Best Detox Drinks for Drug Tests: Do They Really Work?
Detox drinks are used by people with substance use disorders (SUDs) trying to beat drug screening tests they’re required to take. They resort to everything, from synthetic urine and home urine kits to detox pills and drinks. However, there’s no scientific evidence that drug and alcohol detox drinks work to eliminate all traces of drugs from your system.
In this article, we explain the available options for detox drinks and if there’s any science behind their effectiveness. You’ll also learn about the benefits and risks of using them.
Do you have an upcoming drug screen test and are afraid you’ll fail? Have you been looking for ways to detoxify or perhaps saw detox kits being sold by retailers? If you’re at risk of failing a drug test, you likely have a substance abuse disorder. Zinnia Health has detox, outpatient, and inpatient rehab centers throughout the U.S. Call us at (855) 430-9439 to find a rehab near you.
What Are Detox Drinks?
Several brands of detox drinks on the market are designed to help your body get rid of harmful toxins. They claim to boost your body’s natural detoxification process.
Detox drinks typically contain a combination of ingredients:
- Water
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Herbs
- Ginseng
- Ginkgo
- Ephedra
- Kratom
- Caffeine
- Other natural ingredients
You can find detox drinks in several forms, including infused waters, juice, smoothies, teas, and coffee.
Some brands claim their detox drinks can rid your body of drugs and alcohol so you can pass a urine drug test. There’s no scientific research or evidence to back up their claims, so be wary of products called “detoxes” or “cleanses.”
What Are Common THC Detox Drinks and Other Cleanses?
Some of the names you might hear for drug cleanses, drug detox products, and THC detox kits sold in local and online retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and GNC include:
- Detox Plus
- TestClear
- Toxin Rid
- Rescue Cleanse
- Herbal Clean Qcarbo32
You’ll find an endless number of detoxes and cleanses on the market. While most claim to help your body get rid of toxins, some go as far as to promote it as a way to get negative drug test results.
Pros and Cons of Detox Drinks
Most detox drinks contain a lot of water with additional ingredients added to it. While many of the ingredients are natural, some supplements may be harmful.
Pros
- Drinking water helps with hydration and getting rid of waste.
- Fruits and vegetables provide many essential vitamins.
- Caffeine acts as a diuretic, increasing urine output.
Cons
- Lacks scientific evidence of being effective at detoxification.
- Certain ingredients may cause adverse reactions.
- Caffeine can worsen certain conditions, such as depression, anxiety, migraines, bone loss, and sleep problems.
- THC detox drinks tend to contain dietary fiber to facilitate bowel movements, but the amount is too small to be effective.
- Risk of psychosis after taking certain detox kits.
- If you have a substance use disorder (SUD), you will need long-term help instead of a quick-fix solution.
In addition to these cons, people may think consumer drug detox products will help them eliminate drugs from their system, allowing them to take more or larger amounts of drugs. This could put users at a greater risk of a drug overdose, which can be fatal.
Why Are Drug Tests Performed?
A drug test is performed to identify whether a person has used or misused one or more prescription or illegal drugs. Drugs can be detected using various samples taken from the body, including urine, blood, saliva, hair, and sweat samples.
Using a urine specimen is the most common type of drug test because it’s easier, and drugs last longer in urine than in blood.
Some drugs continue to show in hair samples even after there are no traces in urine or blood samples.
Drug tests are used for several purposes. Most people have gone through employment drug screening, but there are other reasons drug tests are performed.
- Employment: You may be subjected to drug and alcohol tests by your employer before being hired, while on the job, or because of a work-related accident.
- Athletics: Participation in professional sports events often involves being tested for the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
- Legal: If you’re part of an investigation because of your involvement in a car accident or crime, you may be ordered by the court to get tested for drugs.
- Monitoring: When prescribed highly addictive drugs, like opioids, your healthcare provider may request drug tests to ensure you’re not misusing them.
- Addiction: While going through a treatment program for substance use disorder, you may be required to undergo regular drug testing.
