How Long Does THC Stay In Your Saliva Glands?

Many of us wonder how long THC can last in the body. While this depends on the person and various other factors, this might be of interest if you have an upcoming drug test and want to pass.

There are several kinds of drug tests for THC, and saliva swabs are by far one of the easiest. It’s less expensive than urine, hair, and blood tests, and results appear much faster.

But before we dive into how long THC stays in your saliva glands, let’s understand what saliva drug tests would look like and how they work.

You’ve probably heard of urine drug tests, where patients are asked to urinate in a cup. As common as it is, this form of drug testing can be pretty expensive and time-consuming.

A few benefits of saliva drug tests are they’re quick and take about three minutes to complete. Plus, it’s hard to cheat since individuals don’t have to collect their saliva samples in private.

This simple process tests an individual’s saliva by swabbing the inside of the mouth. It can take as short as one minute to complete the drug test, depending on how much saliva is in someone’s mouth.

At times, people taking saliva drug tests will feel nervous before the swab, which can cause dry mouth. Individuals with dry mouth may have a harder time completing their test, as it takes a certain amount of saliva to collect a complete sample.

Now that we know what a saliva drug test is, you’re likely wondering if you’ll be in the clear.

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but THC stays in the system of a frequent user much longer than an occasional user. It’s almost a month’s difference.

• THC can stay in a frequent cannabis user’s saliva glands for 30 days.
• On the other hand, THC stays in an occasional user’s saliva glands for 24-72 hours.

However, this is just a rough estimate. Everyone breaks down and stores THC in a different way depending on a variety of factors like;

• Age
• Weight
• Body mass index (BMI)
• Body fat percentage
• Metabolism
• Hydration levels

The simple answer is that frequent users should steer clear of cannabis for about a month before a saliva drug test. Occasional users should stay away from weed for three days, but five days to be on the safe side.