How Long Do Edibles Stay in Your System? Edibles, Drug Tests, & You

The statistics don't lie. With edible sales expected to reach $8.24 billion by 2025, it's clear that cannabis-infused products are exploding in popularity. 

Whether you're a new or frequent user, understanding how edible THC products affect your body is key for safe use, including the various types, how long they stay in your system, and the potential for dependence.

How Long Do Edibles Stay in Your System?

The length of time edibles stay in your system depends on multiple factors. Different drug tests can detect THC – the active ingredient in cannabis edibles – for various lengths of time.

Here are some estimates of how long edibles stay in your system according to different drug tests:

In Urine

A urine test can detect THC in the system for up to three days, although regular cannabis users can retain traces of THC for months.

In Hair

Hair tests can detect THC for up to 90 days…but these tests are expensive, rare, and can be prone to false results.

In Blood

A blood test can detect THC for up to 48 hours. However, blood tests are affected by metabolism, the amount of body fat a person has, and a person’s weight.

In Saliva

A mouth swab test can detect THC for anywhere from a few hours after cannabis was last used to two days. Like blood tests, results can vary widely based on the amount used, metabolism, and more.

Multiple factors affect the amount of time edibles stay in your system, including the dosage, how often they’re used, individual physiology, and body fat.

These factors include:

• Metabolism: People who have a faster metabolic rate can eliminate THC from their system much faster than those with a slower metabolism. Also, the body stores THC in body fat, which means a person with a higher body fat percentage may metabolize THC much more slowly.

• Tolerance: Regular cannabis users build up a tolerance to THC, which means they have to take higher doses of THC to feel the same effects. While this helps them metabolize THC more quickly, it’s also a sign of a potential dependence.

• Dosage: It takes more time for our bodies to metabolize THC, especially when we’re digesting it. In general, 10 mg of THC can take between four to 12 hours to metabolize, with higher doses taking much longer.

• How Often a Person Uses THC: Long-term users of cannabis can also cause the body to retain THC, meaning edibles stay in their system longer than others.

In general, edibles can be detected in the bloodstream for one to two days. In urine, edibles can be detected for up to three days; for heavier users that time can extend to a few weeks or even months. Saliva tests can detect edibles for up to 40 hours, and hair follicle tests can detect edibles for up to 90 days and more.

Because edibles are processed by the liver, it can take a longer time to feel their effects. Many of the factors mentioned above can have an effect on how long edibles stay in your system. In general, most people feel the effects of edibles between a half hour to two hours after they use them.

What Are Edibles?

Edibles are consumable items that are made with infusions of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis/marijuana.

Edibles come in a variety of forms:

• Cannabis Candy: Most people use cannabis in the form of small candies infused with a dose of THC. These include hard candies, chocolates, and gummies.

• Cannabis Beverages: There’s also a wide range of cannabis beverages, mostly soft drinks that contain amounts of THC in them.

• Cannabis Tinctures: Tinctures contain THC extract dissolved in ethanol, which is the kind of alcohol people drink.

• Baked Goods: People have experimented with edibles for decades by baking and cooking with cannabis.

The Risks of Edibles

Marijuana edibles are often seen as being safer than other forms of cannabis, as they have controlled doses and don’t contain the same risks as smoking or vaping cannabis. However, that’s not to say they’re completely safe.

First, it’s easy for children and others to confuse marijuana edibles for normal candy or soft drinks, leading to accidental (and potentially dangerous) dosing. Secondly, it’s very easy to underestimate the strength of edibles.

Because edibles can take more time to kick in, it can be tempting to take higher doses of them, leading to an unpleasant situation known as “greening out.” While not fatal, greening out on marijuana can make a person feel extremely sick and nauseous.

How Your Body Processes THC

When you eat cannabis edibles, THC is absorbed via the small intestine. Once absorbed, THC passes into the liver through the hepatic portal vein. Known as “first-pass metabolism,” the liver’s enzymes convert THC into different compounds. A major change that occurs during this time is the conversion of delta-9-THC into 11-hydroxy-THC, a more potent form of THC.

This is why edibles often have stronger and longer-lasting effects than other forms of cannabis. When a person smokes cannabis, THC goes directly to the brain while being metabolized. When a person consumes cannabis, the liver metabolizes THC far more slowly, which is why the effects of edibles can take a longer time to be felt.

Interestingly, weight plays a major factor in how the body processes THC. THC is fat-soluble and is stored in fat cells, meaning people with a higher body fat percentage can metabolize THC at a slower rate than others.

Do Edibles Show Up on Drug Tests?

Yes, edibles show up on drug tests. As discussed earlier, different drug tests can detect THC in your system for varying lengths of time. In general, the longer a person uses cannabis along with the amount of cannabis they take can make cannabis much easier to detect with drug tests.

Multiple factors can determine how long the effects of edibles last. Astudy published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine in 2018 found that the effects of an edible can last for six to eight hours. This period can be much higher for a person who doesn’t use edibles very often…or much shorter if they do.

Is Marijuana Addictive?

While marijuana isn’t as addictive as opioids, alcohol, or other drugs, it’s entirely possible to get addicted to it. Yale Medicine warns that around 10% of people who begin using cannabis will become addicted, and around a third of cannabis users meet the definition of marijuana addiction. Meanwhile, the CDC reports that a person’s risk of developing an addiction to marijuana increases to one in six if they start using it before their late teens. Addiction and medical professionals refer to cannabis addiction as cannabis use disorder.

Am I Addicted to Weed?

It can be surprisingly difficult to tell if you have an addiction to weed…or any other drug. Drugs like cannabis change the way the brain works over time, rewiring it to make obtaining drugs a priority over everything else in life. While again, cannabis use disorder tends to not be as destructive as other forms of addiction, it’s still possible to develop an addiction to weed.

While we can’t make a diagnosis online – only a medical professional can accurately diagnose you with addiction ­– there are some ways to get insight into your behaviors if you’re wondering about your relationship with edibles and other forms of cannabis.

See if you agree with any of the following statements:

• I spend a lot of my time obtaining and using weed.

• I often use weed in greater amounts than I intended, or in dangerous situations like driving a car or operating machinery.

• I have tried to quit using weed…but I’ve failed to do so,

• I have continued to use weed even though it’s causing problems at school, work, or home.

• I have continued to use cannabis despite the damage it’s done to my relationships.

• I need to use more cannabis to feel the same effects.

• I have had cravings for cannabis.

If you find any of these statements apply to you, it may be a sign that you need help for weed addiction.

Marijuana Addiction Is Treatable. Call Us Today!

There’s a sense that weed isn’t a “real” drug, that it’s not harmful, and that you can’t get addicted to it – but cannabis use disorder is a legitimate diagnosis, and one that often necessitates treatment

Addiction isn’t about this substance or that substance, it’s about behaviors. It’s entirely possible to get addicted to cannabis edibles, and why weed addiction probably won’t kill you, it can disrupt your life just as completely as other forms of addiction.

The Forge Recovery Center provides comprehensive help for marijuana addiction. Using a mix of proven therapies and cutting-edge addiction medicine, our team will help you find healthy coping mechanisms and ways to beat marijuana addiction permanently.

Reach out to us today to learn more.

Written by

Brian Moore

Content Writer

Reviewed by

Jeremy Arzt

Chief Clinical Officer

August 6, 2024