A question about THC.

[Bertha Venation]

I'm going camping. For five nights I will be sitting around a campfire with a lot of people, a few of whom will be smoking pot.

I'm applying for jobs! If I inhale cannabis smoke, can I test positive for THC?

[elleng]

1. I don't REALLY know but

I suspect it depends on how much you inhale, and for how long.

AND beware the s'mores!!!

[Texasgal]

2. Yes.

If you partake it can stay in your system for several weeks. Just something to think about.

I say, go and have fun.. don't worry about food, sleeping arrangements and pot. Just go enjoy yourself. You'll thank me later... trust me. Just GO have fun!

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I would think that if you sit upwind of the pot smokers you should be OK.

I hope you have a good time.

[mackerel]

4. 2nd hand pot smoke might stay in your system for up to 4 days.

[bigwillq]

5. .....

http://www.newsweek.com/could-second-hand-pot-smoke-make-you-fail-marijuana-test-278913

[PoliticAverse]

6. Yes, but I'm not sure if we're buying your story (or if they will). n/t

[Bertha Venation]

8. Ha!

I don't smoke. Never have. Probably never will.

[PoliticAverse]

9. And stay away from the poppy-seed bagels, rolls and muffins. n/t

[NightWatcher]

7. If you're outside and there's a slight breeze, you should be fine

Now if you were in my living room tonight, you'd fail so bad

[panader0]

10. Go ahead--those jobs won't seem nearly so important afterwards.

I've never had to take a test in my life and at my age now I never will.
Who really cares anymore?
Plus there are products that will make you pee clean.
C'mon Bertha, you'll like it.

[hunter]

11. Are you looking for a job as a nuclear power plant operator, bus driver, commercial airline pilot..?

That sort of thing?

Otherwise it's a red flag when employers insist on drug testing. They just want to see if they can make you pee in a bottle for them, or draw blood from you. If you'll do that, then who knows what they'll ask next?

Personally, I don't use any illegal "recreational drugs." If I want to take that kind of trip all I have to do is quit taking my prescription meds. My natural feral human state is more painful to my friends and family than it ever is to me. Which is why I take my meds and nurture relationships with people who will notice when I'm not quite right.

My ability to judge my own mental state is always the very first thing to fly out the window.

If you are worried about drug tests then don't smoke, don't expose yourself to huge amounts of secondary smoke or questionable edibles, but otherwise ENJOY YOURSELF!

[Massacure]

13. Most of the time it comes down to dollars and cents.

The national median premium for a company to purchase workers compensation is $1.88 per $100 in wages paid, and a lot of states offer a 5% discount on the premium if the employer maintains a drug free workplace. At that rate, it would take the employer about 18 months to recoup the costs of a $40-$45 drug test on someone who earns about $30,000 a year and its pure profit for them after. Employers who conduct business in higher risk occupations would break even quicker, and those in lower risk occupations would break even slower. Additionally, employers who pay well and have low turnover will break even quicker, and employers with low pay and high turnover likely will lose money (which is probably why most of your fast food and retail establishments don't drug test).

[Hell Hath No Fury]

12. A Canadian snowborder almost lost his Olympic medal --

because he tested positive for pot post-race. It seems he went to a party with friends who smoked and, even though he did not partake, it effected his blood work. I will leave how long it stays to those who know better/have more experience.

[olddots]

14. they may be testing for smores residue

stay away from the smores but if you get a contact high that may be impossable .

[NNadir]

15. An LC/MS/MS instrument is an extremely sensitive tool.

Here is a chemist's perspective:

The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) for THC in hair on an API 4000 Q Trap, according to this reference, is 2.5 pg/g: J. Mass. Spec. Vol. 48. Iss. 2 pp. 227-233 A pg is a trillionth of a gram.

Hair is a complex matrix compared to urine. This means the recovery, and the LLOQ, in urine is likely to be even better than in hair.

An API 4000 Qtrap is a fairly old instrument. More modern instruments, for example the API 6500, are more sensitive, although truth be told, 2.5 pg/g is a pretty sensitive analytical method.

What the standard CLIA type method's LLOQ is, I can't say, but the bottom line is that the methods are probably extremely sensitive. What limit is considered "positive" I can't say. I would guess that the instruments are sensitive enough to detect second hand levels. In the literature, one can see this sort of thing for second hand cigarette smoke, where nicotine is the analyte.

The fact is that modern bioanalytical chemistry is so sensitive, people routinely measure things like traces of flame retardants from furniture in breast milk. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health Volume 218, Issue 4, June 2015, Pages 422–432

If you think about it, this is a very "passive" exposure, and one that certainly begins at a fairly low level.

To some extent, the level found from accidental inhalation will be a function of your body mass, your physiology, etc. THC is hydrophobic; it tends to extract in fat, which gives it a long half life, but also places limits on its presence is hydrophilic matrices such as urine or blood.

I'm not trying to ruin your fun; it's just the facts.

I'd stick with those who say if your new boss is overly intrusive and neurotic about this, you may wish to consider another job, if possible.

[cwydro]

16. Hey! Never heard back about the camping trip!

I bet you had a blast.

Fill us in when you can. (I'm envious because I would love it).

I did that a lot as a younger woman...now not as social.

[zabet]

17. yes...but,

If the company that you work for follows OSHA standards, you are allowed a very very minor amount. This is in the event of second hand smoke, you cannot always control your environment and the people around you.

At least this is what I was taught in management classes at work. YMMV