CBD Oil: What Is It & Will It Cause a Positive Drug Test?

The prospect of having to ‘pee in a cup’ is terrifying for individuals who use illicit drugs. Sadly, marijuana remains on the list of controlled substances, along with hemp. If you test positive for THC during a drug screening in the workplace, you will likely face disciplinary action. You may have your employment contract terminated.

The most common drug test is a urinalysis. It tests for THC metabolites (THC-COOH), which can linger in your system for days, or even weeks, after using weed. Federal employees are currently exposed to a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy.

There is positive news on the horizon, at least. Less than 1.5% of job postings in the United States mention the need for pre-employment drug tests. In certain states, employees are now protected, and will not lose their jobs if they test positive for THC. However, in states like California, where adult-use marijuana is legal, there is no such shield. You can get fired even if you only use cannabis during a day off work!

If you are in this situation, you may see CBD oil for sale as a viable alternative. It is non-intoxicating, and ‘should’ contain a maximum of 0.3% THC if derived from hemp. At least, that’s the theory. In practice, the CBD oil industry is unregulated. Sellers could include significantly more THC in their products, and this could cause you to fail a drug test. Let’s check out this issue in greater depth.

How Much THC Registers on a Drug Test?

It depends on the type of test. In a urinalysis, the test must show at least 50 nanograms of THC-COOH per milliliter (50 ng/ml) for it to have a positive reading. In some cases, you may receive a more sophisticated second test, called a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) test. The cut-off point for the GC/MS test is 15 ng/ml.

In a blood test, a THC blood concentration of 5 ng/ml suggests impairment. However, such tests are rare because THC-COOH is only detectable in blood for a matter of hours. In saliva, THC metabolites are detectable for up to 72 hours in casual, infrequent users. A 2017 study, published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology recommended a cut-off value of 4 ng/ml for a saliva test.

There is also follicle testing, but it is incredibly rare. This is just as well because, in some tests, the cut-off is only one picogram per milligram. For the record, a picogram is approximately one-trillionth of a gram! Also, you can find THC metabolites in the hair for at least three months after abstaining from cannabis if you were a regular user.

You may believe that none of the above matters if you only use the CBD oils found online. After all, they only contain a maximum of 0.3% THC. Wrong! This is the maximum amount permitted in industrial hemp. However, the CBD industry is mostly unregulated. If the CBD oil you buy doesn’t have third-party lab reports, your product may contain enough THC to show up on a drug test.

I Only Use CBD Oil – How Could I Fail a Drug Test?

You ‘should’ easily pass a urine test if your CBD oil only contains 0.3% THC at a maximum. At this THC level, you would need to consume at least 2,000mg of CBD per day regularly. This amount is at least triple what volunteers use in clinical trials. Individuals using CBD to reduce seizures tend to use the most, but seldom exceed 300mg a day. Typically, most users of CBD oils consume around 50mg a day.

However, the CBD oil industry is plagued with companies that break the rules. A staggering percentage of products still contain CBD and THC levels wildly different from what’s on the label. In the absence of third-party lab reports, it is a guessing game. THC is fat-soluble, so it is absorbed with other fats and is stored in your body’s fatty tissue. If the CBD oil you use contains more than 0.3% THC, you could fall foul of a drug test.

A 2017 study published in JAMA looked at the labeling accuracy of CBD extracts sold online. It discovered that the majority of products were mislabeled. 20% of them contained up to 6.4 mg/ml of THC, enough to cause impairment. You would struggle to explain this issue to an employer if you failed a drug test.

Rather than risk your job by buying cheap CBD oil, choose a reputable brand like Premium Jane. It provides a full third-party lab report with every product. You can see that all of the brand’s batches contain less than 0.3% THC. As a result, you can buy CBD oil from this company with confidence. That said, no CBD brand will guarantee that you will pass a drug screening.

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