Drug testing is done at varying times, either scheduled for a specific date or conducted randomly without prior notice. For this reason, people often look for ways to make the drugs in their bodies undetectable.
What Substances Do Drug Tests Detect?
Drug tests detect a wide range of substances that are often abused or misused. This includes legal substances like alcohol and illegal drugs like cocaine (also known as “street drugs”). They also test for prescription drugs that are misused, which means taking medications in a different way than prescribed by your doctor or taking medicine that wasn’t prescribed to you.
Commonly Tested Illegal Drugs
- Opiates – heroin
- Stimulants – cocaine, methamphetamine (“meth”)
- Hallucinogens – THC (marijuana, cannabis), phencyclidine (PCP)
Commonly Misused Prescription Drugs
- Painkillers / Opiates – codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone (Vicodin), Meperidine (Demerol), morphine, oxycodone (Oxycontin), tramadol
- Sedatives – alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), diazepam (Valium), phenobarbital (Solfoton)
- Stimulants – amphetamines (Adderall, Concerta, Ritalin, and Vyvanse)
- Anabolic steroids
If you have an SUD, it may be difficult to stop drinking or taking drugs. This puts you at risk of suffering the consequences of a positive drug test. While no drug detox drink actually works, Zinnia Health offers medical detox services. Contact us online or at (855) 430-9439 to learn how to eliminate drugs in your system safely.
What Do the Drug Test Results Mean?
Depending on various factors related to your drug or alcohol use, your test results may be positive or negative.
If your test is positive, you could suffer the consequences based on who ordered the test.
For example, an employer would decide not to hire you or may take disciplinary action against you for the presence of illegal substances. Marijuana, which contains Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is legal in many states but is still not permitted according to federal law.
Negative Drug Test
A negative result means there was either no traces of drugs in the sample provided or the amount was so small it didn’t give a positive result.
Positive Drug Test
A positive result means one or more drugs were detected in the sample. Because some tests can show false-positive results, a second, more sensitive test is usually performed.
Keep in mind some medications, such as nausea medicines for chemotherapy patients, may contain substances that cause positive drug test results. Similarly, some seizure medications and herbal supplements contain cannabidiol (CBD), which can cause a positive result.
How Long Do THC and Other Drugs Stay in Your System?
The time a drug stays in your system depends on the specific substance, how much you took, how frequently, and for how long.
Following are some of the drug detection time frames in urine samples:
- Alcohol: 7–12 hours
- Barbiturates: 24 hours (short-acting) to 3 weeks (long-acting)
- Amphetamine: 48 hours
- Codeine, heroin, opiates: 48 hours
- Methamphetamine: 48 hours
- Morphine: 48–72 hours
- Cannabinoids: 72 hours (single use) to more than 72 hours (chronic use)
- Cocaine metabolites: 2–4 days
- Hydromorphone: 2–4 days
- Oxycodone: 2–4 days
- Methadone: 3 days
- Benzodiazepines: 3 days (short-acting) to 30 days (long-acting)
- Marijuana: 3 days (single use) to more than 30 days (long-term heavy use)
- PCP (Phencyclidine): 8 days
When facing a drug test, consider factors of your drug use that may have a bearing on the results. Every individual is different, as some people may be able to get rid of toxins faster than others.
Therefore, these detection time frames are only estimates, but it’s helpful to see which drugs stay in the system longer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get Rid of Drugs Safely With Supervised Medical Detox
If you’ve taken illegal drugs or misused prescription drugs, then you may be trying to find a way to pass a mandatory drug test. There’s no magic drink or pill to get rid of drugs in your system effectively; it simply takes time.
Certain drugs may stay in your system for several hours, whereas others could be detectable for as many as 30 days. Taking detox drinks and herbal supplements can be harmful to your health. Instead, get professional help for your substance use disorder.
Are you ready to begin treatment for your drug or alcohol addiction? Zinnia Health has detox programs, inpatient rehab, and other treatments customized to your needs. Let us guide you through every step of the recovery process. Our addiction support staff can be reached 24/7 at (855) 430-9439.