Delta 8 THC is a type of marijuana that has been used recreationally for decades. It’s one of the most popular types, and it can be found in many places around the world. Some people are wondering how long delta 8 thc stays in your system. The answer to this question varies depending on the person’s body chemistry and how often they use it.
Delta Eight THC is a cannabinoid compound with an eight-carbon chain like its cousin CBD. The difference between this type and others is that it will tend to produce more euphoria than other nonpsychoactive cannabinoids due to higher levels of psychoactivity and lower levels of anti-inflammatory activity relative to CBN.
What Are the Similarities and Differences Between Delta-8 THC and Delta-9 THC?
Delta-8 is much more mild and stable compared to delta-9. Again, this is because it comes from cannabis, as delta-9 does. However, you will find it is not as intense in terms of its psychoactive effects.
You will feel more of a body high with delta-8, and more relaxed and focused, than you do with delta-9, which can cause feelings of paranoia in some.
Delta-9 is what makes you high when smoking cannabis or taking cannabis edibles.
While delta-9 could make you very high, delta-8 provides a relaxing body high. You may feel at ease, chilled out, and focused or creative.
You may also experience hunger, greater amounts of energy, and intensified pleasure.
Delta-8 is also known for its ability to help people who stay awake at night get some sleep. Some people may not be able to sleep because they feel stressed out or anxiety-ridden. In addition, some may have health conditions that keep them up at night. However, a reasonable dose of delta-8 may be able to provide them relief.
Lastly, it is relatively inexpensive and safe, provided you are buying it from a reputable brand like Exhale Wellness or BudPop. These companies test their items out before selling them so buyers can always count on a potent and safe product.
What else can delta-8 do for us?
The cannabinoid may have some health benefits. First, it may have neuroprotective, anxiolytic, antiemetic, and analgesic properties, according to Source.
Second, anecdotal reports indicate it may help fight anxiety, depression, and insomnia symptoms, according to reviews customers have left at various product websites.
However, this stuff has the potential to show up on drug tests. This could leave you in a bind if you are taking a legal product, but your employer/team/organization views your test results and sees “positive.”
Despite the differences in delta-8 and delta-9 and the health benefits of both, your employer may not make such a distinction.
So, we need to know how long it stays inside our systems. That way, we can know when to quit using it before the test takes place.
How Long Could Delta-8 Stay in My Body?
Are you a frequent consumer of delta-8? Do you feel worried about an upcoming drug test?
Do not worry, as we are going to tell you how long delta-8 stays in your system, what factors play into the length of time it stays with you, and what you can do to flush it from your body before it is time to take your test.
First, let us understand what delta-8 does to our bodies and how long the effects can last.
Delta-8’s Effects on Our Bodies
Delta-8 could have some value to our bodies, especially since we learned it may have neuroprotective, anxiolytic, and analgesic properties.
It may also help with inflammation, pain, anxiety, and focus. In addition, a study indicates it helps increase appetite following weight loss, which could be helpful for people who need to gain weight or eat but have trouble doing so.
Furthermore, the feeling you get taking an appropriate amount of delta-8 is pleasurable without making you feel couch-locked.
How Long Can I Expect the High to Last?
It varies from person to person. However, similar to how a can of beer/ alcoholic beverage affects people based on gender, weight, tolerance, etc., delta-8 is the same.
The method by which you consume your delta-8 matters, too.
For example, those of you that vape your delta-8 will feel the onset of your high faster than those of you who use edibles. It might take just five minutes before you feel high for people vaping, and you could stay high for about five hours afterward.
Meanwhile, edibles and tinctures require about an hour to take effect since they have to be digested to enter your bloodstream. So, effects will last beyond five hours and could take about one hour before you feel them.
Moreover, the concentration of delta-8 in the product and how often you use it also matters.
Your Rate of Use Matters
Per our research, beginners can expect delta-8 to remain in their system for about four days.
Regular users of the cannabinoid could see it last for about a month or longer.
Occasional users of delta-8 might see it remain for just a week.
Potency Also Matters
The potency of the product you took will also determine how long it stays within your body. To put it simply, delta-8 products with higher potencies/strengths tended to last longer than products with lower potency.
So, if you would prefer the THC to remain out of your system, it is better to pick delta-8 THC goods with low potency. You might even half the dosage you usually take.
Another thing to consider is the drug test you are being asked to take. Delta-8 is an isomer of delta-9. This means it will take roughly the same length of time to break down, and it will break down into strongly similar metabolites.
What does all that mean? Well, it will stay in your body about the same length of time as delta-9, maybe even less.
