Does CBD Oil Show Up in a Urine Test?

Cannabidiol, otherwise known as CBD oil, is proving itself to be a highly effective treatment for pain, anxiety, depression, cancer symptoms, acne, high blood pressure, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, as well as other health ailments. It’s also safe to use, with little to no side effects, and additional benefits of aiding in relaxation, motivation, mood, and productivity. CBD oil does not contain the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that exists in marijuana. This means users are unlikely to become addicted or experience the typical “high” sensation associated with marijuana. Despite this, there is still a stigma associated with cannabis related products, so it’s important for you to know what to expect if you’re required to undergo a urine drug test. That’s why we’re here to answer the question: “does CBD oil show up in a urine test“?

Does CBD oil show up in a urine test?

People are required to undergo urine drug tests for many reasons. Employment is often a common one, with others being legal requirements or health checks. Urine drug tests are becoming more and more commonplace and given that the subject of CBD oil can sometimes be controversial to some people, the last thing you want is for your medical treatment to cost you getting a job.

The good news is that CBD oil should not show up in drug urine tests. So regardless of who is viewing (and judging you) on the test results, they are unlikely to know that you are a user of CBD oil. While this is comforting, it’s important for you, as a user of CBD oil, to have an understanding of how urine drug tests work.

Standard urine drug tests

Drug testing has been around for a long time, and the most commonly chosen method by employers and law enforcement seems to be urine testing. This is interesting in and of itself, as the science tells us that urine testing is actually the least reliable method for detecting substance use. Drugs will only show up in your urine for a few days to a few weeks, depending on the type of drug and how much you’ve taken. Other methods, such as taking hair samples or blood, will show the drugs for far longer — months, and sometimes even years.

Urine drug tests tend to be favored as they are considered the least invasive and intrusive. And to be fair to this method of testing, they do fairly reliably produce results if the drugs in question have been used within a relatively recent time period. This also means that a positive urine test for drugs can be harder to explain away to your employer, as their very presence in your urine means you have used them recently.

How do urine drug tests work?

The sample is taken by the subject urinating into a container, which is then sealed and tested for the presence of drugs. It’s important to note here that these tests cannot check directly for the drugs themselves, rather, they seek out relevant metabolites that indicate drug use. By the time a drug reaches your urine, it ‘s been broken down and only its metabolites remain.

In the case of cannabis, the test will seek out metabolites of the active psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Since CBD oil either contains no or very little THC, it will either produce zero or such a small amount of the metabolite that the test will not detect it.

However, you need to be cautious where you purchase your CBD oil. Some producers will have high amounts of THC in their CBD oil products. If your CBD oil does contain THC in sufficient quantities, you will test positive for THC metabolites. Which to an employer, is deemed a positive drug test for cannabis.

Are there specific CBD oil tests?

Some employers who have particularly strong opinions about CBD oil and other cannabis products, may use tests specifically designed to check for CBD oil metabolites. These are very rare — but they do exist. If your employer wants you to take a urine drug test, it’s a good idea to check their policy first to know what they are testing for.