Last Updated on October 14, 2022 by Fair Punishment Team

Drug tests can induce fear in even the most stone-hearted people in the workplace.

With the knowledge that something as simple as poppy seeds on a bagel can induce a positive result for morphine, it can be scary not knowing what your results will reveal.

Edibles are a form of cannabis that are, perhaps, not taken as seriously as other substances.

After all, they look like regular food, and taste that way too.

Perhaps you had a weekend away in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago, or maybe a friend offered you some of their ‘magic brownie’ last weekend.

Suddenly, you’ve found out that your workplace is conducting a drug test next Monday.

Do edibles show up on drug tests? And, if so, how long do they remain in your system? Continue reading to find out all you need to know.

What Are Edibles?

Food products that contain cannabis concentrates are known as ‘edibles’.

Edibles can induce a ‘high’ in the person who consumes them when ingested orally.

Using marijuana leaves or more potent cannabis extracts to make edibles is a well-liked, less obvious alternative to smoking marijuana.

They might resemble typical baked foods, candy, and drinks.

Although the product’s packaging may state that it contains THC, once it is opened, it may look like regular food.

Popular forms of edibles include brownies and gummy candy, although in recent years, virtually any form of food can become an edible if baked or cooked with THC.

Baked goods, such as brownies and cakes, are typically made into edibles by incorporating cannabutter, which is a cannabis-infused butter.

There are also cannabis-infused oils that can be used while cooking to induce highs in the people that consume the final products.

How Long Do Edibles Stay In Your System?

If you are reading this article, you may be wondering if edibles work similarly to cigarettes containing marijuana, otherwise known as spliffs, joints, or blunts.

The answer is ‘yes’: edibles can remain in a person’s system long after they have been ingested, and they can actually linger in a person’s body for much longer than other recreational drugs.

Below, we have listed the four common types of drug testing, and how long edibles can remain on/within each of these aspects of the body.

Mouth Swabs/Saliva Testing

One of the most common ways to test for drug use is through mouth swabbing.

This involves the person’s mouth being tested with a cotton swab, which is then sent away to test for results.

If you were to get tested through a saliva test, and you had consumed edibles, the levels of THC may remain in the saliva for up to a week.

This is fairly uncommon, however. The typical amount of time that edibles will remain in a person’s saliva is between 24 and 72 hours.

Hair Follicle Testing

Another frequent method for determining whether someone has used drugs is by checking the hair follicles.

This entails removing a single hair strand from the head, which is then sent somewhere else to be examined for long-term drug use.

You would think that the hair follicle test would be least likely to detect the use of edibles, but you would be wrong to think so.

In fact, edible consumption can be detected through hair follicles for up to 90 days following consumption.

Urinalysis Testing

Urinalysis testing is, perhaps, the most common form of drug testing.

This involves the person being tested urinating into a sample cup, which is then sent away for analysis.

It can take between 3 and 30 days for THC to no longer show up on an urinalysis test.

Typically, THC can show on tests up to a month following edible consumption.

Blood Testing

Lastly, blood testing is a form of drug testing that is typically used in medical scenarios, rather than standard workplace drug testing.

This is a quick and easy way to immediately detect drugs, and is usually used by medical responders.

This method is typically used if the drug user is unconscious or deceased, although it can be used while the person is functioning and breathing.

However, in these scenarios, it would be more likely that another form of testing would be used instead.

THC will only remain in a person’s bloodstream for up to a week.

Sometimes it will no longer be present after 3 days. Therefore, this is the least efficient method to test for edibles.

Factors That May Affect The Period Of Time That Edibles Stay In Your System

As you may have noticed, there are often large time windows between the time in which edibles can be detected through testing.

For example, THC may be detected after 30 days of consuming an edible, or it may have fully left the system after only 3 days.

There are several factors that can affect the amount of time that an edible can remain in a person’s system.

Here are some of the more common reasons that THC may remain in one person’s body for a month, while it could leave another person’s body after a couple of days:

• The person’s age.
• How physical that person is (how often they work out).
• The potency of the edible that was consumed.
• The percentage of body fat in the person.
• How often the person consumes edibles.

Smoking Vs. Edibles: Which Stays In Your System Longer?

Now that you know how long edibles remains in its user’s system, you may be wondering how smoking cannabis compares, and how long the smoke lasts in the system.

Surprisingly, edibles remains in a person’s system just as long, if not longer, than smoking.

When smoked, cannabis will remain in a person’s system between 1 and 30 days, while it may show up on certain tests after a longer period of time has passed.

So, overall, there isn’t a huge difference between how long smoking will remain in a person’s system compared to edibles.

Both forms of cannabis will show up on drug tests long after they have been consumed, especially when compared to other types of recreational substances.

For example, cocaine typically only remains in a person’s system for 2 to 4 days.

Final Thoughts

If it has been over a month since you last tried an edible, you may be safe, and should feel a little less stressed about taking a drug test.

However, the THC may remain in your system months after you last consumed a magic brownie, or those gummies candies.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to know unless you take a test yourself.

All in all, it is best to stay clear of illegal substances altogether, no matter how ‘safe’ they are.

You never know when you’ll be put in a situation where a positive test result could ruin your entire life.

We hope you found this article helpful.