How Long Do Drugs Stay in Your System Measuring how long drugs remain in your system is based on the drug’s half-life, or the amount of time it takes a drug to leave your body. The half-life is best described as the amount of time it takes the liver and kidneys to filter and break down the drug within your bloodstream. So how long do drugs stay in your system? Most clinicians determine that a drug has left your system after five half-lives, when less than 3% of the drug can be traced. How Long Do Drugs Stay in Your System? Depending on the test that is used, and the amount of drug ingested, the following table can be used as a guideline. Please note that this guideline does not take into consideration any other medical conditions you may have. Drug Hair Blood Urine Alcohol 90 days 10 to 12 hours 3 - 5 days Amphetamines …show more content…
What they do not understand is that while lots of fluids may dilute a urine sample, most urine specimens are measured and compensated for ‘dilution’ of the sample. Furthermore, with the exception of alcohol, increased fluids have little effect in flushing the system of drugs using other testing methods. • Amount and Frequency of Drug Use: The amount and frequency of any drug use will alter the amount of time that it takes to filter out of the body. It stands to reason that using drugs on a continuous basis over a long period of time will lengthen the amount of time that detectable amount drugs can be found in your system. • Gender: Generally speaking, women have less water in their body than men of same weight, and metabolize alcohol differently than men. Women will achieve a higher concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream than men who drink a similar amount of alcohol. Additionally, women also have smaller quantities of enzymes that breaks down drugs after consumption, thus effecting the rate and concentration of drugs or alcohol entering the
“The first time cocaine is used it may make the heart beat faster leading to a feeling of excitement and fear” (qtd. in Carroll, 1994, p.24). Followed by euphoria, these feelings can peak within five seconds. The user then begins to feel more energetic and becomes more sociable (Carroll, 1994). One inhalation will produce a high usually lasting 10-15 minutes. After this zenith of intense sensation, “…the drug wears off, these temporary sensations of mastery are replaced by an intense depression, and the drug abuser will then "crash", becoming lethargic and typically sleeping for several days” (qtd. in Narconon, 2001). There are several different ways to use crack. It can be snorted, smoked, or taken intravenously. It can also be taken orally (chewed), but this method is not preferred because of the low intensity of the high. The two most popular ways of using crack are smoking and IV usage. These two methods are most favored because they give the most intense sensations.
Viagra is taken orally. It is quickly absorbed into the system and usually reaches its peak concentration in about 30 to 120 minutes. However, as with most orally administered drugs, taking the pill on a full stomach will slow down its absorption (Sildenafil Citrate, par. 5). Viagra is metabolized in the liver by the cytochrome p450 system. It is converted into a metabolite that has properties similar to that of the pre-metabolized drug. Viagra and its metabolite have a "terminal half-life of about 4 hours" (Sildenafil Citrate, par. 4). Finally, Viagra is excreted primarily through feces in the form of metabolites (Sildenafil Citrate, par. 7).
In a review of existing data, May and Moran (1995), for instance, cited the rate of alcohol-related deaths for Indian men as 26.5 percent of all deaths and the rate for women as 13.2 percent. The gender disparity in consumption has not been seen among adolescents, however.( Beauvais 254)
Studies have shown that people who abused substances need at least 3 months of treatment to significantly show signs of improvement. However, best results occur with longer treatment durations. Time to Change, where patients are referred by their physicians for substance abuse treatment in Lyndale Ave Bloomington Minnesota, affirms that if you have more time in treatment center, you have more time:
When a person takes cocaine, it causes a rush. There is between one or two minutes of intense pleasure. This is followed by five to 8 minutes of euphoria, then as the high comes down, an overwhelming urge for more, which may last for a day. (3) When a user is between cocaine doses or halts usage, the opposite effects occur. The user is depressed and tired (2).
Prior to the discussion of the gender differences in alcoholism and its treatment, the definitions of who is an alcoholic is necessary.
This is depicted by mental and physical exhaustion, increased periods of sleep and depression. Users will generally crave the drug and want to use it again. https://www.dea.gov/druginfo/drug_data_sheets/Cocaine.pdf Users become tolerant of the drug rather quickly which causes them to take higher doses to experience that euphoric high.
Roger E. Meyer writes this article to explain the effects of alcohol and how it affects the body. Once alcohol is taken into the body it is absorbed from the stomach and the small intestine and into the bloodstream. If too much alcohol is taken in the stomach may secrete a mucous that will slow absorption. One tenth of the alcohol exits form the body as sweat or urine, as the rest is slowly broken down by the body. This article and information can be helpful to me because it will give me a background and information on alcohol and what happens when one consumes it.
Dale et al. (2016) reported that there were several typical differences between women in the drinkers and nondrinkers ca...
1. Alcohol is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended.
Next comes the social use stage. This is the stage where most individuals tend to stop or control their usage. People will try it and occasionally use drugs to “cut loose”, party, and have a good time, generally if, and only if, everyone else around them is doing it. Otherwise they could either take it or leave it and don’t necessarily seek out illegal drugs.
Amphetamines are typically used to provide the same effect that pure adrenaline does. The drug is specified for people with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity as well as narcolepsy, although if you decide to abuse the drug and use it for recreational purposes you may start to feel paranoia and nervousness. Using amphetamines can also put a strain on the circulatory system by causing the user's blood pressure to increase suddenly. (Amphetamine) Long term psychological effects of the drug can cause something called amphetamine psychosis which is much like paranoid schizophrenia. This could lead towards hallucinations, paranoid delusions, and obsessions. (Amphetamine)
According to the article The Deadly Drinking Mistakes Smart Girls Make by Nicole Blades, there are several risks an individual runs when consuming alcohol. For instance, if someone is not a frequent drinker or are a light drinker, they could be at an even greater risk of alcohol poisoning than the average consumer because they either don’t know their limits or are not able to tolerate alcohol in high doses. Genes, gender, and weight are all factors that affect how quickly your body processes alcohol and for most beginning drinkers, they are unaware of how much their body can handle. They also generally tend to misinterpret the signs of when enough drinks are enough due to their inexperience’s, causing for greater risk of alcohol poisoning. Drinking alcohol without time in between can also be deadly because your body doesn’t have enough time to metabolize the alcohol, causing it to circulate throughout your body at a rapid pace. This can lead to “loss of inhibitions and euphoria, followed by ...
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.