You have an impeccable resume and did well at the interview- your dream company has now offered you the job. Upon the job offer you are told, there is now just one thing – a mandatory CBD drug test.
You have recently been recommended to use CBD oil to help with your anxiety. Should you be worried CBD consumption will cause you to fail the test? Does CBD show up on a drug test and can you fail a drug test with CBD?
Curious? These questions and more will be answered below!
Does CBD Show Up On A Drug Test?
The simple answer is “no.”
When it comes to testing for cannabis consumption – drug tests currently only screen for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound responsible for feeling high, and the compounds your body makes to process it.
Pure CBD (cannabidiol), which is another active compound found in cannabis – does not cause people to get high, is not tested for and will not show up on typical screenings. CBD is also found in marijuana, however it is often extracted from hemp when CBD is used in products directly, a plant that has virtually 0% THC.
Different drug tests use different detection markers. However, the most common is the urine test. In the United States, the standards for lab certifications are set by the National Institute of Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, who consider the drug test a ‘fail’ if the concentration of THC in the body is greater than 50 ng/mL.
Blood and hair follicle tests can also be performed but are typically less common.
A blood test will check for 15 mg/mL concentration and commonly used to check for very short-term use of THC products ranging from hours to a couple of days.
The hair follicle test can check for as little as 0.10 pg/mL concentration and is usually reserved for checking for longer-term use ranging from weeks to months.
By U.S law CBD products are only allowed to contain a maximum of 0.3% THC. At this level a person would have to consume over 2000 mg of CBD oil per day, which is a very high dosage, in order to be at risk of a (still unlikely) “false positive” result.
CBD Oil And The CBD Drug Test
Despite all this, the more thought out answer to the original question can be slightly more complicated as there are indirect ways CBD products might cause you to fail a drug test.
Compound accumulation
THC is a lipid-soluble compound, which means it can be absorbed by the fatty tissue of the human body.
Depending on the content of the CBD product, how often it is consumed as well as your body type and diet, it’s possible for THC to accumulate in the human body to levels that can trigger a positive drug test.
Current research suggests THC can accumulate and be detected for up to 30 days from consumption.
Incorrect concentrations marked on products
CBD products are currently not strictly regulated, meaning quality control of the CBD and THC content is still poor in many areas.
As a result, product mislabelling is common and some studies have shown that up to 70% of CBD products that can be purchased online are mislabelled, with one-fifth of those analyzed found to contain up to 6.4mg/mL of THC – a high enough level to strongly affect the perception and wellbeing of a healthy adult.
Cross-contamination
During the extraction process of isolating the cannabis compounds (THC and CBD) from the plant, it’s possible that small amounts of THC present in the starting material can be extracted in high enough levels to result in a positive drug test.
Again, with current stages of regulation, poorer levels of quality control make this a possibility.
If you have a CBD drug test and use CBD
If unprescribed, consider refraining consumption or reducing the dosage leading up to the drug test to reduce the chance of a positive test result due to the accumulation of THC levels in the body or impure product consumption. As mentioned, some tests do indicate that THC can remain for up to 30 days.
Realistically, with a quality product that has the required 0.3% limit of THC composition with a typical dosage, it is often advised that it is better to consume the product immediately before the test rather than over the course of a week or two leading up to avoid this.
In a controlled environment, after consuming a standard dose of commercial CBD oil, the failure rate is less than 0.2%. However, in practice failure rates have been reported to be between around 11-23%, likely due to variation in products on the market right now.
CBD Drug Test – 5 Things You Need To Keep Mind
There are several precautions you can take to prevent failing a CBD drug test if you are a regular consumer of CBD products:
Ensure you follow government and local laws and are aware of any and all legislation related to CBD products you are consuming.
Do thorough research on the product to ensure it is a quality product with no history of mislabelling or altering product composition.
Make sure the product you’re purchasing is of high quality and properly tested
Further to this investigate manufacturer and ensure you are aware of how the product is processed and any possibility of cross-contamination.
Consult a physician before conducting a drug test and if prescribed CBD products consider a signed doctor’s note pre-dating the test, along with disclosing this with your employer to help alleviate any awkward questions in the event of a positive test result.