If you struggle with drug and alcohol abuse, you are not alone. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 48.5 million people suffered from addiction in 2023.[1]
Addiction can cause a variety of problems in your life, including social problems, strained relationships, physical and mental health concerns, and even legal troubles. The consequences of addiction are far-reaching, making it important that you seek professional help.
If you regularly abuse substances, you might be worried about having to take a drug test. This might lead you to wonder how far back drug tests can go. Each type of drug test has different detection times and the type of substance you are using plays a role in how long you will test positive.
In general, urine tests can detect substances for up to 4 weeks while blood tests only work for about 4 hours. Saliva tests can detect drugs for up to 10 days. Lastly, hair tests have the longest detection window of up to 90 days after you last consumed a drug.
In this article, you will learn:
- How long each type of drug test can detect substances
- How long certain drugs stay in your system
- Other factors that play a role in the amount of time you test positive on a drug test
How Far Back Can Drug Tests Detect Substances?
How long drug tests can find substances in your system depends on a variety of factors, including the testing method used. Urine drug testing is the most popular and reliable form of drug screening method. However, hair testing tends to provide the longest window of detection.
Urine
Urine tests look for metabolites of certain drugs in a urine sample. There are different types of urine tests, including the standard 4-panel and 7-panel tests and the extended 10-panel option. Standard urine drug tests can detect substances like marijuana, cocaine, opiates, PCP, amphetamines, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines.
While the length of time a drug can be detected depends on which substance you use, urine drug tests are capable of detecting drugs for up to 30 days or 4 weeks.
Blood
Blood tests are not used as often as urine tests for a few reasons. First, they are invasive, requiring a blood draw to be taken so it can be analyzed in a lab. Additionally, blood tests offer a shorter window of detection than most drug screening methods.
Blood tests are capable of detecting substances in your system for 24 hours after your last dose.
Saliva
Saliva tests are useful in a variety of situations. They might be used as a drug screening tool before a job offers you employment. Additionally, law enforcement officers might use them for field sobriety tests when drugs are suspected rather than alcohol.
While most drugs leave your saliva rather quickly, a saliva test can elicit positive results for up to 10 days after your last dose.
Hair
Hair tests offer the longest window of detection out of any drug screening tool available. However, they can offer unreliable results due to discrimination based on factors like hair color. Despite this, high-security clearance jobs often use hair follicle drug testing for the longer period of testing they offer.
Hair drug tests can find any substance in your system for up to 90 days after you last used it.
How Long Do Drugs Stay in Your System?
The amount of time a drug stays in your system depends on which substance you are abusing. Because most people use urine testing, we will discuss how long certain types of drugs cause a positive result on urine drug screening.
Urine tests can find the following types of drugs in your system for:[2]
- Marijuana – 1 to 7 days
- Cocaine – 2 to 3 days
- Opiates – 1 to 3 days
- Amphetamines – 2 to 3 days
- PCP – 7 to 14 days
- Ecstasy – 2 to 4 days
- Benzodiazepines – 1 to 4 days
- Barbiturates – 1 to 3 weeks
- Methadone – 1 to 3 days
- Oxycodone – 1 to 2 days
How long a drug stays in your system also depends on factors like how long you’ve been abusing it, the dosage you consume, your overall health, the functioning of your liver, and age or weight.
If you have been abusing a drug like marijuana for a year, you will test positive longer than someone who has only been using it for a couple of weeks. Additionally, consuming large doses at once leads to a build-up of metabolites in your system, causing it to remain in your body fat for a longer period.
Get Connected to a Drug and Alcohol Rehab Program
If you or a loved one suffers from drug and alcohol abuse, it’s time to seek professional help. When you abuse drugs, you might find yourself constantly worrying about things like passing a drug test, concealing your addiction from loved ones and coworkers, and more. Instead of continuing to stress, you should allow a drug and alcohol rehab program to help you recover.
At the Mandala Healing Center, we offer individualized and evidence-based treatment for addiction.
Contact us today for more information on our drug and alcohol addiction treatment center.
References:
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Highlights for the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Drugs of Abuse Home Use Test