One of the nightmare scenarios for even the most casual connoisseur can be an unexpected drug test. Well, even expected ones can be nerve-wracking if you feel like you are not ready.
While they are detox measures that can be taken safely, but for the most, your ability for cannabis to pass through your system will depend on how much, how often and what you consume, and that includes Marinol. There is not a huge risk to how long it stays in your system, but it does help to know your habits and exactly what you are taking.
What is Marinol?
Similar in a lot of ways to medicinal strains, marinol is a synthetic cannabis medication that is typically prescribed for chemotherapy and AIDS patients. In a way, marinol is historic for being the first ‘cannabis’ medication approved by the FDA in the summer of 1985.
Marinol is nearly identical to CBD in terms of its benefits, but differentiates only in showing up, or being detectable, in drug tests for containing THC. Granted, it is a synthetic version of THC but it would still potentially fail a drug test unlike CBD, which is not checked for in these tests.
Is it safer than weed?
Since it just about mirrors cannabis in its medicinal benefits and that practically no evidence exists to the contrary, marinol is technically no safer or more dangerous than actual cannabis. However, a small number of marinol patients have reported dry mouth and drowsiness as side effects, even with the recommended dose.
Marinol technically has more side effects than actual cannabis, so one might argue that the latter is safer. However, none of its side effects lead to long-term complications, none have been reported to cause injury nor does it lessen the effectiveness of the pill.
However, it is manufactured safely, reducing the risk of contamination, likely covered by your insurance (though it depends), and the half-life of the medication is nearly twice as long as marijuana, lengthening its benefits. But with that being the case:
How Long does Marinol stay in my system?
It is detectable in drug tests for the entirety of its ‘journey’ throughout your body: Typically 2 days up to 11 weeks in your urine. However, a hair test (however rare it may be) will show as ‘positive’ for 90 days after your last dosage but a cotton swab in your mouth will usually be clean after 10 days at the most.
While it is a very safe way to consume THC, the mere ingredient, synthetic or not, is still enough to show up in drug screenings. Traditional health factors like your sex, age and height will obviously play a role in this time frame for you, but your history of usage and your health condition(s) at the time of consumption is also a big determining factor.
It is also worth noting that regular cannabis use is not recommended while taking marinol, as the combination could potentially be an overdose on THC. So, light or frequent use of marinol will more than likely measure your THC intake in its entirety.
Frequent Use
While it is not safe to use any medication excessively, far outside the recommended dosage, frequent use of marinol can be defined as using it daily for several years. Also, the average dosage is usually 5mg but can be 20mg daily with no complications.
Such use will ensure that the medication stays in your system at its longest times: up to 5 weeks in your urine and up to 12 weeks in your hair follicles. Assuming you do not increase your exercise and water intake, this is how long it will be detectable from you at the most, but those increases may shorten that timespan.
Light Use
On the opposite side, say you were to take the absolute bare minimum of marinol: 2.5 mg, once daily. The first few days, this may or may not have any effect depending on the severity of your condition, but you can start seeing results in about 10 days from using this dosage.
This small dosage combined with an otherwise active lifestyle and plenty of fluids will have marinol out of your system within 3 days (note that any type of drug always stays in your hair follicles longer, but the full 90 days is pretty unlikely).
Side Effects
Again, the rare side effects of marinol are mainly dry mouth or dizziness, which is pretty comparable to smoking cannabis. You start to see more of a ‘high’ if your marinol has enough THC, including but not limited to: hallucinations, weird dreams, impaired memory and mild loss of consciousness or coordination.
Ingesting this type of drug in pill form often comes with nausea, abdominal or stomach pain or headaches as possible side effects, and marinol is not an exception. However, everybody reacts differently to the same medications, so always check with your doctor about what you might experience.
Does it leave the same way as weed?
Luckily, it does. Marinol will leave the same way as weed or any other drug: Blood, sweat, exercise or just going to the bathroom. Depending on how much you take and how often, marinol will also leave in about the same time as it would take a joint to leave your system.
What does the detox look like?
Green vegetables (besides weed), other food and drinks with lots of antioxidants and plenty of water and physical activity. There are actually other detox pills you can take just for THC and they are usually cheaper than marinol without sacrificing quality.
Every one of these detox methods are safe and healthy, just don’t overdo any of them or try to rush a detox by binging a bunch of things at once. It should all come out of your body naturally just as it went in, with enough time in advance to be taken safely before a drug test.
Marinol is another great alternative to smoking cannabis while still enjoying its benefits, and under the right conditions, will not stay in your system longer than a regular dose of cannabis.
