What Affects How Long Drugs Stay In Your System?

By Allan Tan

Often a concern of people who faced drug testing by employers, many people want to know how long do drugs stay in your system. The amount of times that a drug stays in someone system depends on the type of drug use, how much of the drug was consumed, and certain characteristics of the person.

Factors that affect how long drugs stay in your system include your age, weight, and overall health. How much and how often the drug has been consumed affects how long traces of the drug remain in the body. Even the person stress level can affect how long the drug stays in the person's system.

Psilocybin, known as shrooms or mushrooms, and LSD stay in the system and are detectable by urine tests for about eight hours after use. Drugs that stay in the body an average of two days include methamphetamine, codeine, nicotine, GHB, Ecstasy, heroin, amphetamines, morphine, and opiates.

Hash and marijuana are detectable by urine tests for up to five weeks after use. Benzodiazepines, like Xanax and Valium, can take up to six weeks to completely leave the person's system.

PCP, also known as Angel dust, can be detected by urine tests for up to eight days after use.For six to ten hours after consumption, alcohol can be detected by urine test.

A percentage of alcohol that is consumed is expelled in the breath. A breathalyzer test detects alcohol in the breath. Although many myths claim ways that breathalyzer tests can be fooled, only one has a true affect on breathalyzer test results. Mouthwash containing alcohol has been rumored to affect breathalyzer tests. Unfortunately for those who try this, mouthwash can increase, not decrease, the measure of alcohol on the person's breath.

Hair testing can often detect drug use for a longer time frame than urine testing. Most hair tests will detect any drug use that has occured in the past ninety days.

Blood tests can be used to detect drug use, but blood tests are not commonly used. Some prescription medications can cause a false positive on drug urine tests commonly used by employers.

Prescription medication stays in the system for varying amounts of time depending on the specific medication, dosage, and the individual's metabolism. The half-life of a prescription drug is used to describe how long it takes for a drug to reach half of the potency of the dosage consumed. - 29929

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