Passive cannabis smoking - will I pass a drug test?
There are countless myths and uncertainties surrounding cannabis. One of them is passive cannabis smoking. Can cannabinoids like THC enter your body, or more specifically your blood, even if you do not use cannabis yourself? Today, we are here to take a close look at this topic - let's get started.
Passive Marijuana Smoking: What Do Studies Say?
First, it is worth noting that most misconceptions, disinformation, and myths about cannabis and its use were partly caused by the long-term criminalization of this plant used by humanity since ancient times.
Cannabis has been denigrated for a long time due to those who abuse it for recreational purposes and consider medical effects as secondary. Today, we will look at the existing findings of studies that addressed questions such as:
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Is it possible to be intoxicated during passive smoking and inhalation?
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If marijuana smoke is unintentionally inhaled, can my drug test come back positive?
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Can a psychoactive effect occur during passive cannabis smoking?
Will common drug tests detect THC presence after passive smoking?
Passive Cannabis Inhalation
The most common myth is that if you are close to someone who inhales cannabis, then secondary smoke will certainly enter your body and affect your mental state. The truth is quite different in this case.
It is almost impossible to get enough cannabinoids into your body during passive smoking to feel a certain psychoactive effect.
This fact was verified by experts during a study at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, where non-cannabis smokers were exposed to secondary marijuana smoke in an Amsterdam cafe. The study revealed that even if you occasionally encounter cannabis smoke in an everyday situation, you will certainly not feel its effect. Blood samples were subsequently taken from the study participants.
A detailed analysis found trace amounts of THC in the blood. However, the amount was so low that it would be completely undetectable in standard drug tests
Common drug tests will not detect trace amounts of THC from passive smoking
Passive Cannabis Smoke Inhalation and Drug Tests
If you know that you are regularly subjected to drug tests at work or school, passive smoking might make you nervous.
However, do not worry - another study in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology confirmed that in most cases, there is nothing to be afraid of. The amount of THC in the body is so low that tests simply will not detect it.
However, a different situation arises if you inhale a large amount of cannabis smoke about 30 minutes before the test. The mentioned study also revealed that a drug test and THC in the blood may theoretically come back positive in this case.
When Does a Psychoactive THC Effect Occur from Passive Smoking?
Passive inhalation of secondary cannabis smoke introduces minimal active ingredients into the body. However, you can certainly get intoxicated through passive inhalation. It depends on certain factors that affect the final THC concentration in the blood of passive smokers.
A 2014 study claims that if the secondary smoke comes from a truly potent THC cannabis strain, psychoactive effects may occur even in a passive smoker. This effect is amplified if active and passive smokers are together in a poorly ventilated room.
However, this situation only occurs in truly extreme cases where passive inhalation lasts for tens of minutes, not just seconds.