If you live in a part of the world where the legalities surrounding hemp and marijuana are complicated, you might be worried about taking CBD lotion and then failing a drug test. So, can you test positive when using CBD lotion?
It's a really important question that many people have, and it's one that we're going to answer today. After all, you don't want to get into legal trouble with your work or otherwise.
So, will CBD cream cause a positive drug test? The answer here is that no, it really shouldn't cause your drug test to come back positive. Let's take a closer look at why CBD should not cause your drug test to come back positive, and if it does, why it shouldn't matter.
Key Takeaways
- CBD topicals are lotions or creams containing CBD designed for external use.
- CBD lotions can help relieve local pain and inflammation and may be healthy for the skin.
- CBD lotions should not make you fail a drug test.
What are CBD Topicals?
CBD topicals are creams, salves, lotions, or ointments that you apply topically to your skin. These are meant to be applied externally and are not meant to be ingested, smoked, or vaporized. The point of CBD topicals is generally to provide you with localized pain or inflammation relief.
To make CBD topicals, CBD is extracted from hemp flower using a number of different processes, such as ethanol extraction or oil extraction. That CBD is then mixed in with a carrier oil, or sometimes some kind of lotion or moisturizer, generally something that is healthy for your skin, so you can then apply it directly to your skin.
Simply put, it's more or less just some kind of moisturizer or pain-relieving cream that has CBD as the active ingredient. Keep in mind that CBD is generally not psychoactive, so it should not produce any kind of intoxicating effects.
What are the Benefits of CBD Lotions?
CBD lotions you apply externally can have some really big benefits, with the biggest being the potential relief of local pain or inflammation.
For instance, if you have a sprained ankle, a sore muscle, inflammation in your elbow, or even something like arthritis, CBD lotion may help reduce the inflammation and minimize pain.
Remember, CBD is potentially a very strong anti-inflammatory and analgesic, so it should help relieve some pain and inflammation.
CBD lotions may also have some skin-related benefits, particularly as a moisturizer. However, if we are honest, this will depend more on the carrier oil or cream that the CBD was mixed with.
That said, a good CBD lotion can definitely help moisturize your skin, with some even coming with integrated SPF protection to help protect your skin from the sun.
Although there is more research required on this front, it is also thought that CBD lotions may have other skin benefits. They are thought to potentially have anti-aging skin benefits, which means that they may reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and blemishes, and may also be able to help tighten skin, heal minor injuries, and help burns and sunburns heal faster.
CBD is known to contain antioxidants, which in themselves do have skin benefits, mainly the reduction of inflammation and the counteracting of free radicals. Simply put, CBD lotion may be able to heal your skin and make you look younger too.
Does CBD Lotion Get You High?
CBD lotion will not get you high, as it is not an intoxicant. Lotion that is made with pure CBD will not get you high. However, if the CBD lotion is made with full spectrum CBD, then it may contain small amounts of THC, which is an intoxicant.
However, THC still cannot get you high if it is applied topically, as the THC does not enter the bloodstream. Hemp and cannabis lotions will not intoxicate.
Can CBD Lotion Make You Fail a Drug Test?
No, CBD lotion will not make you fail a drug test in the USA, and there are actually a few reasons why this is the case.
- First and foremost, whether CBD is illegal or not, CBD, when applied topically, won’t penetrate your blood barrier, which means that it doesn’t go into your bloodstream. Hence, rubbing CBD onto your skin won’t cause you to fail a drug test because it wouldn’t show up on any tests at all. Topically applied CBD never enters your bloodstream.
- The next reason why a CBD topical won’t cause you to fail a drug test is that CBD is not something that most drug tests screen for. If you are being tested for marijuana, the lab technicians are looking for THC, not CBD. So, even if a CBD topical did cause CBD to show up in your blood, it’s the THC that is being scanned for. Nobody is looking for CBD.
- The other reason why CBD lotion would not make you fail a drug test is that CBD that is derived from hemp plants with less than 0.3% THC is considered legal at a federal level. You can’t really fail a drug test if the substance in question isn’t illegal to begin with.
Tips on How to Pass a Drug Test When Taking CBD
If you are still worried about CBD lotion and drug tests, here are some tips to reassure you, just so you know that you won’t end up in trouble or fail your drug test.
Choose Pure CBD
If you are worried about THC showing up in your drug test, make sure it doesn’t by purchasing pure CBD, which means that you want either CBD isolate or broad spectrum CBD. This will ensure that there is no THC present in the lotion.
Although, when it comes to topical application, just like CBD won’t enter your bloodstream, neither will THC, so even if a CBD topical lotion contained some THC, it still wouldn’t show up on a blood test.
Use a Home Drug Testing Kit
If you are worried that you might have some THC in your system, before you go do the real drug test, you can always do an at home drug test. You can buy drug test kits for THC in pharmacies and even in some dollar or bargain stores.
Just get one to see what it says, and then decide what to do once you see the result.
Buy from Legitimate Sources
To make sure that you are getting topical creams with pure CBD, without any THC, always buy from legit sources, by which we mean licensed dispensaries.
