Your body processes an illegal drug or a medication in the same manner it processes any other substance, such as food or water. Everything that enters your body must go through the same biological steps of metabolism until the substance ultimately ends up as waste material in your urine. However, even at this last state, a substance is still detectable.
Drug Detection Times
There is a certain window of time known as the “Drug Detection Time” in which a substance is detectable in urine, blood, saliva and hair. After that time, your body flushes out any trace of that substance. The Detection Time is the amount of time after consumption that a positive result will show on a drug test.
While the substance may still be in your system, drug test also employ the guidelines of “Cutoff Levels”. Each drug has a designated cut off level in which a minimum amount must be present in the urine in order for the test to return a positive result. However, it is important to know that substances are detectable for a much longer amount of time in urine than in other specimen types.
Other Factors to Consider
Although drug tests have detection times and cutoff levels, there are many other factors that may affect the results of a drug test:
- Age – our metabolism slows with age, resulting in substances being present in our systems longer.
- Body Fat – our metabolism also slows with the more body fat we have, causing substances to stay in our system longer. Also, certain drug metabolites are stored within fat cells, causing them to be present longer in individuals with high amounts of body fat.
- Physical Condition- when a person is sick, their metabolism is slowed, resulting in a longer window of detection.
- Metabolism- those whose bodies have a higher metabolisms are able to flush toxins much quicker than those with slow metabolisms.
- Urine Ph- the more acidic a person’s urine, the shorter the drug detection times.
- Administration Method – depending on if the substance was inhaled, ingested, injected or snorted affects detection time.
- Frequency of Use – habitual users have a higher tolerance of the substance and their bodies are able to metabolize the substance out of their system in a shorter period of time.
- Half-life of Drug- each substance has a specific length of time in which its active components is reduced by half, or 50%. Substances with longer half-life's stay in the system longer.
How Long Will Marijuana Show up in Urine? How Long Will Opiates Show up in Urine? How long Will Valium Show up in Urine? How Long Will Xanax Show up in Urine? How Long Will Clonazepam Show up in Urine? How Long Will Diazepam Show up in Urine? How Long Will Ativan Show up in Urine? How Long Will Cocaine Show up in Urine? How Long Will Oxycodone Show up in Urine? How Long Will Heroin Show up in Urine?
The chart below provides general detection times within a urine specimen for various drugs and medication, but keep in mind, these time frames do not take into consideration the above listed factors.
Windows of Detection for Drugs in a Urine Sample
| Classification | Street Names | Window of Detection in Urine |
| Opiate | Oxy | Generally 3-5 days |
| Benzodiazepines | Valium | Oxazepam: 5 days |
| Cocaine | Coke | Generally 2-3 days |
| Amphetamine / Methamphetamine | Bennies | Generally 5 days |
| Marijuana | Pot | Single Use: Up to 3 days |
| Barbiturates | Downers | Phenobartial: 10-30 days |
| Phencyclidine | Angel Dust | Generally 7 days |
| Methadone | Methadose | Generally 3-11 days |
If you are anticipating a misdemeanor or felony: Pinellas County Violation of Probation caused by dirty urine, we are lawyers who can help. Each violation of probation case is unique. We will start by looking at the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the facts associated with your original criminal charge. it is important to develop a a strategy in anticipation of the violation of probation court proceedings.
Sometimes, with a client’s proactive efforts, he might actually benefit from a simple termination of further probation supervision. (Early termination of probation) There are other times that the judge can be persuaded to ‘reinstate” or put our client back on probation. Obviously, our mutual objective is to avoid a Pinellas county jail or state prison prison sentence. See: Alternatives to serving jail If you originally received a withhold of adjudication, we will want to ask the judge to “maintain the withhold” so as to avoid a formal misdemeanor conviction or you becoming a convicted felon.
Related Links:
We are highly experienced with Florida DUI and Medication cases, DUI and Urine Testing and DUI and Ambien
Understanding Urinalysis by the Mayo Clinic
How to handle an outstanding Pinellas County Violation of Probation Warrant
Will Florida Extradite Me For an Outstanding Violation of Probation Warrant?
What does “no contest’ and “Withhold of Adjudication Mean?
Pinellas County Felony Administrative Violations of Probation
The Law Offices of Russo, Pelletier & Sullivan, P.A.
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Contact our office to discuss your options
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Visit Our St. Petersburg / Clearwater / Pinellas Criminal Defense Website: www.defensehelp.com
See our Florida Prescription Drug Fraud Website: www.floridaprescriptionfraud.com
An extensive Website Dedicated only to Pinellas DUI: www.duistpetersburglawyer.com
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