Here is what we know about the types of tests you may be asked to take and how they could show up:
- Hair Follicle Drug Test: 90 days or less
- Urine Drug Test: 48 days or less
- Saliva/Oral Drug Test: 2 days or less
- Blood Test: 2 days or less
Bear in mind that these are estimates at best. How long it stays there could vary thanks to the many different traits we humans have, such as our weight, body fat percentage, what we eat, the amount of water we consume each day, age, physical activity, and individual health conditions.
How Long Before I Can Take My Test & Do So Safely?
Although delta-8 is legal, less intense, and safer compared to delta-9, it still could make you fail a drug test.
In that case, the chance of you passing a drug test will depend on how quickly you can get the THC metabolites out of your system, as they stay in your system for sometimes weeks after your most recent use.
Now that you have something of an understanding about how long it takes (approximately) to purge the delta-8 from your body, the drug testing method you will be asked to take also plays a role.
For example, if you are asked to take a blood test or perform an oral swab, you can detox for three days after consuming delta-8 and still probably pass the test.
However, that will not work for hair follicle exams. You would need to detox for at least three months before you can safely presume the delta-8 has been purged from your hair.
Urine tests are very commonly used when it comes to detecting drugs in a person’s body. However, if you are asked to take a urine test, you will need to detox for about ten days before taking that drug test.
Make sure to stay away from ANY type of drug during this time.
It is also critical that, during this time, you find ways to “clean up” your insides. We just so happen to have a few methods that may help you do just that.
Ways to Help Reduce Your Body’s THC Levels
Here are a few first steps to take when it is time to get that delta-8 out of your system and do so effectively and fast. These may help get those metabolites out of your system, so take note.
- No delta-8 usage. If you have a test coming up, shelve your stash for the time being until the test is over with.
- Drink water like it is your job. Get a water bottle and sip all day long. The goal is to purge toxins and dilute any potential ones.
- Eat well. Aim for foods high in protein and fiber, and make sure your diet is balanced and healthy. By urinating and defecating regularly, the THC metabolites may exit your body faster.
- Get your sleep. Getting enough sleep will not only help you remain alert and focused, but it will improve the body’s metabolism and, thus, help you clear your body of THC.
- Get your mind right. By remaining focused and calm, the effects of THC on your body will diminish, and your system will have an easier time cleaning itself out.
- Exercise. Getting regular exercise may help you boost your metabolism, flush toxins away quicker, and keep you focused.
You can also try out some of our detoxification methods. Detox drinks and detox supplements could help you get by that drug test, no questions asked.
5 Best THC Detox Methods
Ready to begin detoxing? These methods may help you out. The top two methods — the detox drink and detox pills — are the best ways of getting THC out of your system. However, the other three methods may help as well. So, let us take a close look at all of them.
#1. Detox Drinks: Mega Clean Herbal Cleanse
With high customer reviews, we think this is one of the best methods out there if you need help passing your drug test.
The Detoxify Mega Clean Detox Drink is all about getting rid of high numbers of toxins while also helping your body replenish its minerals and vitamins.
It comes in Tropical Fruit or Grape flavor, so you can enjoy it while you sip. In just a single day, you can detox your circulatory, urinary, and digestive systems. You should also consider using the company’s pre-cleansing supplement at least 12 hours before you take this detox drink for the best results.
So, what situation is this particular method best for?
- People with higher body mass or higher toxin levels; it is very concentrated
- It is effective for five hours; the max effect lasts three hours
- You can buy it in two different flavors; both taste great
- Bottle is a liter size and has been enriched with vitamins and minerals
- Ideal for drug tests in which you will be supervised
So, what do you get in the packaging? The link we have shared above will get you the one-liter bottle of Mega Clean Herbal Cleanse in your choice of Tropical Fruit or Grape flavor. Instructions written in plain English will also be provided. For an additional cost, you can also get six tablets of Detoxify Pre-Cleanse supplement, which should be used at least 12 hours before your test takes place.
Using the drink is quite simple. The biggest thing to remember is to call the Mega Clean Herbal Cleanse Detox line at 1-866-837-8253, and they can help you use this product in the best way possible.
What are some helpful hints? For starters, you must drink 20 oz of fluid every two hours until it is time to drink Mega Clean Herbal Cleanse, and then two hours afterward as well.
You should also avoid drugs and environments involving drugs (e.g., do not go to your friend’s house if you know they smoke, as you will breathe it in) 48 hours before it is time to be clean.
Your biggest helper is going to be staying free of drugs/toxins before the test takes place. Every hour you are not consuming, the body will reduce its toxin level lower and lower, and then the Mega Clean Drink does the rest.
Those who usually fail after using this method most likely have been using drugs while using the drink, which prevents it from doing its job.
In addition, make sure to avoid greasy or high-fat foods before the drug test, and eat healthy and clean before it is time to test. Make sure you also avoid any OTC drugs, unnecessary medications, and alcohol.
