There are many distinctions between marijuana and hemp that relate to CBD oil. Marijuana contains both THC (the "high"-inducing element) and CBD. Hemp contains CBD and only trace amounts of THC.

CBD is one of many active chemical compounds in cannabis plants. One reason it’s becoming more popular is because it's said to lack THC.

Reasons for Failing a CBD Drug Test

Hemp also contains many cannabinoids, which is a name for the compounds found in cannabis. CBD is only one example.

Study of CBD Oil

The primary difference between hemp and marijuana is that hemp is nearly void of THC. In fact, a cannabis strain must contain less than 0.3% THC to be classified as hemp. This is why hemp can be legally sold in various products.

First, THC is fat-soluble, so when you ingest it — especially via edibles or a drop of oil under the tongue — it’s absorbed along with other fats and can be stored in your body’s fatty tissue.

While the information here suggests CBD won’t make anyone fail a drug test, there’s no way to guarantee that. The only way to ensure you will pass a drug test is to abstain from using any sort of CBD product.

When it comes to marijuana, drug tests typically only screen for THC — the compound in cannabis that gets you “high” — or one of the compounds created when your body metabolizes it. And by law CBD products can only contain up to 0.3% THC.

Why CBD might cause you to fail a drug test

So you’re in the clear, right? Not quite. There are two ways you could hit that 50 ng/mL mark.

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To hit 50 ng/mL of THC, you’d probably have to consume upwards of 2,000 mg of CBD products that contain 0.3% or less of THC, which is much higher than the average person is likely to take. Even in clinical trials and research studies, people are usually only administered 100-800mg/day.

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Second, there’s a good chance that the CBD product you’re using contains more than the .3% THC legally allowed. In fact, when Penn Medicine researchers bought CBD products online and then analyzed their ingredients, they found that about one in five contained up to 6.4 mg/ML of THC — high enough to cause impairment.

This story discusses substances that are legal in some places but not in others and is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You shouldn’t do things that are illegal — this story does not endorse or encourage illegal drug use.