempts to cheat or tamper with urine screens violates the law in many places, including Pennsylvania where trying to use fake urine for a drug test constitutes a Class 3 Misdemeanor. Proving that somebody drank too much water to cheat a test inherently carries more difficulty than proving fake urine, though in some settings a dilute sample automatically equates to a failed test. Even just having clear urine can lead to ramifications in certain places; taking Vitamin B-12 and eating lots of red meat ahead of time play into a person’s passing by drinking a lot more so in some situations.
For a general idea of how long some substances remain detectable through drug screens, below contains a semi-comprehensive list. Remember, different tests use different cutoff levels when looking for the presence of certain substances. The strength of the drug used, the amount consumed, the frequency it has been taken, for how long, and the individual’s metabolism will all play into precisely how long a drug stays detectable in a particular person’s body. Note that hair tests can find the presence of virtually anything for 90 days. Again, please do not consider any of this legal advice or base the decision to do drugs despite upcoming tests on the information contained herein. Nonetheless, and with that said, a few average ranges exist for the assorted popular (and commonly screened for) substances when screened for by the other typical methods:
Alcohol: On breath, even heavy consumption stays for no more than 12 hours; in urine, it too generally won’t stick around for longer than 12 hours. However, an EtG test can detect it for far longer—like, 3.5 days for heavy drinking. That’s because EtGs test for ethyl glucuronide, a metabolite of alcohol. One beer probably won’t stick around past the 24 hour mark but if you got drunk, or drink frequently, the test can pick up on it for 3+ days sometimes. Usually, employers won’t do tests for alcohol unless they suspect drinking on the job in which case they’d likely use a breathalyzer. Frequently, probation departments don’t automatically test for alcohol unless they have reason to suspect drinking has occurred or when screening convicts from alcohol-related crimes; in one Pennsylvania county, probation uses breathalyzers to screen for drinkers in situations like the ones just described. Treatment centers almost always test for alc: One lab, researched for reference here, has ethyl alcohol (but not EtG) among its standard screens. Meanwhile, no standard urine test panel has alcohol included on its roster.
Amphetamines: The amphetamine class of drugs contains hundreds of psychoactive chemicals, though many of them have little to no human use and so do not require mention. The main amphetamines today would be pills like Adderall, Dexedrine, Vyvanse, and also meth and MDMA, technically. In urine, usually they'll will show up for 1–3 days, sometimes 4. Virtually every UA includes an amphetamine panel; it is one of the NIDA 5, aka 1 of 5 drugs looked for on the most basic tests made; one specific lab researched as a reference also has it as a standard panel. Saliva, like most substances, shows it for 2–12 hours, though up to 48 hours on isolated occasions. Blood will show it for a day or so.
Benzodiazepines: The benzo class contains a variety of prescription drugs, the most popular being Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Valium (diazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), Serax (oxazepam), Rohypnol aka “roofies” (flunitrazepam), Normison (temazepam) and Librium (chlordiazepoxide), among others. Benzos stay in the blood for 1–2 days typically and saliva 16–48 hours.
Like marijuana, the length of time urine screens can detect benzos depends on the amount used. Also, the detection time varies by drug, with longer acting ones popping up on UAs for longer. On average, one-time use of a benzo shows up in urine for 1–5 days. Chronic usage may have a person positive for 4 or even up to 6 weeks. Even a few days of using Valium (diazepam) can come up for several weeks. One source states that Xanax (alprazolam), used sparingly. shows up for 1–3 days, while Klonopin (clonazepam) done the same way will take 3–8 days to clear out and Valium (diazepam) 12 or more (usually more, according to almost all other sources).
Interestingly, some benzo urine tests fail to pick up the presence of some benzos. The template for this test was designed when Valium dominated the benzo abuse scene, and so they geared the test specifically for that molecule, although because of the chemicals’ similarities it would detect its cousins—at least, in theory. In the United States today, Xanax (alprazolam) has the most popular standing among recreational users, with many people also taking Klonopin (clonazepam) and Ativan (lorazepam). Curiously, all three of these sporadically fly under the radar in certain screens, even lab tests. Klonopin (clonazepam) in particular evades detection most often. Nobody can count on these drugs not showing up, though. Most drug tests have a benzo panel. The benzo test is rapidly replacing PCP as one of the 5 drugs screened for on the most basic tests available. The lab used for reference in this article also includes benzos in their standard screening.
