How long does THC vape stay in your system depends on numerous factors, including your metabolism and how often you vape. Interestingly, it remains in the human body longer than other drugs, but determining the exact time is virtually impossible.

However, you can guess an approximate time when its presence in the body is detectable. For instance, tests can show its presence in regular users up to a month after the last consumption, but it stays in the system only three days after a single use. Let’s check.

The time THC is detectable in the human body
Body part	Single-use	Once or twice a week	Over three times a week	Daily use	Long-term use
Blood	20 to 24 hours	24 to 36 hours	48 hours	3 to 6 days	25 to 30 days
Saliva	12 to 24 hours	48 hours	Three days	Three days	A week to 29 days
Hair	A few weeks	Up to 90 days	Up to 90 days	Up to 90 days	Up to 90 days
Urine	1 to 3 days	2 to 5 days	5 to 7 days	10 to 15 days	30 to 60 days

Cannabis in Vaping

Vaping is a healthier alternative to tobacco and weed smoking. However, be aware that vaping cannabis is still illegal in numerous countries, although nicotine consumption is still legal.

Therefore, you should know how long the tetra-hydro-cannabinol (THC) from vaping remains in the body and can be detected. As expected, the detection period depends on the sample, so it is longer or shorter when you check saliva, blood, hair, or urine.

Since THC concentration is high in vape products, you can expect it to linger in the system for longer than when consuming marijuana in other ways. However, that period depends on the sample and test type. Let’s take a look.

Ways to Detect THC In the Human Body

Vaping leaves long-lasting traces in your body, like other ways of cannabis consumption. Precise THC metabolite detection can be challenging and depends on various factors, including the way of testing.

1. Blood

A test to detect THC in the blood is a highly effective indicator of intoxication but is usable in a relatively short time. THC reaches peak levels in the blood within the first 3 to 10 minutes after vaping. It drops by about 90% within an hour, but the traces stay there for approximately 24 hours after a single use.

If you vape a few times a week, it is possible to detect THC in your blood for about 24 to 48 hours, but regular vaping leaves traces for at least a week. In some cases, it happens to detect this substance in blood after 25 to 30 days.

Besides, your blood can be positive for THC even after 6 to 7 days of abstinence if you are a regular user. There is a way to clean your system with detox pills before the test.

2. Saliva

Saliva testing (swab or oral fluid test) is a quick way of detecting THC within approximately 12 to 24 hours after a single inhaling. The swab is taken in between the gum and lower cheek and can show positive results 2 to 3 days after vaping in regular users.

In rare cases, it is possible to find THC traces in saliva for up to six days. In most cases, it is about heavy users. Nowadays, you can find THC detox mouthwash capable of masking THC metabolites for 3 to 4 hours.

Roadside saliva tests are standard in countries where cannabis is legal. They can detect THC in saliva, but they are not precise because numerous factors impact its levels. A recent study shows that this test type shows 5% to 10% false positives.

3. Urine

Urine testing is the most common and highly accurate method to detect THC byproducts in the human body, with a sensitivity level of 20ng/mL to 50ng/mL. It can detect this substance in human urine within three days in infrequent users and up to two weeks in regular users.

Long-term users keep traces of THC in their urine for 30 to 60 days. This drug test can show whether you are a casual or heavy user but can’t determine how long you have used cannabis or when you smoked the last time.

Besides, several things affect the THC trace levels in urine, including your metabolism, exercise, and cannabis dosage. You can expect THC to quickly pass out of your body if you have a fast metabolism, but heavy exercising before testing increases the THC metabolites in urine.

You excrete approximately 20% of cannabis out of your system through urine. In other words, heavy users need more time to flush their bladders out.

4. Hair

Hair follicle testing is the best way of detecting THC in the human body within an extended period. It is possible to discover this substance a few weeks after a single consumption. However, regular vapers keep traces of THC in their hair for 90 days, but sometimes even three months.

Available tests are pretty controversial, and their purpose is to detect people who have used cannabis for months. The problem is that results are not always conclusive. They can be positive even in people who have never smoked or vaped cannabis but were in physical contact with it.

This method is also impractical for casual users, providing inconclusive results. For instance, one 2015 study showed that hair follicle testing identified only 52.3% of recent marijuana users. Moreover, some THC detox shampoos can help you clean your hair.

Factors That Affect THC Metabolism and Detection

Metabolism allows substances to break down in the body to be used or eliminated. Cannabis and cannabinoids can be detected in marijuana users’ bodies. Its metabolism depends on several factors, allowing this substance detection.

1. Dose

Expectedly, the THC present in the consumer’s body is higher when the used dose is higher and vice versa.

2. Frequency of use

There is a higher probability of THC detection in regular users than in casual ones. Reasons include fresh cannabis presence in the system and its building-up in the body over time.

For instance, fatty tissue absorbs THC in low percentages in infrequent users because their livers quickly metabolize this substance. On the other hand, regular users’ fat cells store THC for 30 to 45 days.

3. Way of intake

Marijuana smoking and vaping allow THC to reach the bloodstream and brain almost instantly. The test can detect THC metabolites in urine for two to three days.

On the other hand, the lower amount reaches the bloodstream, and more end up in body fat after cannabis ingestion. That allows THC metabolite detection within a week.

4. Body mass index

Body mass index measures someone’s body fat based on height and weight. You can expect the human body to process marijuana differently, depending on consumers’ measures. In other words, taller people need to take more cannabis to experience the same effects as shorter ones.

Be aware that THC is fat-soluble so that body fats can be crucial in marijuana detection. Consequently, obese people with higher body fat concentrations metabolize marijuana slower than thinner ones.

Since fat tissue slowly releases THC metabolites, you can expect their higher concentration in the blood during stress periods or food deprivation.

5. Age, lifestyle, gender, genetics, and health

Since young people have faster metabolisms, they break down marijuana more quickly than elders. However, it also depends on their health because healthy older people sometimes have a faster metabolism than unhealthy young people.

Since THC storage is in fat cells, regular exercise often speeds up metabolism because of the rapid fat breakdown. Besides, some health conditions, like liver and kidney diseases, may cause THC to linger longer in the body.

On the other hand, drinking enough water and a balanced diet increase the detoxification process by faster THC metabolites elimination through urine. Since females have higher fat distribution levels and slower metabolism than men, their bodies often store higher THC levels in fatty tissue.

Keep in mind that increased stress levels impact the time necessary for your system to eliminate THC metabolites. People who are under stress need more time to get rid of drug traces.

The use of other drugs prolongs the THC detection time. The reason is the human body’s limited capacity for drug metabolizing and its elimination from the system.

Finally, some enzymes accelerate the marijuana elimination. Since their concentration in the body is an inherited trait, you can consider genetics one of the crucial factors in THC metabolism.

6. Test sensitivity and specificity

Drug test types have different sensitivity and specificity levels, so testing methods affect THC detection accuracy. While particular tests detect even the lowest THC metabolite amounts, others are less precise.

Besides, most tests record a minimum of 50 ng/ml of cannabis, leaving a negative result if the level of metabolites is lower in someone’s system.

Summary

Consuming marijuana through vapes leaves traces in your blood, saliva, urine, and hair for a specific period. Even though generalization is impossible, some tests can detect THC in your body for an approximate period. For instance, this substance stays in saliva for a few hours, but you can find it in hair even after 90 days in some cases.

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