Could CBD Ingestion Lead to a failed drug test?

Posted by Yammy CBD on Mar 15th 2022

Could CBD Ingestion Lead to a failed drug test?

Regular CBD users often ask whether they are at high risk for failing drug tests. The short answer is no. It is highly unlikely that CBD would trigger a positive test result. However, it is not impossible. CBD ingestion can lead to a failed drug test under certain circumstances. We will endeavor to explain why in this post.

Before we get to the explanation, understand that products like CBD gummiesdrops, and premium oils must contain less than 0.3% THC by volume. THC is the real problem when it comes to drug tests. Because legal CBD products contain little or no THC, they do not tend to be problematic where drug tests are concerned. But again, there are no guarantees.

Triggering Test Antibodies

The first thing to know is that some CBD products can trigger false positives due to any of the cannabinoids in them. The fact is that cannabis plants contain more than a hundred cannabinoids and terpenes. Every cannabinoid you ingest causes a reaction in your body; a reaction tied to antibodies. Therein lies the issue.

Researchers at the University of Utah tested CBD products using the two types of commonly utilized drug test kits. Both tests rely on antibody reactions. To determine just how antibodies affect drug tests, the researchers tested urine samples that had been spiked with CBD, CBN, cannabigerol, and cannabichromene. Most of the samples did not turn up positive test results. However, one of the CBD samples did.

Researchers ultimately concluded that the CBD may have triggered the antibodies in that particular test kit. Because manufacturers use different antibodies, there is no way to know for sure exactly what is in each test kit. If the right antibodies are present, they could react with any one of the four compounds the researchers tested.

THC in the System

The University of Utah study utilized only pure CBD. With no THC present, the only way it could trigger a false positive is if it interacted with certain test antibodies. But that leads us to a second issue: CBD products with some THC included. Again, a legal CBD oil contains less than 0.3% THC. But that could mean 0.29%.

We know that THC lingers in the system for some time after ingestion. How long depends on a lengthy list of factors including the amount consumed, how frequently it is consumed, and a person's age, weight, and metabolism.

All these things combined indicate that it is possible for a regular CBD user to have a detectable amount of THC in the system even though they have never used a cannabis product. That person never experienced a THC high either because the cannabinoid was not consumed at a volume capable of producing a high.

Consider Your Own Circumstances

The point of explaining all of this is to encourage you to consider your own circumstances before choosing to use a broad-spectrum CBD oil, a premium oil, or even CBD drops. The chances of CBD leading to a failed drug test are slim, but they do exist, nonetheless. You must consider that in light of any possibility that you may have to take a drug test.

Should you decide that you want to use CBD, we offer a full menu of products we believe you will truly appreciate. Feel free to browse our selection of gummies, drops, oils, and CBD topicals. You can also check the lab results of any product you buy from us right here at our website. We want you to be comfortable with every CBD purchase you make.