Prescribed medical cannabis

What is the Half Life of Marijuana All About?

So, you want to know about half-life?  No, not the first-person shooter video game that came out in 1998. Wow,1998, that’s twenty years ago.

We aren’t talking about that half-life. Today, we’re addressing the THC half life in marijuana, and how it affects the average substance user.

Our human tendencies in life are to get the most out of something that we are using or want when we partake of it. You really can’t experience something when you have a limitation on it, and that is why we tend to test boundaries.

When those boundaries don’t satisfy us after a while, we do more, get more, and use more.  

Recreational use of marijuana has become increasingly popular, and with the legality of the use becoming more and more prevalent, knowledge about it has become more of a need.

And we get it. The more you use, the more you want to use to gain the full experience because the high does not last forever.

That’s all well and good, but we must be careful about that principle when it comes to the substances we use. When it comes to marijuana, have you ever realized that the effects seem to dictate how fast they move through your system?

The high from marijuana doesn’t last very long. Don’t worry; it’s not just you. This singularity is known as Biological Half-Life.

So, What Is The Half Life?

Medical marijuana in paper cup with prescription. Document is fictitious.

Half-Life occurs in many substances, and we mainly hear about it when it comes to radioactive material. In scientific terms, the half-life is the amount of time that it takes for a substance to lose half of its elements and continue to break down until it is out of your system. Makes sense? Well, we’ll look at it a little more.

Why Do We Measure The Half-life And Not The Full Life?

man pinches the excess fat that he has around his waist.

Should we account for the entire impact of the chemicals? Well, yes, and we are. See, the percentage of substance that is not eliminated during the half-life is the active part of the substance. So, we want to start by measuring the stuff that is active in your system; not the other stuff.

For THC, the half-life is pretty long. The reason for that is because the substance is stored in the body’s fat cells and does not readily dissipate in liquid and water.

Also, people have a lot harder time burning fat. So, for the urine and plasma, it could take up to 3-4 days for the half-life of the substance. In some cases, depending on the method of consumption and amount ingested, it could take up to 10 to 12 days.

Now, to clarify, the half-life of marijuana has nothing to do with the literal ‘high’ that you get while using it. It merely has to do with how long it is present and active in your body.

Why Do I Need To Know This?

late 20s black man with pencil on chin thinking

All of this may sound a little overwhelming, but knowing about the half-life of marijuana is a great benefit for you to know. Let’s say that you’re planning to detox.

Understanding this concept will help save you a lot of time and unnecessary effort when doing it.

Here are some points that will let you know precisely how half-life breaks down.

  • In the first half-life, 50% of the marijuana has been eliminated from the system
  • In the second half-life, 50% of the remaining active substance is eliminated which leaves 25%  remaining.
  • In the third half-life, half of the remaining 25% is eliminated, which brings us to 12.5% left in the system.
  • The process keeps going at the same pace, until everything is completely gone.  

The process grows longer with the more substance use during this half-life process.

Adding It Up

Young business woman show calculator and gesture ok

If this is still a little too general for you, don’t fear. You can get a decent calculation online with a THC calculator. This online calculator will give you an estimated time of how long the substances will be in the system, and it focuses primarily on their half-life.

It’s not 100%, but it can give you an idea. Here’s how it works.

  1. Select whether you want to use imperial or metric measurements
  2. You’ll need to select your gender
  3. You’ll need to put in your weight
  4. You’ll need to put in your age
  5. You’ll need to put in your height
  6. You’ll need to give an estimate of how much or how often you use the substance
  7. And lately, is your use recreational or medical

With all of these numbers, make sure that you are getting as accurate information as possible so that you can have the best results.

Again, remember that this calculator isn’t full proof, but it can help you in knowing more about how the marijuana that you are partaking of is affecting your body, and how long it is staying in your system. It’s a great resource.

The common misconception is that everything is based on the high, and that’s not true. There is a half-life that is extended throughout your system even when the high is gone.  

Can You Fool The Test?

It’s good to know these things and have all the information at your disposal. 

With the increase of freedoms that come with substance use, come the responsibility to know how to live the best life you can while enjoying these. 

Here at QuickFixSynthetic, we want you to provide you with a solution that will ease your mind and allow you to continue having fun. The solution works for males or females and goes through extensive testing in the lab before ever hitting the market for sale.

Yes, we’re talking about synthetic urine

Thin white bottle with its quick fix packaging and red sachet

Chemists make the synthetic urine in a lab and design it to match the contents found in normal human urine specifically. The creatine, ph levels, and uric acid are all precise to ensure that you receive a passing result. It also assures that the test won’t detect any tampering.

If you want to know more, have a look at our infographic on ‘How Long Does Marijuana Stay in Your System’. Check out our Quick Fix 6.2 Synthetic Urine or our Detox Drinks.

Resources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3570572/

https://academic.oup.com/jat/article-pdf/23/5/323/2328939/23-5-323.pdf

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=167&contentid=cannabinoid_screen_urine

 

About Chris Wilder

Chris Wilder spent many years working as a part-time phlebotomist, [and yes he knows all the vampire jokes] while honing his writing skills. In 2017 he gave up playing around with blood to become a full-time writer. While dealing with blood might seem a cold and analytical vocation, his role of phlebotomist required dealing with nervous patients who needed plenty of empathy and compassion, Chris has carried this over to his written work. He believes that Quick Fix Synthetic products are the best chance of success. With his wide knowledge in this field and his understanding of how urine drug tests can affect the lives of everyday people like you and me, Chris can explain in layman's turns all the important information you need to know. In his free time, he likes to hang out with friends and check out local bands drinking a glass or two of his favorite Makers Mark Bourbon, while enjoying a recreational smoke. To keep himself in shape he takes extremely short walks with Lola, his incredibly lazy pet pug.