In Part I of this series, we learned how the endocannabinoid system regulates and responds to physical activity. The endocannabinoid system is crucial for generating the motivation to engage in voluntary exercise and exercise itself alters its sensitivity to cannabinoids. In Part II, we saw that endocannabinoid receptors are present in the lungs, heart, and blood vessels–key tissues for exercise performance. 

Endogenous cannabinoids are made from specific dietary fats and regulate various aspects of metabolism. Plant cannabinoids like THC are fat-soluble molecules and some of the THC you consume accumulates in adipose (fat) tissue. This suggests that the amount of body fat you have, and the rate at which you burn it off, could affect how quickly that THC gets released from fats stores into the bloodstream. 

Can burning off body fat actually lead to measurable changes in blood THC levels?

Effects of fasting & exercise on blood THC levels

Takeaway: THC is stored in fat, and burning fat releases it.

The effects of fasting and exercise have been measured in both animals and humans in a limited number of studies. One rodent study gave rats THC daily for five days, followed by a three-day “wash out.” After that, some were fasted for 24-hours. Compared to non-fasted rats, fasted rats had higher blood concentrations of THC-COOH, but not THC. THC-COOH is a metabolite of THC–what drug tests measure in urine samples. Elevated blood THC-COOH was also seen when rats fasted for 20 hours immediately following a single dose of THC.

Another rodent study gave rats THC daily for ten days (twice as long as the last study) followed by a 24-hour fast. Compared to non-fasted animals, higher blood levels of both THC and THC-COOH were detected in fasted animals, although the increase in THC was much smaller than for THC-COOH.

A limited number of human studies have looked at the effects of exercise and fasting on blood THC/THC-COOH levels in people. In a small study of six chronic, daily cannabis consumers, they did 45-minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (treadmill running) followed by a 24-hour fast. No significant elevation in either THC or THC-COOH was detected.

Why would this be, given the results of animal studies above showing an elevation of THC-COOH following fasting? One explanation is the duration of the study: humans live roughly thirty times longer than rats. A 24-hour fast for a rat is roughly equivalent to a month-long fast for a human. It’s possible that a short one-day fast in humans is not enough time to burn much fat.

Another human study made additional observations that shed further light on the matter. Fourteen regular cannabis consumers had their blood tested before, immediately after, and two hours following 35 minutes of stationary bicycling. There was a significant increase in blood THC levels, but not THC-COOH, immediately after exercise. The effect normalized after two hours.

Researchers made an additional, interesting observation: body mass index (BMI) was significantly correlated with the change in blood THC levels following exercise. Individuals with higher BMIs (more body fat) tended to see a larger spike in blood THC levels after exercise. This may explain why no change was detected in the previous study–those individuals had an average BMI of about 21, while the majority in this study had BMIs over 21.

The experiments in rodents found that fasting can produce elevations in blood THC-COOH levels, with little to no elevation in THC levels. In contrast, human studies found that a combination of exercise and fasting could elevate THC levels (but not THC-COOH), with larger elevations seen in those with higher BMIs. Why would human studies find an elevation in THC, but rodent studies see an elevation in THC-COOH? One possibility is drug metabolism. Rodents metabolize drugs much faster than we do, so there is perhaps less time for THC to accumulate in fat prior to being metabolized into THC-COOH. 

Could burning fat get you high or make you fail a drug test?

Takeaway: Get you high? Maybe. Fail a drug test? Unlikely.

Assuming the results above in humans hold true—that blood THC levels can be elevated by fasting and exercise (at least in people with sufficient levels of body fat) — could burning body fat result in a psychoactive effect? 

It’s hard to be sure without more robust data, but it’s entirely possible.

In the study that detected an increase in blood THC levels in both fasted and non-fasted cannabis consumers following exercise, there was a roughly 15% increase in blood THC levels, on average. In a study that measured blood THC levels after vaporizing cannabis, a relatively low 10 mg dose of THC–enough to cause psychoactive effects in the majority of study participants–resulted in a ~10% average increase in blood THC levels. A higher 30 mg dose resulted in a ~30% increase. 

