Does THCA Show Up in a Drug Test?

THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) is a legal, non-psychoactive cannabinoid that occurs naturally and very abundantly in raw, fresh cannabis plants. As you may have suspected given its familiar-sounding name, it's closely related to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the famous psychoactive compound in cannabis. 

Through a process called decarboxylation (exposure to heat over time), THCA readily converts into THC. This happens even when stored at room temperature. Gradually, the unassuming THCA transforms into the euphoric, relaxing THC we all know and love. Cannabis products rich in THCA can be smoked or vaped to kickstart this transformation. 

There are several distinct types of drug tests, including urine, saliva, blood, and hair. They all work slightly differently and will detect THC (or, as we’ll explain, even THCa) over variable detection windows.

Just keep in mind that the following detection windows are estimates only. If you’ve tried THC just once, the window of detection is going to be a lot shorter than if you enjoy big servings of THC daily.

Urine testing is the most common type and is usually the one you’ll encounter in workplace settings, like in the construction industry, military, or even for specific government positions. A urine test technically doesn’t screen for THC or THCA; instead, it looks for the metabolite THC-COOH. This mouthful of a compound is what your body metabolizes both THC and THCA into. 

Because this process is gradual and the THC-COOH can be stored in fat cells, urine tests will typically be able to detect it for up to 30 days. Again, this depends on your cannabis habits.

A saliva test differs from urine testing as it can look for more immediate evidence of cannabis. Instead of testing for the metabolite THC-COOH, it looks for THC via a mouth swab. If you’ve smoked, vaped, or eaten a THC (or THCA) goody in the last 24 hours, chances are the test will come up with a positive result.

Although this test doesn’t technically screen for current impairment, its very short detection window is close enough that a saliva test is typical for police use during roadside checks.

Because blood testing is quite invasive and technical, it is rarely used, especially compared with urine and saliva drug tests. If you do encounter a blood test for THC, it will most likely be in emergencies and within a clinical setting. As blood tests look for THC-COOH, the detection window for blood tests can often be within minutes, but it could find residual evidence for up to seven days.

Also called hair follicle drug test, this format is also rarely used but may be mandated in a criminal or legal context. The detection window for hair tests is the longest. It can accurately detect historic cannabis consumption by upwards of 90 days — although obviously dependent on hair length, hair growth rate, and consumption habits.

Although there isn’t technically a THCA drug test, it doesn’t matter. The short answer is yes; THCA shows on a standard THC drug test.

Whether you’ve been enjoying raw or heated THCA makes little difference in testing outcomes. This is because the body processes THCA into the very same metabolites as THC. Your body naturally converts both THCA and THC into THC-COOH. As noted above, most test types (except for saliva testing) are designed to look for this metabolite. This goes for other types of THC as well, like Delta-8 THC.

And remember, THCA readily degrades into THC even at room temperature. So eventually, as that THCa flower or THCA gummy sits on a store shelf or in your drawer, it inherently contains more and more THC through this gradual conversion process.

The internet may tell you to chug liters of water, exercise heavily, and eat fatty foods, but these are far from proven methods to pass a drug test.

We all process cannabis at different speeds and in different ways, which is why there are no concrete strategies to game the system or sway the window of detection in your favor.

If you are facing a drug test, know many factors impacting detectability, including:

From one person to the next, there is a high degree of variability in how we each process cannabinoids. For example, gender, age, and rate of metabolism can impact how quickly and effectively your body processes cannabinoids like THC and THCA.

But cannabinoids are also fat-soluble compounds, which means we naturally store THC metabolites in fat cells. The higher your body mass index, the longer these compounds will be detectable through testing.

Drug testing for THC is also impacted by your personal relationship with cannabis and daily habits. The more frequently you vape, smoke, or eat THC (and THCA), the longer cannabinoids will linger in your body. 

For example, if you tend to rely on cannabis as a daily source of relief and have developed a higher tolerance, you’ll test positive for longer than someone who just dabbles on the weekends.

Every drug test has a slightly different detection window, ranging from one day to several months. For example, a saliva swab will only work for the last 24 hours, while a hair test could potentially work for 90 days prior. Therefore, the type of test will also strongly impact results. 

Once again, for the people in the back — yes, you definitely can fail a drug test from THCA. This is because there isn’t really a difference between a THCA vs. THC drug test.

Our bodies treat both the psychoactive THC and the non-psychoactive THCA in the same way: It all gets converted into THC-COOH. Most standard drug tests (saliva swabs aside) test for THC-COOH, which means you could fail a test, even if you’ve only ever experienced the non-euphoric effects of raw THCA.

The best and only proven way to pass a drug test is to abstain from all things cannabis until the test is complete. Especially when there could be a lot riding on the results, whether it's a career, a big game, or even a court case — why would you risk it on a whacky hack from the internet?

Yes, the internet is rife with detoxes and quick fixes, but none of these are verified, nor are they tested for safety. If there is a drug test in the future, even the threat of one, use this time to take a tolerance break from cannabis, including hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoids like THCA.

Until next time, Mind Your Mind.