Barbiturates: Their urine detection frame resembles that of benzos and marijuana, with larger doses and/or more frequent consumption remaining detectable for exponentially longer. Some drugs like phenobarbitol can take around 4 weeks to clear out (not from taking one dose once though, but even a couple days in a row can cause a person to fail for a while). Again like benzos, shorter acting barbs also leave the body faster. Since barely anybody has gotten their hands on a barbiturate since like 1973, this section doesn’t apply to that many people. Despite its absence of popularity, most 9 panel UAs include a barbiturate panel—probably because it is cheap and simple to test for, and so they tack it on to make the test look more extensive. The reference lab has barbiturates on the roster for its standard screening.
Buprenorphine/Suboxone/Subutex: Increasingly making the list of extended panel tests, usually test administrators need a separate dipstick or special request for Suboxone. One particular probation office uses a separate dipstick for Suboxone patients and known opioid users, while a well-known treatment center requested the additional buprenorphine screen on their lab tests every time. Additionally, the lab used for reference doesn’t include it as a standard screen, though they do offer a test upon request. In blood and saliva, nothing will likely show up past 24 hours. Perhaps because of buprenorphine’s large variation in half-life between individuals, different sources put the time that this drug shows up in urine anywhere from 2 (2–3) to 10 (7–10) days.
Cannabis/Marijuana/THC/Weed: Easily the most common illegal drug in the country, millions of Americans (and people elsewhere) could see their lives seriously damaged if administered a drug test. These tests only look for THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis; other cannabinoids that effect the human body won’t show up and thus CBD oils and the like will not change the results. Heavy users might have it in their saliva for nearly 2 days, though by 24 hours most people will pass. It leaves the blood by day 2 usually as well.
Naturally, the NIDA 5 (most basic set of drugs tested for) includes THC, as does the lab used for reference have it on its standard screen. The urine detection time for marijuana gives people the most trouble. “It stays in your system for 30 days” seems to sum up the public’s perception of this subject. For some—for many—it does show up for an entire month. Still, somebody who has not smoked in a long time could get high today and pass tomorrow or the next day: isolated consumption could stay in for anywhere between 1 and 8 days, generally falling on the lower side. Even smoking just 2 or 3x compared to 1 can keep THC detectable in urine for a lot longer—think 10 days to 3 weeks for the people toking a couple times a month. Daily users, meanwhile, could stop popping hot after 10 days, or it could take 30 days; some heavy users (and/or heavy individuals) might fail a UA for THC over a month later.
The reason why THC and a few other drugs can remain detectable for so long and vary so much based on the amounts consumed compared to others has to do with how the body absorbs and processes it. Most drugs have water solubility, meaning they get absorbed by water in the body, and consequently don’t stick around in any one spot for all that long because soon enough whatever water it has absorbed into gets prepared for excretion, and it exits the body with urine. Meanwhile, THC et al have fat solubility, so those chemicals stick around in fat cells; the body slowly expels them as it burns the fat, but fat soluble drugs have a much better chance to build up and dig in to the user's body. Fatter users and those with slower metabolisms will retain traces of these chemmicals for the longest, as well as those who never exercise. Getting a lot of exercise in during the weeks and days before a test can help expel drugs stored in fat more rapidly, although the test subject should stop the strenuous activity 48 hours prior to the test—otherwise, they’d actually end up releasing more THC metabolites into their urine as they burn it off (it has to go somewhere after being booted out of the fat!).
Many critics point out that because drug tests pick up on marijuana way longer than other drugs, it encourages the population of users getting tested regularly to instead use other, much more harmful substances with shorter detection periods, like perhaps cocaine or heroin.