So, a 15% increase in blood THC levels from exercise and fasting could conceivably induce a psychoactive effect. Unfortunately, the study that measured this blood THC increase following exercise/fasting did not also measure whether participants felt any psychoactive effects. 

Overall, these results suggest that those with more body fat may be vulnerable to higher levels of blood THC following fat burning. More fat to burn means more room to accumulate THC over time. One prediction here would be that longer durations of fasting or higher intensity exercise, resulting in more fat burn, could induce greater increases in blood THC levels, especially in those with more body fat. 

As far as the drug testing concern goes, the results of human studies suggest that there would be no elevated risk of failure, as blood THC-COOH levels—what urine tests look for—were not elevated following fasting and exercise in humans. It’s conceivable that more intensive exercise or longer fasts might push up THC-COOH levels, but I’m not aware of any studies looking at this. 

Cannabinoids are fatty molecules—our own endogenous cannabinoids are made from dietary fats, and plant cannabinoids can be stored in fat tissue and influence our eating behavior and metabolism. It’s worth knowing about these things as you engineer your lifestyle and craft intentions for the new year.

Summary: The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has officially removed cannabis from its list of prohibited substances for athletes, marking a significant policy change in the organization’s approach to drug testing and athlete health.

UFC Updates its Sports Cannabis Policy

In a landmark decision, the UFC has officially excluded cannabis from its revised list of banned substances for professional fighters. This move follows the UFC’s 2021 initiative to protect fighters from penalties related to THC-positive test results. The UFC’s updated anti-doping policy reflects its commitment to athlete health and safety, as well as fair competition.

The UFC’s prohibited substance list generally aligns with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) guidelines. However, the UFC has made specific adjustments, notably the removal of marijuana, in response to evolving understandings of the substance’s effects and implications.

Drug Testing for Marijuana

Much of the world hasn’t fully realized the harmlessness nor embraced the benefits of marijuana. Government fueled propaganda campaigns and other movements of marijuana misinformation have had lasting effects that legislature has been slow to correct. One of the unfortunate results of past and present misinformation has been unprovoked and invasive drug screens. Approximately 84 percent of employers require pre-employment drug tests; this doesn’t include the countless other reasons that one might be subjected to testing.

For now, drug screening is a reality that many of us will have to face at one point or another. We’ve put together a complete overview of drug testing for marijuana and provided some guidelines to follow to help you pass them. We don’t believe that anyone should be subjected to an unprovoked drug screen and hope that you find this useful for the next time you have to visit a lab.

Marijuana Is Quickly Metabolized but THC Metabolites Can Linger

The high from using marijuana will often disappear within a few hours, but the actual mechanism that gets one high and that which the labs test for can linger in the system and be detected for up to weeks depending on the frequency and quantity used. The primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana – Tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9-THC or simply THC – enters one’s bloodstream soon after using.

THC is typically only detectable in the bloodstream for 3 to 24 hours because it is quickly metabolized into THC-COOH molecules commonly called THC metabolites. As you’ve likely heard, these THC metabolites are stored in fat and gradually released through the body’s natural excretion systems (approximately 20% is excreted in urine, approximately 65% in feces and the remainder in sweat). We’ll address these three natural excretion systems later in this article since they are important factors when attempting to come up with a successful detox program.

Drug Screening Methods

The most well-known drug testing types include hair, saliva, blood and urine. Oral fluid and blood testing is not very common since THC metabolites are typically only detectable in saliva and blood for up to 72 hours and 24 hours, respectively. 5 and 10-panel urinalysis screens for are much more popular given their cost and extended detection times. Since they’re so much more common (more than 75% of the pre-employment testing administered), passing a urinalysis will be our focus.

Urinalysis Detection Times

Some THC metabolites have an elimination half-life of less than 24 hours. Most credentialed experts agree the remainder won’t be released from the body’s fatty tissues for 15 to 30 days. There have been reports of detection times longer than 30 days but this has been very rare; the most credible source and recent (last updated October 2016) study on detection times has been by the Mayo Medical Laboratories:

This of course is dependent on how often a person smokes (frequency), how much they smoke (quantity), and their metabolism (general health, diet and exercise).