Also, be sure you are drinking plenty of water, and aim for 64 oz a day. This is a natural, safe way of helping your body to cleanse.
This product is not cheap, but as the reviews will show you, this is the best way to get that drug test over with.
#2. Detox Pills: Toxin Rid 3 Day Detox
Need an easy three-step process to get that drug test over and done with? Check out these detox pills by Toxin Rid.
If you have a drug test coming up, this could help you pass that test easily. Moreover, this is for people who are frequent users of delta-8 THC.
This is a program that works well for other toxins, not just THC. However, consuming very concentrated toxins, such as those found in waxes, edibles, and vape pens can take longer for you to detox.
This program offers you Toxin Rid pre-detox treatments and a detox liquid which creates a complete program suitable for cleansing your body of unwanted toxins.
The capsules are easy to swallow and contain no animal products and no synthetic ingredients. It is a completely natural formula, too. Only herbs, vitamins, and minerals are used to get toxins out of your system.
So, what do you get? Here is what to expect in your box: a liquid detox, dietary fiber, and pre-rid tablets.
This is for people who have had heavy exposure to drug toxins, and if it does not work, you can count on your money back.
Here are the three easy steps to detoxing:
- Tablet Ingestion: Take three tabs with 8oz of water every hour for five hours a day for three days consecutively. Do not go beyond 15 tablets per day, and make sure you take them at the same time and consume a half gallon of water each day for the best results. In addition, you should eat healthily, including consuming lots of fresh fruit and veggies and lean meats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Detoxification Liquid: You are going to take this two hours after the last dose of pills on the last day of your detox, and you will fast during these two hours. There will be no consumption of any food or liquid during those next two hours. Take half of the detox liquid with 8 to 16 oz of distilled water, then fast from food and drink again for the next two hours. Afterward, you will take the other half with 8 to 16 oz of water, and you will fast once more for two hours, abstaining from food and drink. After that, it is done. You can also mix the detox liquid with orange juice or water, as per your preference.
- Dietary Fiber: This is an optional step, and only use it if you have a drug test scheduled between one to four days AFTER your detox plan is complete. If you have a flush drink on test day, then there is no need to do step 3. If you choose to do it though, one hour before the test, mix the fiber into distilled water, and drink it in two minutes. Then, wait 15 min, and drink 16 oz of water. Do not consume any more water or orange juice. Urinate two or three times in the forthcoming hour, then take your drug test.
#3. Cranberry Juice
- Sold at most grocery stores
- Only a temporary fix
- High in sugar
Cranberry capsules or pills do not flush delta-8 THC out of your body. However, they can temporarily flush the metabolites out of the bladder and can help if you have to pass a drug test.
Water will also work, but the best method is the detox pills or drink we mentioned above.
Nevertheless, if you prefer using cranberry juice, we can educate you about it.
Let us begin by understanding cranberry juice’s effect on the breakdown of body fat.
The metabolites of marijuana, THC and related, are stored within the fat of our body. To remove these metabolites from our body, we have to break down the fat cells and unleash the metabolites being stored into our blood so we can excrete them.
Cranberry juice is high in sugar, in turn making it high in carbohydrates. When we eat carbohydrates, our digestive system breaks them down into sugar, which goes into our bloodstream.
As our blood sugar levels increase, our pancreas makes insulin. When our insulin levels rise, we stop burning fat as a fuel source and instead store food as fat.
So, if we eat a diet high in carbs, our body never has a chance to burn off fat, which makes fat loss harder. This is why cranberry juice is more of a “quick fix” instead of an actual detox method.
But, how does cranberry juice impact the metabolization of marijuana? From our blood, metabolites of marijuana make their way into our liver. They are then metabolized by a series of enzymes. Ingesting cranberry juice or pills does not impact these enzyme’s activities, which is why it will not help you completely detox from marijuana.
So, how does cranberry help excrete and rid the body of these metabolites? It is all thanks to a process called enterohepatic recirculation.
This must be prevented by consuming things that will soak up the metabolites and keep them from reabsorbing. Unfortunately, cranberry is not something that can do this.
So, how can you use cranberry to flush the metabolites? Let us find out.
Temporarily flushing the THC metabolites from your urine will grant you the ability to pee cleanly for a few hours because the metabolite concentration in your urine will reduce.
Here is how to do it:
- Drink 1,000 ml of cranberry juice and electrolyte solution each hour for three hours before your drug test.
- Take vitamin B12.
- Use a creatine supplement.
What about AZO pills? AZO is a popular OTC medicine for urinary tract infections. These cranberry capsules are made with cranberry powder, which helps flush out and cleanse the urinary tract of infection. They have the same effect as pills or juice of cranberry.
