How Long Do Alcohol and Drugs Stay in Your System?

It’s a simple fact: the things that you put into your body determine many factors of how your body acts and reacts. These things you ingest, smoke, or inject stay in your system for a longer time than one might think. And while food can be digested rather quickly, drugs and alcohol can linger for an extended time.

It’s worth noting that the specific duration of time truly is dependent on the substance consumed. Within this article, you will learn how long certain drugs and alcohol might remain in your system, as well as the factors that have an impact on the overall duration.

Factors and Variables to Consider

When everything is boiled down, the duration of time these drugs and alcohol stay in your system varies substantially, and is impacted by a vast array of factors. First and foremost, it needs to be realized that the substances in question can have a major role in determining how long it will remain.

Obviously, alcohol tends to dissipate from the human body rapidly. Other drugs, such as marijuana for instance, can remain in the body for much longer. Your tolerance to these drugs and alcohol, combined with the foods you have eaten, can also make a difference in the timeline. Finally, your experience with the drugs or alcohol in question can also play a major role in its longevity in your body.

By making a few tweaks, you might be able to rid the drug from your system much quicker. However, there is no tried and true science to it, no matter what the Internet might tell you. Therefore, if you are going to be taking consistent drug tests, it is in your best interest to avoid drugs and alcohol altogether.

How Long Does It Stay In Your System: Alcohol

Many heavy drinkers are unaware of the fact that, once alcohol is in your system, it leaves the body in two very different methods. Ten percent of the alcohol in question leaves the body through processes such as perspiration, exhalation, and urination. The other ninety percent is broken down and metabolized throughout the body.

Even though alcohol travels through the digestive system, there is little to no actual digestion of the substance. Once an alcoholic beverage is consumed, twenty percent of the drink travels directly to the brain. The remainder will be absorbed by the small intestines. Consequently, if there is food in the stomach, it will take longer for this process to work, which in turn means that it will take longer to become intoxicated.

Although individuals reach inebriation at differing rates, for each person with a strong, healthy metabolism, it takes around the same amount of time for alcohol to leave the body. The human body is capable of metabolizing exactly one ounce of alcohol every hour. Therefore, if you have a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08, it should take roughly five and a half hours for the substances to completely rid themselves from your system. Factors that affect this are:

• Age of the consumer
• Amount of food consumed while drinking
• Amount of food consumed before drinking
• Body fat content and body mass index
• Medications that the consumer might be taking

How Long Does It Stay In Your System: Marijuana

Many will be surprised to learn that marijuana remains in the system for far longer than most other drugs or drinks. Through research, it can be concluded that the most common round answer to longevity in the body is a whopping thirty days. However, the truth in that answer is far more complicated.

Everybody has unique metabolisms, this we have established. This plays a major role in determining how long drugs such as marijuana remain in the body. Among with this, similar to alcohol retention, there are a variety of other factors to determine how long these drugs remain in your system.

Examples of factors include the amount of exercise performed before and after smoking marijuana, gender, ethnicity, age, diet, and the amount of the drug consumed on a regular basis. These all affect the prevalence and longevity of THC in your system.

Another factor to consider is that there are a variety of different methods on the market for testing marijuana chemical composition in the body. Each of these tests has a different sensitivity level in regards to THC. For instance, a urine test might not show THC after thirty days, whereas a blood or hair sample most likely would.

How Long Does It Stay In Your System: Harder Drugs

Cocaine is surprisingly fast-acting, and can disappear from the body far more rapidly as well. In most cases, cocaine reaches its peak impact about 15 minutes after it enters the body. That being said, this drug also leaves the system quickly, with average blood tests detecting cocaine only up to twelve hours after usage. Urine test might be able to pick up the metabolic byproducts of cocaine for several days, though. Users who have consumed cocaine for a long time period might experience differing results, with urine test showing positive results for two weeks or more after their last use due to buildup in their bodies.

Heroin is another drug that can be passed fairly quickly. In most cases, this drug will remain in the system for just 24 hours. However, each person’s body is unique. For some, heroin may stick around for a maximum of 72 hours. Methamphetamine is very similar. In general, most people will undergo a urine test for this drug. Usually, meth can cause a positive drug screen for two to five hours. It is possible for the drug to remain detectable in the urine for three to five days, though.

Rehab and Detox Solutions

Kicking a drug habit can be an enormous undertaking. It doesn’t matter whether you’re addicted to cocaine, heroin, marijuana or alcohol. There is a good chance that you’re going to have trouble eliminating this bad habit. The good news is that you’re not alone in this fight. There is help out there! Detox of South Florida is here to be your helping hand through these troubling times.

The Florida-based rehab center offers safe and affordable detoxification solutions for drugs and alcohol. With a world-class clinic staff and a proven program, this rehab center undeniably has a solution for everyone and their unique struggles.

On top of that, the center relies heavily on community. Once you’ve enrolled, you’ll have a ton of support from your friends and colleagues. They’ll give you the assistance and motivation needed to kick the habit for once and all. If you’re ready to put an end to your dangerous habit, you should definitely consider giving Detox of South Florida a chance. It has worked for others and it will definitely work for you!

Dr. Vikram Tarugu MD

Dr. Vikram Tarugu, M.D, is the CEO of Detox of South Florida, Inc and medical professional focused on addiction. A veteran in the medical field with over 25 years of professional experience. He is a consultant for many South Florida Rehab centers. Patients travel from allover the US to seek his help with addiction and Hepatitis C treatment.