Speaking of cocaine…
Cocaine/Crack: Stays in blood for about 3 days and 2–5 days for saliva. Urine detection periods can range wildly, showing up for as little as a few hours (typically when a person just snorts one line or just smokes one rock—which seems to happen rarely when it comes to the compulsively addictive drug cocaine). Meanwhile, extremely heavy, long-term users might test positive for over a week. The majority of users will fail for 2 or 3 days, and almost always between 1–4. Almost all drug tests include a panel for cocaine/crack, as it comprises one of the NIDA 5 (the most basic standard UA panel); the lab used for reference puts cocaine on its standard screen, too.
Fentanyl: This potent opioid has appeared a lot more regularly in the recent past, usually added into batches of heroin with or without the user’s knowledge, because it makes the effects stronger. Fentanyl also has more dangers than heroin because of its potency; consequently, it and its analogues killed around 29,000 Americans in 2017 alone. It has made a large impact and has a large prevalence in the drug world. For example, most heroin seized in Philadelphia had some fentanyl in it, often having no heroin whatsoever--just fentanyl. Despite how big fentanyl has grown in recent years, drug screens do not regularly look for it. Regular and extended panel UAs rarely include it, the standard screening list at the lab of reference lacks it; in fact, many probation departments don’t have fentanyl tests, and parolees can continue using opioids by buying batches of dope which contain solely fentanyl. Some places now stock separate fentanyl dipsticks to use accordingly. Likewise, people enrolled in treatment programs sometimes pull the same trick. Labs almost always have a test for it, available on special request; because the labs don’t put it in their package x-panel deals, it costs extra—a price which many pass on paying.
Because of its less common testing, the data provided cannot be relied on as much as others listed here. At any rate, one source says 2 days for blood and saliva and up to 5 for urine, while another source states up to 12 hours for blood, 1–3 days for saliva, and merely 8–24 hours in urine. In theory, the latter makes more sense due to its short half-life—shorter than heroin and other opioids which remain detectable for slightly longer.
Heroin (also morphine, codeine): Heroin, morphine, codeine, and several other substances will all show up on a drug test as the same thing: “Opiate.” Synthetic opioids such as methadone or fentanyl don’t typically trigger a positive for this category. Opiates as a group and a panel make up 1 of the NIDA 5 and one of the lab of reference’s standard screens.
Blood tests might show an opiate for 2 days and saliva for up to 3. In urine, the body can clear it in as little as 1 day or as many as 5 days (usually heroin addicts), with 3 days as the average, more or less.
LSD/Acid: Perhaps the single most famous and widely used psychedelic drug, acid does not find itself on extended panels, the lab’s standard screens, and almost no probation departments or treatment centers even test for it, and many labs don’t even keep a test available upon special request, perhaps due to the drug’s low abuse profile, or maybe because it only shows up in urine for 8 hours. That pretty much means unless a sample is collected while the testee is still tripping, then they’ll pass a test for it, making testing quite impractical to screen for. It does show up in testing rosters sometimes—more frequently than its cousin, psilocybin—but still is used very rarely.
Methadone: Extended UAs with 9 or 14 panels usually include methadone, and the lab used for reference has it listed as a standard screen. Blood tests might only have a detection window of 24 hours, yet in saliva, methadone can show for 7 full days (more commonly, 1–2 days). Urine tests typically detect the drug for 1–7 days, though perhaps up to 12 according to one source, which listed much higher numbers for a lot of drugs. Different tests may use different cutoff levels, which could account for such differences, as a lower cutoff level will declare the presence of a substance for longer than a higher cutoff level.
Methamphetamine: Although an amphetamine, separate tests exist to distinguish it from legally prescribed drugs like Adderall. Extended panels (e.g. 9 or 14 panel UAs) frequently put meth on their roster, as does the lab used for reference have it among their standard screens. Saliva can show meth’s presence for 1–3 days; blood will reveal it for about 1 day. Tests might only pick it up in urine for 1–3 days, though one source with higher numbers for many drugs says up to 5 is possible. Interestingly, by using the OTC nasal spray named Benzedrex, one might fail a urinalysis for meth for weeks.
