Marijuana Addiction

Marijuana has long been debated as a dangerous drug. Many people believe that there are no addictive qualities or dangerous side effects of marijuana use and therefore the use of marijuana should be subjected to no more regulation than nicotine or alcohol.

Marijuana is addictive, it has addictive qualities that effect the physical and mental well-being of a user. Marijuana users can experience cravings, withdrawal, and actions that they are not fully aware of. The use of marijuana has interrupted lives, de-railed individual potential, and in many cases leads to the use of more dangerously addictive substances.

What is Marijuana?

Marijuana Facts

How to Talk to Your Kids About Marijuana

Is Marijuana Addictive?

How to Identify Marijuana Addiction

Marijuana Testing

A drug test is a process using some sort of biological matter taken from an individual to determine previous drug use.  Drug testing can be done by taking a sample of urine or other bodily fluid.  A sample of hair may also be taken in order to conduct a drug test. Drug testing can be performed at a doctor’s office, hospital or other medical facility.  On-site drug testing can also be conducted at school, work or at home.  Some drug screens can be conducted at home with immediate results and some drug tests must be sent to a laboratory for screening.

Marijuana can be detected in urine for 3-5 days after use (1-3 days if the use is single and up to 30 days in limited instances). Marijuana can be detected in an individual’s hair for up to 90 days.

A urine drug screen, also known as urinalysis, requires that an individual provide a urine sample.  A test card can be used to provide immediate results or the sample can be sent to a laboratory for testing.  Although many marijuana users may claim that they are able to pass the urine test by drinking copious amounts of water, these tests will be rejected and the person would be forced to re-test. If additional tests prove the same, most companies would assume a positive test.  Some companies offer certain types of diuretics and herbal extracts are marketed are marketed towards individuals as “detox” products from controlled substances but these can also be detected in many types of drug screens.  If this masking agent is detected in the urine, a test result will come back negative however; the person/agency ordering the test will also be advised of the presence of the masking agent.

Hair testing is one of the most accurate forms of drug testing.  Hair testing can detect marijuana in a person's system for six months or longer and will show any controlled substances used in a timeline.  As hair grows out, any drug substances used are encased in the hair shaft.  The longer the hair, the longer the “timeline” of drug use. Most testing facilities or drug rehab programs only utilized hair samples 3-5 centimeters in length which limits drug detection to approximately 90 days, depending on the rate of growth of the individual’s hair.

Saliva drug screens and other oral fluid based drug screens can generally detect drug use during the previous few days.  Saliva and other oral fluid-based tests are becoming more prevalent due to their convenience and the fact that they cannot be adulterated.  Oral fluid-based tests have been found to be just as accurate as urine tests.  Detection of marijuana and hashish can be detected in a person’s saliva 1 hour after ingestion, up to 14 hours.

Sweat drug screen tests are conducted via patches that  are attached to an individual’s skin.  These patches collect sweat over a long period of time (10-14 days).  The patches have security mechanisms in place that will detect if/when the individual attempts to remove the patch.  At the end of the testing period, the patch is removed and sent to a lab for analysis.  If the person has used any drugs while the patch was in place, the test will come back positive. 

Drug testing for marijuana can be conducted for employment purposes, such as in order to get a job.  Random drug testing can also be conducted at the workplace in order to ensure that employees are not using drugs while they are employed. Post-incident drug tests may be ordered for an employee if it is suspected that the employee may have had an accident on the job as a result of drug abuse.