Do you think that drinking pickle juice will help you pass a drug test? Are you worried about having to take a drug test after you have smoked marijuana? Drinking pickle juice is one of several things that people try (Table 1) in order to help them pass drug tests after they have smoked marijuana or after they have used other products that contain THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol (such as edibles), the psychoactive Cannabinoid component of the Cannabis Sativa plant. It is THC that produces the “high” from marijuana, and it is THC that produces failed drug tests.
What is the marijuana drug test?
There are over 80 known Cannabinoid components in the Cannabis Sativa plant but because Cannabis products have been labeled as Schedule 1 by the US FDA, which means they have no medicinal value and have the capacity for abuse and addiction, research on these substances is very limited. We do know however that urine levels of THC above 50 nanograms per ml. (ng/ml) of urine are considered failures of drug tests and could lead to dismissal from a government job or even prosecution for felony possession or use of an illegal product. It is important to know that THC can remain in your body long after you stop using marijuana. For casual users, THC can last up to 10 days, and for those who use it often, it can last 2-4 weeks. For those who use it heavily, THC can remain in the body for a month or more. Many factors affect how long THC will remain in your body after you stop using marijuana or THC containing products including your body weight and size, how much you exercise and how much fluid you drink.
What is pickle juice and what does it contain?
So what is pickle juice and can it help you to pass a marijuana drug test? First of all, what is pickle juice? Well, it is the juice that makes cucumbers into pickles-it is brine or very concentrated salt water and acetic acid. Acetic acid is also vinegar, so vinegar and pickle juice have similarities, but they are different because vinegar does not contain the high concentration of sodium chloride or brine that pickle juice does nor does it contain cucumbers. Cucumbers contain high concentrations of Vitamins A and E, both strong antioxidants and during the pickling process, these chemicals are transferred to the pickle juice. So, do I have to buy jars of pickles and drink the juice that way? The answer is no! You can buy pickle juice at many health food stores or supermarkets, and USDA certified organic pickle juice is available online! Many people believe that pickle juice or vinegar will cause a THC detox, but the idea that pickle juice or vinegar will cleanse your system is not well-founded. Also, pickle juice or vinegar does not cleanse the urine itself nor dissolve drug metabolites in the urine specimen. Nevertheless, many people do believe that pickle juice can help a person to pass a marijuana drug test.
Will drinking pickle juice help me pass a drug test?
So, the big question-can you drink pickle juice to pass a drug test or if you drink apple cider vinegar will I pass a drug test? The answer, unfortunately, is probably not. Drinking pickle juice or vinegar will cause a person to drink large amounts of water to try to counteract the high concentration of salt and acid in pickle juice or vinegar. Some people claim that pickle juice or vinegar are fat burners and since THC is stored in fat burning the fat will release the THC which is then flushed out due to the diuretic action of cucumbers thus performing detoxification. There is however no scientific support for this idea. Pickle juice has been used for years by athletes to overcome muscle cramps, and it is considered a rich source of calcium, antioxidants, minerals, and certain vitamins, particularly Vitamin C. Pickle juice often causes rather significant diarrhea, an unpleasant side effect if taken in large volumes. Since both pickle juice and vinegar are acids, they will cause the urine sample to be much more acid than normal, and drug tests that find a very high amount of acid in a urine specimen will declare a drug test invalid. Drinking large amounts of water or adding water to a urine specimen will also dilute urine to the point that a drug test will be considered invalid.
In some cases, an invalid drug test can itself result in actions such as loss of a job or prosecution for altering a urine specimen. Sometimes, another urine specimen, given under observation, may be required. I suggest this website for an excellent discussion of why pickle juice and vinegar are not helpful as aids in passing drug tests for weed but also for a discussion of what will help you pass drug tests if you have smoked recently.
What can help you pass a marijuana drug test?
So, what are the effective ways of helping one to pass a drug test if one has used a product containing THC recently? Of course, one can purchase artificial or synthetic urine in powdered form, but it must then be reconstituted at the appropriate time and with precautions such as the proper temperature and color otherwise the examiners will be able to tell that the specimen if not genuine before detailed testing even begins. Although it is potentially very useful, from a practical standpoint reconstituted urine is not really helpful.
The consensus though is that the most reliable method to cleanse the urine of THC and it’s metabolites involves the use of one of a number of detox drinks or tablets. Marijuana detox drinks are a proven method for passing a drug test because they actually do cleanse the system from THC, unlike pickle juice or vinegar which only dilutes the urine but does nothing to cleanse the system. Detox drinks are combinations of diuretics and important supplements that help to avoid failing an integrity test for the urine specimen. The supplements may include B vitamins such as Vitamin B-2 and Vitamin B-12 which give a natural yellow color to the urine specimen. Another supplement is creatine which breaks down to creatinine one of the normal components of urine. The supplemental fiber contained in some detox products redirects the THC breakdown products to the colon instead of to the urine thus reducing the concentration of THC metabolites in the urine. There are many detox products on the market, and often the exact ingredients are not posted on the bottle so it may be difficult to know exactly what substances are contained in them. Because detox products have temporary effects, it is important to carefully follow the instructions on the bottle in order to have the best chance of passing your drug test. Finally, it is important to remember that there are no scientific studies that prove the value of detox products in cleansing the body of THC. Virtually all of the positive information about detox products is in the form of testimonials from satisfied users.
Some other reliable methods to help you pass a drug test include adding the enzyme papain from papaya fruit to the specimen which can decrease the THC by as much as 50% and not using your first urination of the day for your sample because the first urination is very concentrated and will increase the concentration of THC. Incidentally, claiming to be a passive user exposed to marijuana smoke from other users is not an effective excuse for a failed drug test because studies have shown that no amount of passive marijuana smoke will result in a failed test.
And remember, if you are a daily smoker of Cannabis products or if you use edibles regularly, a short course of detox products will not get you a clean drug test. A period of abstinence combined with plenty of water a high fiber diet and vigorous physical exercise will go a long way to helping you get a negative drug test. A good strategy, if possible, is to purchase one of the home testing products and test your urine several times using a variety of methods to reduce the level of THC before you go in for your mandated drug test. In that way, you will gain confidence that you will come out with a negative test.
Table 1
Things people use to help pass marijuana drug tests:
- Pickle juice
- Vinegar
- Detox drinks
- Synthetic urine
- Using another person’s urine sample
- Drinking a lot of water or adding water to a urine specimen
- Taking diuretic medications or foods which produce diuresis
- Claiming to have a passive exposure to smoked weed
- Using the enzyme papain in papaya fruit
- Not using the first urine of the day