MDMA/Molly/Ecstasy: This euphoric, psychedelic stimulant has gone by a variety of names over the years, but at its core contains a methamphetamine molecule. Thus MDMA would also cause positives for Amp and Meth on many tests. Extended panels frequently feature MDMA, and the lab used for reference has it as a standard screen. Saliva tests could pick up on it for 48 hours, maybe 3 days; in blood, MDMA shows up about a day. The urine can reveal the presence of MDMA for about 1–3 days, on par with other amphetamines; like methamphetamine, one source which lists larger numbers for many drugs states up to 5 days is possible—a figure which seems doubtful.
Oxycodone/Oxycontin/Percocet: This popular painkiller doesn’t show up on even many extended panel tests, although others do feature it and its presence on standard panels has increased in recent years. One probation department had a separate dipstick for oxycodone, yet used it for every single test. The lab used as a point of reference does not list oxycodone among its standard screens, though they do offer a separate test by request. Saliva shows the use of oxycodone up to 48 hours later, while in urine it stays for 1–3 days.
Propoxyphene/Darvon: An outdated opioid painkiller never really prescribed or used illicitly in 2019, though 30 years ago it saw some popularity on the street—enough that the bulk of extended panels have it, as does the lab used for reference place it among their standard screens. For the extremely rare person who somehow gets ahold of and ingests this drug, expect a dirty UA for 1–3 days.
Psilocybin/Mushrooms: The chemical in shrooms that makes people trip does not find itself on extended panels, the lab’s standard screens, and almost no probation departments or treatment centers even test for it, and many labs don’t even keep a test available upon special request, perhaps due to the drug’s low abuse profile, or maybe because it only shows up in urine for 8 hours. That pretty much means unless a sample is collected while the testee is still tripping, then they’ll pass a test for it, making testing quite impractical.
Phencyclidine/PCP: This unpredictable hallucinogen has largely gone out of style, though the NIDA 5 includes it as one of five drug tested for on the most basic panels available. Benzos continue to gradually replace PCP’s position there, though officially it still remains; the lab used for reference has it as a standard screen of theirs. Like most drugs, blood tests only catch it for a day, whereas saliva detects PCP for as long as 48–72 hours. Meanwhile, someone who does the drug one time can expect to test positive for 1–8 days, although chronic users could have hot urines for 14 to 30 days or even longer.
TCAs: Who is actually concerned about failing a test for a TCA? Who even knows what a TCA is?? For some reason, so many urine tests include TCAs in their roster of drugs scanned for. It probably costs very little to add this one on, and so companies manufacturing the UAs add it on so that it looks like the test has broader applicability than it really does. Virtually no one actually abuses this outdated class of antidepressants regularly.
Labs and even dipstick tests can detect far more chemicals than the ones listed above; those above just make up some of the most common substances in urine screens.
Anyway, perhaps knowing how long a drug will appear on a test marks the first step to take for the man or woman who wishes to pass their urinalysis. After that, all they really need is water, water, and more water, plus perhaps a vitamin and a few rare done steak dinners. At greater risk to themselves, these people could also collect urine from somebody they know who doesn’t do drugs, or go buy synthetic urine and a strap-on penis to conceal it. Tampering with drug tests and using fake urine usually violates the law (at least when tested by the court or police).
Once more: any information contained here has a purely informative and educational value. Under no circumstances does the author encourage anyone to try and cheat a drug test, or to use drugs in the first place. Drugs are bad!
Works Cited:
https://www.uatests.com/drug-testing-information/saliva-drug-detection-window.php
Urine and saliva drug detection times, sample 1
https://www.drugtest.com.au/pages/drug-detection-times
Urine and saliva drug detection times, sample 2
https://alwaystestclean.com/drug-detection-times-chart/
Urine, saliva, blood, and hair drug detection times
https://www.labcorp.com/sites/default/files/L1123-0216-5.pdf
Urine drug detection times via lab test/LabCorp
https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates
OD stats
https://newlifehouse.com/how-long-does-fentanyl-stay-in-your-system/
Fentanyl UAs
https://www.nationaldrugscreening.com/suboxone-drug-testing.php
Suboxone drug test, sample 1 (use for urine)
https://deserthopetreatment.com/suboxone-abuse/long-stay-in-system/
Suboxone drug test, sample 2 (use for blood and saliva)
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