Are you wondering how to get drugs out of your body? This depends on factors like how long it takes a drug to process out of your body, the type of drug used, and the way you use it. The timeline is also affected by how long, how often, and how much of the particular drug you usually take.
Drug metabolism differs between people. It can be related to body composition, age, sex, biological, and genetic contributors. In general, drugs take between a few hours and a few days to completely leave the body and be undetectable on a drug test.
As many as 1 out of every 10 adults in the United States used an illicit drug in the month prior to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The high from a drug may only last a few minutes to a few hours, but the drug itself can remain present and active in the body for longer.
Length of Time It Takes Drugs to Leave the Body
The type of drug matters when talking about how long it takes for them to process out of the body. Some drugs have a rapid-onset high and a quick burnout, while others take longer to be effective but can remain active in the body for longer.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes the following information on how long drugs are detectable on a urine drug test which can be an indicator for how long they are working in your body.
According to the FDA, drug timelines include:
- Opioids (heroin and prescription painkillers like oxycodone): 1 to 3 days
- Cocaine: 1 to 3 days
- Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA): 2 to 4 days
- Benzodiazepines (sedatives, tranquilizers, and hypnotics): 1 to 7 days
- Methamphetamine and amphetamines (ADHD medications): 2 to 3 days
- Marijuana: 1 to 7 days
- Tricyclic antidepressants: 2 to 7 days
- PCP (phencyclidine): 1 to 3 weeks
- Barbiturates: 1 to 3 weeks
Effect of Intake Method on Metabolism
How drugs are administered plays a role in how long it takes for them to leave the body.
Drugs can be abused in the following ways:
- Snorting
- Smoking
- Injecting
- Ingestion
Typically, it will take longer for your body to metabolize a drug that is swallowed in pill or tablet form. Drugs taken in this way need to be broken down through the gastrointestinal system. They can take longer to get into the bloodstream and therefore longer to get out.
When drugs are smoked, as the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) illustrates with cocaine, they can enter the bloodstream quickly. They go straight into the lungs and then to the heart; from there, they travel directly to the brain. The faster drugs get to the brain, the more rapidly the high will start and usually the quicker it will also burn out.
Injecting drugs also sends them straight into the bloodstream for a fast and shorter-lived high.
Typically, drugs that are smoked or injected will leave the body faster than those that are snorted. Drugs that are swallowed will stay in the body longest.
Drug Tolerance and the Duration of Use
The journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America publishes that marijuana can have a particularly long half-life since the active chemical THC is so fat soluble that it can stay in the body for longer. The more you take more often, the more the drug can build up in the body. In a heavy and regular user, marijuana will be detectable on a drug test for much longer than it will with a one-time user.
The more you use a drug, the more tolerant your body becomes to lower doses. This can cause you to increase your dosage. If you are a regular drug user, it will also take longer for the drug to leave the body. Even if it doesn’t feel like it is still active in the bloodstream, it can still be detected through a drug test.
Body Composition Matters
Body mass, composition, and weight all impact drug metabolism and how long a drug remains active in the body. Drugs like alcohol and marijuana can be stored in fat cells. Therefore, the more fat cells that are present, the longer the drug can remain.
Many drugs are broken down from their original state into metabolites as they are processed through the body. The healthier your body, the faster this process can work.
If you are highly active, have a low body-fat index and high muscle mass, and exercise regularly, you will likely process drugs through your system faster than a heavier and more sedentary person.
Demographics That Influence Drug Processing
Your age, sex, and even race can influence how long drugs take to work their way out of your body.
As you get older, your metabolism slows down. Per Journals of Gerontology, as you age, your liver function and blood flow reduce. This can impact metabolism. A slowed metabolism can mean that it will take longer for a drug to fully leave your system.
Women and men process and metabolize drugs differently as well. As reported by U.S. Pharmacist, women absorb drugs differently, and drugs can stay in their bodies for longer than they do in men. This can mean that drugs will take longer to leave a woman’s body than a man’s body.
Other personal factors like race can also be involved in how drugs are processed out of the body. The journal Nature publishes that genetic contributors related to race can play a role in how medications and drugs are metabolized.
Other Factors That Effect Drug Processing Time
Other factors that affect how long a drug stays in your body include:
- Metabolic pathways: Each person’s body has a unique route of drug metabolism, effecting the length of time it stays in the system.
- Genetic markers: Rates of drug tolerance, dependence, and addiction are heritable through genetics, impacting the body’s response to drugs.
- Medical conditions: Poor liver and kidney function can slow the drug processing timeline.
All of these factors can impact your body’s ability to process drugs and expel them from your system.
What Happens After a Drug Leaves Your System?
When a drug leaves your system, the immediate aftermath can vary significantly depending on the substance, the duration of use, and individual health factors. However, those who routinely abuse substances are more likely develop a physical dependence on the drug. In these cases, its common to experience the onset of withdrawal symptoms after the drug leaves their system.
Drug Withdrawal
Regular and repeated use of a mind-altering drug changes the way your brain and body react, altering brain chemistry and function. This can cause drug dependence. When the drug leaves your body and stops being active in the brain, you can experience withdrawal symptoms. Drug withdrawal can range from mild to severe physical and psychological symptoms.
Acute withdrawal can begin as soon as the drug stops working in your bloodstream. In general, drug withdrawal symptoms can range from physical discomfort, including flu-like symptoms, to intense psychological side effects, such as anxiety, irritability, mood swings, depression, and insomnia.
People can also experience post-acute withdrawal symptoms (PAWS) which may linger for weeks up to a year or more. For this reason, people are often recommended to continue their time in a comprehensive addiction treatment program following the completion of detox.
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Drug Detox and Addiction Treatment
Detox is when drugs process out of the body. When drug dependence is significant, withdrawal symptoms can be painful and even potentially life-threatening. It can take some time for your brain to stabilize after using drugs, especially when drug dependence is a factor.
A medical detox program can offer the safest environment for detox. A formal detox program can use medications, therapies, and supportive methods to manage withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings. This can help your brain achieve balance as drugs leave the body. Medical detox, combined with a complete addiction treatment plan, can help you find stability in recovery.
Getting Help for Drug Addiction
At Footprints to Recovery, we understand that every individual’s journey to overcoming drug addiction is unique. That’s why we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to addiction treatment. We offer a wide range of personalized drug and alcohol rehab programs designed to meet your specific needs.
Whether you’re managing work, family, or other responsibilities, our flexible treatment options ensure that recovery fits into your life—not the other way around. Our programs address key aspects of addiction recovery, including your living environment, family dynamics, job obligations, and time constraints. At Footprints to Recovery, we’re here to help you take that first step toward lasting sobriety. Contact us to start your path to recovery today!
- Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- The Neurobiology of Drug Addiction – PDF – NIH
- Drugs of Abuse Home Use Test | FDA
- OBJECTIVE TESTING – URINE AND OTHER DRUG TESTS – PMC
- Drug Metabolism in Older People—A Key Consideration in Achieving Optimal Outcomes With Medicines | The Journals of Gerontology: Series A | Oxford Academic
- Gender Differences in Pharmacokinetics
- Pharmacogenetics, personalized medicine, and race | Learn Science at Scitable
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