Urinalysis Accuracy

False positives are rare for cannabis due to how commonly it’s tested (because of how often it’s used). Labs are very sophisticated and kept up to date on how individuals cheat these tests. The laboratory first screens the sample with an immunoassay screen (also called an EMIT and or RIA). False positives are rare because if a positive result is returned, the sample is again screened with a backup method called a GCMS, which is much more costly but also much more accurate.

Can You Cheat Your THC Drug Screen?

There are a lot of suggestions online in forums and on YouTube about how to cheat a drug test; as stated before, labs are well aware of these and thus they rarely work. If a drug screen results in a tainted sample, they’ll simply require that you take another. Some common advice for cheating includes:

Dilution  

• This includes drinking a lot of water and urinating several times before the test. This is helpful for lowering THC levels in your system and should be part of any detox program but this should not be relied on as a fail-safe. We recommend always drinking a healthy amount of water (at the very least eight 8-ounce glasses a day).

Masking Agents

Some companies sell various substances that mask a drug sample. These typically return false positives and require the lab to legally take a second sample, one which the individual often fails.

Tampering 

This requires adding something to the urine to contaminate it and through off the lab results. Out of all the ways to cheat a drug test, we recommend these the least. They are even less likely to work than a masking agent, as it will only return a false positive and require the lab to legally take a second sample.

If you have to take a urine screen for employment or other purposes then we highly recommend you do a full detox and not attempt to “cheat” the test. Although how long it takes is different for everyone, eventually your body will remove THC from you system through its natural processes.

That being said, there are ways to boost you body’s excretion systems (urination, feces and sweating) and speed up THC removal. If you have at least three weeks until your drug screen and are a fairly healthy person that isn’t a very heavy smoker, then we’re confident you can detox naturally and pass your test by following the below:

1. Abstain from inhaling or ingesting marijuana – Obvious enough.
2. Eat a clean diet that is low in carbohydrates and sugar – A diet like this forces the body to metabolize fat (where THC metabolites are stored) instead of glucose.
3. Drink lots of water and green tea – Having healthy amounts of both water and green tea will lower THC metabolite levels through their diuretic properties and cleansing of the kidneys. Additionally, hydration is a key factor for a robust metabolism.
4. Exercise and hit the sauna, steam-room or jacuzzi – All of these will speed up a person’s metabolic rate, burn THC metabolites and stimulate waste removal.
5.  Use a Detoxification Product cleanse in about a week

Natural Detox Kits

If you have less than two weeks until your THC urinalysis or are simply looking for additional assurance that you’ll pass, we recommend obtaining a natural ingredient detox kit. These natural kits are typically safer than many of the harsh masking agents on the market. Additionally, if you only have a short amount of time, detox kits that truly remove detectable THC metabolites from your system can be the missing link between your body’s excretion systems and passing your test. One of the natural detox kits that we recommend is Verdant Herbal’s 48 Hour THC Detox Kit.

Verdant Herbal’s detox kit is a unique THC cleanse that has evolved over the past 8 years using customer research, feedback and independent studies done within the industry. They have isolated the most effective ingredients and brought them all together into one comprehensive formula using only pharmaceutical grade (certified) natural extracts. Each of the ingredients has a specific function for enhancing the detox process.

Conclusion

Remember, when preparing for a drug screen, time is your most valuable commodity; the more time you have the more likely you are to be able to detox naturally. Other important variables include frequency of use, quantity of use, metabolic rate and overall health.

Home drug test can be used to find out if you’ll definitely fail a lab test but not to find out if you’ll pass; meaning, if you fail a home drug test then it’s essentially guaranteed that you’ll fail a lab test but passing a home drug test doesn’t mean that you’ll pass a lab test. Lastly, if you’re short on time, then extra measures like detox kits are an option and should be considered to ensure you pass your test without any issues.

Good luck to all!