How Long Does CBD Stay In Your System?

Key Takeaways

CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids will stay in your body for multiple days after use. They can remain for multiple weeks depending on a few factors unique to each person.
How you consume CBD will affect how long it hangs around in your body.
You can flush cannabinoids from your system faster than normal, but these methods may backfire.

If you’re wondering how long CBD stays in your system, you might also be wondering how fast you can flush it out. Or, more likely, you may be wondering how to get full-spectrum CBD’s trace amounts of THC out of your system.

How long CBD stays in your system depends on a number of important factors. In this post, we’ll discuss those factors, CBD and drug testing, and how to properly flush CBD (and other cannabinoids) from your system.

How Long Does CBD Stay In Your Body?

Generally, it’s safe to assume that CBD will stay in your system for at least 2 to 5 days. However, based on a few factors, it can stay much longer.

Factor 1: How Much CBD You Take

The biggest and sometimes overlooked factor in how long CBD stays in your system is the last time you take CBD. All other factors aside, if you’ve taken CBD in the last week, you can expect it to be in your system.

However, if your last dose of CBD was more than a month ago, there’s a slim chance that it would still be in your system.

Factor 2: How Much CBD You Take

Cannabinoids are like any other supplements in this regard. The higher your dosage, the longer it will stay in your system at any measurable level.

Factor 3: How Often You Take CBD

How often you use CBD also plays a big role in determining how long CBD stays in your system.

Because cannabinoids are fat soluble, they can build up in your body with prolonged and consistent use. If you use CBD regularly, it may take your body longer to flush it completely.

This “build-up” of CBD in your system is also why it takes folks a few weeks of regular use to realize the benefits of CBD.

Factor 4: Method of Consumption

Your chosen consumption method will also affect how fast your body can flush the CBD in your system. CBD’s half-life, meaning how long it takes your body to eliminate one-half of the substance, varies by method. It takes about five half-life cycles for a substance to be “completely” gone.

Some consumption methods and their half-lives

CBD spray has a half-life of around 10 hours
Oral consumption of CBD has a half-life of around 2-5 days
Smokable CBD has a half-life of around 30 hours

Note that these numbers only apply to dosages taken once, not regularly. We should also note that CBD topicals don’t have a half-life because when you use CBD on your skin, it does not enter your bloodstream.

Factor 5: Your Body

Everyone’s body is different. We all carry around different amounts of body fat, water content, and our digestive systems work on their own schedules; all factors that can affect how long CBD stays in our system.

Because cannabinoids are fat-soluble, they tend to stay longer in bodies that contain higher percentages of fat and that don’t process waste as efficiently.

Factor 6: Taking CBD With Food

This factor is more specific to CBD that you orally consume. If you take edibles or use sublingual oil on an empty stomach, your body will process and dispose of CBD faster. However, if you take CBD with food, your body will metabolize it more slowly.

Will CBD Show Up On A Drug Test?

The short answer is yes. Using CBD products can trigger a positive drug test. If you want more information about this topic, please see our blog about CBD and workplace drug testing here.

The more nuanced answer is that workplace drug tests are looking for CBD at all. They’re actually looking for the trace (<0.3%) amounts of THC in some CBD products.

If you found this post looking for information about drug testing, know that you should still be able to consume products manufactured with CBD isolate (pure CBD) without risk. Unless otherwise specified, workplace drug tests are looking for THC metabolites, not CBD.

How Do You Flush Your System Of CBD?

If you absolutely must flush your system of CBD, there are a few safe options you can choose from… and some not-so-safe options.

It’s important to note that CBD leaves your body just like everything else— via sweat, urine, and excrement. With that in mind…

Drink More Water

Drinking more water will make you urinate more frequently and will help flush cannabinoids from your body. It’s important not to overdo this one, as too much water can flush vital nutrients from your system and, more to the point, lead to a failed drug test because of artificially low creatinine levels.

Eat More Fiber, Fewer Fats

Because cannabinoids are fat-soluble, they will hang around your body longer if there is more fat to latch on to. To flush the CBD from your system faster, eat more fruits, vegetables, and beans. These high-fiber foods, in addition to drinking more water, will help make you more regular and help flush your system.

Exercise

If you want to get rid of cannabinoids fast, go to the gym. Breaking a sweat is a great way to flush cannabinoids and salts from your system. Subsequent dehydration will also prompt you to drink more water.

Don’t Take Detox Pills

With the first three flushing methods above, you have control. We don’t recommend using “detox pills.” They may promise the same results faster, but

You have no idea what kinds of fillers may be in online detox pills
And if you aggressively flush your system with detox pills, you may fail a drug test regardless because of artificially low creatinine levels in your urine.

Be Patient

Above all other flushing methods, the best method is time. Your body is great at detoxing and will clear out all CBD if you stop using it and give your body time to do its thing.

Final Word

If you’re concerned about CBD (or trace amounts of THC) triggering a positive drug test, the best thing you can do is stop using your product. Give your body ample time to flush the CBD naturally. Failing that, start drinking more water and get up and active. You’ll flush your system, and you’ll feel great, too.

FAQs

A reminder that this post is informational and should not be construed as legal or medical advice.

How Long Does CBD Oil/ A CBD Gummy Stay In Your System?

The half-life of CBD edibles and sublinguals is between 2 and 5 days. That’s assuming you aren’t a chronic user.

How Long Does __mg of CBD Stay In Your System?

This question depends on your consumption method. You must compare half-life with dosage, usage, and testing methods.

A good rule of thumb to be safe is two weeks. That should be enough time for your body to process enough CBD and nearly eliminate it from your system. If you’re a chronic CBD user (daily), double it. You’ll want to give your body nearly a month to fully eliminate the CBD from your system.

How Long Does Delta 9 CBD Stay In Your System?

Let’s clarify that by delta-9 CBD is not a thing and that you’re actually asking about hemp-derived THC. The half-life of THC is slightly shorter than CBD. If you’re concerned about testing positive for THC, you’ll still want to give your body plenty of time to flush from your system.

The rule of thumb from the previous question applies here, too. Give yourself about a month before your test, especially if you’re a longer-term chronic user.

Note that this post was originally published on March 22nd, 2022, and was updated by the author on August 29th, 2024.