Substance Abuse Community

Your metabolism is probably just slow. Maybe do some exercising.

Cannabis is highly lipid-soluble, which means it stays in the fat cells a long time. As a general rule - depending on the amount and duration of use — the substance will be in the urine for several weeks to a month or longer. Unless your usage was unusually excessive, it would be an anomaly if you tested positive at 60 days or longer.

Dear Dr. Golden,
Thank you for your reply. It has been three months and I am still testing positive at approx 48ng. I used twice a day, what my friends called a 'one hitter'..and $35.00 worth, which I was told is not very much...maybe 1/8 of an oz. My doctors are stumped. Could it be my liver is not working properly?
Thanks.

Hi Minkas_kids,

Do you ever take Ibuprofen or Aleve? If so and while you're waiting for Dr. Golden to respond again, check out this other discussion to see if anything rings a bell for you:

Click here

Hi Caprice,
No...I'm allergic to Nsaids...all of them.....and sulpha, and contrast dye....and Morphine...and a lot of antibiotics. I even had a reaction in the hospital to the 'bathing wipes' they used to give me a bath...it was bad enough I had to have IV benedryl. I was supposed to be in the hospital overnight and was there for 4 days because of my reactions to everything. This is why my surgeon would not give me pain meds to take home and my friends bought me marijuana. Unfortunately, I do not live in a medical marijuana state, so I lost my job when I was 'randomly' screened. I'd worked there 4 years and never been screened before. Right now I'm testing daily with CLIA waived screens a friend of mine who is a SA counselor got for me because she doesn't understand it either. Until now I've only tested positive for pot, but yesterday for Meth. I haven't taken ANYTHING different. I'm 58 y.o., have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, had my colon perforated 3 years ago which almost killed me, two surgeries on my wrist 2 months before being dx'd with breast cancer. Anyone want me in a research study?? I know this is an anomoly of some kind, but it has cost me my career. I started taking N-A-C (N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine) a couple of weeks ago to try to help and I'm feeling better, ng numbers are going down...but METH??? Sheesh. I don't use drugs...except the ones currently prescribed and the N-A-C.

I don't feel this is a liver problem. Sometimes cannabis can stay in the system for a long, long time; with prolonged use, it goes into the fat cells and just stays there, coming out very slowly. 48ng is a pretty low quantitative value, and the value should fall over time.

I would suggest testing in another month or so (remaining sober in the meantime.) I don't see blame for anything else — it's an issue strictly related to the pharmacodynamics of cannabis. Good luck.

Dear Dr. Golden,
Thank you again for a response. Like I said earlier, I used for for two weeks in early August for pain control for mastectomy, approx 1/8 of an oz. Haven't used (and won't) since. I am just now starting to show clean....a full three months. A friend of mine is a a doctor doingclinical research on anti-depressants and is testing me as he thinks this is an anomoly of some sort, as several of his participants are testing positive when they don't use at all. (I'm a professional as well...I know, I should have known better, but when your surgeon refuses pain meds and someone you trust says 'this will help'...). He knows I used during my recovery. So.......I post this for the information......and warning...for others. If you don't live in a medical marijuana state, and you want to keep your job, don't use marijuana.....hold your surgeon responsible for your pain management, and if he/she won't help you, fire them and find a doctor that will.