Skip navigation, view page content

Will my buddy make me fail a drug test?

Posted: July 23, 2009

(0) Comments

Q: While I was at ComFest a few weeks ago I was around a lot of people who were smoking pot. I have a urine drug test coming up and I'm wondering if I might test positive.

A: The urine marijuana test detects a chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the active drug in marijuana. THC is stored in body fat and excreted in the urine. For someone who smokes a single marijuana cigarette, THC metabolites are detectable for several days. For chronic marijuana smokers, the level of THC builds up in the body fat over time and is excreted for weeks after the last time they used the drug.  Urine drug tests are set with a high threshold to eliminate false positives (people that test positive but do not use the drug).

Traces of marijuana may be detectable in the urine for a day or two in someone who was around marijuana smoke, but if you didn't personally smoke it, you likely have nothing to worry about.  Smelling marijuana smoke at an outside event is very unlikely to result in a positive test, but it's probably a good idea to avoid enclosed areas where people are smoking, like cars and closed rooms.  

Comments

No comments yet. You can be the first!

Add a Comment

© 2012, Student Health Services. All rights reserved.
If you have trouble accessing this page and need to request an alternate format, please contact the Student Life web development team at accessibility@studentlife.osu.edu.