As you can see, it is very complicated to use cranberry as a detox method, and kind of expensive, unless you happen to have creatine and electrolyte solutions already at your disposal.
It is much easier to go with one of the two first suggestions, as these methods make it more likely you will pass your drug test.
#4. Apple Cider Vinegar
- Sold at most grocery stores
- Must be diluted with water
- Can make urine look suspicious
There have been some vague claims online that apple cider vinegar, or even regular vinegar, can clean your system of delta-8 or THC. But, we must understand how the body metabolizes cannabis to get a better grasp on this.
Once again, we want to make it clear that the detox drink and the detox pills, as described above, are the best ways to detox if you need to take a drug test. Unfortunately, as you will see, ACV is not a great method.
Let us begin with the ingestion of cannabis. When this happens, our body breaks it down into a metabolite that is inactive. It then bonds with glucuronic acid, which creates an acidic metabolite we release via urine.
Some people think the acidic environment we create when drinking vinegar will let greater amounts of THC get released in less time. But, we do not have any evidence to prove this. Some think apple cider vinegar will help you reduce your urine’s pH, which will help produce a false negative score.
So, why is this method not likely to work? Well, we do not have any evidence or studies to back it up. Even if it does work, your urine may look suspicious to the person administering the test.
After all, ACV does not affect the enzymes that are responsible for metabolizing marijuana. There are also no effects on the excretion of THC. The only way ACV helps us detox from THC is by boosting fat breakdown and, thus, unleashing the metabolites of marijuana into the bloodstream so we can excrete them.
Most of the ACV cleanses out there are designed to help you avoid a positive score by having you consume a gallon of water hours before the test takes place. This creates very diluted urine, and this may result in an automatic test failure. You may have to go back and provide another sample under supervision.
Adding ACV to the sample may also cause eyebrows to raise. However, drug testing facilities have seen this method repeatedly, and they do test samples to ensure they are in a normal range. Regular urine ranges in pH ratings of 4.5 to 8.0, and ACV has a pH of 2.0 to 3.0.
Other things your urine is tested for include adulterants, creatine, gravity, and temperature.
So, what is the risk? Well, vinegar is not just reliable when it comes time to “clean out” your system. So, can you still try it?
Sure, if you want. Apple cider vinegar is not dangerous, but it is very acidic. If you attempt this method, be sure to dilute it with water before you drink, and rinse your mouth with water to keep your teeth safe.
As you can see, this method is not the greatest when it comes to cleansing your body of delta-8 for a drug test. So, we recommend going with either the detox pills or the detox drink for a better outcome.
#5. Lemon and Water
- A cheap solution
- Lemons are sold at most grocery stores
- It helps you stay hydrated
Lemon and water is a popular drink combination. You see it everywhere, and at restaurants, servers are always handing them out to patrons. But, is it helpful for people looking to detox from delta-8 THC?
It may help, but as always, we find the best method of detoxing is by using the detox drink or detox pills as described above. With that being said, if you still wish to try out lemon and water, keep reading.
Lemon juice might help you detox THC. Lemon is a fat burner and helps us get THC out of our fat cells. However, lemon juice slows the THC metabolism in our livers. But, you can get around it.
Let us explore what to do when you want to use lemon juice as a THC detox method and how it helps.
For starters, lemon juice is packed with vitamin C. People with higher vitamin C levels oxidize greater amounts of fat during a workout session than those with lower levels of the vitamin.
So, if your vitamin C levels are low, your body may hold onto its fat. So, keep those vitamin C levels up.
Lemon juice may also help us burn more fat. Check out this study from 2008, where mice that ate lemon peel phenols and a diet high in fat for a total of 12 weeks did not gain as much weight as those who did not consume lemon.
Lemon water could also help improve weight loss, which results in less fat and less THC storage. By adding lemon juice to your water, you can make it taste better and, thus, drink more of it. Hydration is very important to our overall health and is a critical component of weight loss and fat burning, not to mention digestion and functionality of muscles.
So, by now, you are probably excited to go chop up a lemon and begin drinking water. But, not so fast. While you should drink water, and while lemons are good for you, they inhibit an enzyme critical to the metabolization of THC in our liver.
This enzyme is known as CYP3A3, and it is the main one that metabolizes THC in our livers. Therefore, inhibiting it would negatively affect your efforts to detox before a drug test.
So, the bottom line? Stick with our recommended detox drink or detox pills for the best chance of passing.
Conclusion
How long Delta-Eight stays in your system depends on various factors that make it difficult to answer definitively. This article should have given some insight into what affects this, though and why individuals may need breaks from using the substance altogether at times.
Keep in mind that every person reacts differently due to their unique circumstances, so it’s always recommended that you speak with experts beforehand when doing anything related to drugs or drug testing prior to giving exams like these for safety measures.
