CBD & Drug Tests: What Do You Need To Know?
Let’s clear the air: CBD will not show up on a routine drug test. Because CBD is derived from cannabis – a plant commonly associated with the psychoactive compound THC – many users wonder if their CBD products will result in a positive drug test. THC does, so why not CBD?
For starters, industrial hemp-derived CBD became legal under the 2018 Farm Bill. Most employers will not test for a legal substance, especially after the Farm Bill removed CBD from a list of federally-recognized narcotics. CBD also does not produce a “high” like marijuana, the main proponent of THC.
There is currently no such thing as a “CBD Drug Test.”
But Don’t CBD Products Contain THC?
You may have seen the labels: “Lab Tested <0.3% THC.” CBD products, by law, allow for up to 0.3% THC content by dry weight. Numerous hemp-derived CBD oils meet this 0.3% limit, and it’s due to a type of CBD oil known as Full-Spectrum oil. Full-Spectrum CBD oil – and Broad-Spectrum oil, which we’ll talk about in a minute – refers to a process of extracting the CBD from hemp using the entire plant. This process extracts not only CBD, but other terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids found in the plant, including THC. THC is a natural chemical found even in industrial hemp-derived CBD extractions. The CBD market has turned towards Full-Spectrum products because it has been shown that these added terpenes and cannabinoids offer benefits of their own, complementing the CBD in your products. Broad-Spectrum CBD Oil also makes use of this whole-plant extraction. The difference between Full-Spectrum and Broad-Spectrum oils is that Full-Spectrum products often retain the federally-allowed 0.3% or less THC content, while Broad-Spectrum products have the THC completely removed.
So Can I Fail A Drug Test After Using Full-Spectrum Products?
The short answer: NO. You will not fail a drug test after using Full-Spectrum CBD products because you are only ingesting trace amounts of THC, nowhere near enough to trigger a positive result on a drug test.
In fact, CBD products have been tested against a range of common drug tests, including urine tests, blood tests, saliva tests, and hair tests. Each of these tests measure for cut-off values, or the minimum amount of a substance needed to trigger a positive result. Urine tests have the highest cut-off value of 50 nanograms per milligram, or 50-billionths of a milligram. Other drug tests have cut-off values of around 4 nanograms per milligram.
For example’s sake, if a Full-Spectrum CBD oil retains the maximum 0.3% THC in a 30 milliliter tincture, you would be ingesting 5 picograms per serving – That’s 5-trillionths of a milligram THC content, substantially less than the cut-off value for even some of the most rigorous drug tests.
What Determines the Amount of THC in My CBD Products?
Another point of contention between CBD and drug tests comes from various internet users claiming that a CBD oil or edible made them fail their employee drug test. You can find these editorials on sites like Reddit or Instagram, and while they make for some interesting content, they should not be trusted.
Why? Because high-quality CBD products will never trigger a positive result on a drug test.
Because the CBD market is littered with sites offering anything from “organic” to “pure” CBD, your average customer may come across a CBD company that looks trustworthy but is instead selling cross-contaminated products.
Until the Food and Drug Administration regulates CBD sales, it is up to the CBD companies to determine which regulations and guidelines to follow, meaning companies that make false claims and sell tainted CBD do, unfortunately, exist.
Hemp grown on farms in proximity to marijuana grows, for example, have a high potential for cross-contamination. This means that more THC will seep into your products, potentially triggering a failed drug test.
Luckily, all CBD Choice products are vetted and tested for quality assurance, meaning you can access third-party lab tests for any of our products and verify the CBD and THC contents for yourself.
In Conclusion
CBD will NOT show up on a drug test. Drug test cut-off values are too high – and THC contents in CBD products too low – to create any kind of conflict. Even those users who prefer Full-Spectrum CBD products don’t have to worry about drug testing, for these products include at most 0.3% THC, an amount that will not trigger any routine drug tests.
Additionally, as CBD research continues to unfold, manufacturers are moving more towards Broad-Spectrum CBD, which is completely THC-free. With this in mind, and considering that hemp-derived CBD products are federally legal, CBD users have nothing to worry about. We certainly don’t foresee “CBD Drug Tests” as a thing of the future.
