During a visit to a Dollerama outlet at a local shopping mall last November, I found something somewhat unexpected for sale in the checkout maze. Hanging amongst the chocolate bars and salty snacks were small boxes with pictures of cannabis leaves. Marketed under the chain’s medical label, my first thought was, “Hemp bandages?”.
Nope. Something even more surprising.
Even the package description is seemingly hesitant in owning the abilities of what is contained therein (though this may also be for legal reasons). But for $1.50 a pop, it was well worth the investment for my anecdotal research. So I bought 4 (and plan to buy at least 2 more).
Though I am unsure what to expect from these, this chain also sells pregnancy tests. A test in which an incorrect reading has far worse implications.
So I bought a few and opened one up. Inside are one plastic test cassette and one plastic syringe.
They are very similar to the COVID rapid tests we are familiar with. The big difference is the fluid we’re testing. In this case, it is urine. 3 drops of it are all it takes (as per the packaging).
With this in mind, I started planning my test method. I would have a baseline test, an edible cannabis test, and a smoked cannabis test. Utilizing 2 test cassettes for each test (also my method of rapid testing for COVID), I would hopefully gain a stable result from the test kits.
Having not consumed any cannabis compounds (THC nor CBD) in over a month, I immediately took care of the baseline test. Initially, the results were very suspicious.
Reading this as one would read a COVID rapid, one would think they have a positive (aka FALSE!) result. However, consulting the in-box instruction sheet soon corrected this incorrect interpretation.
The result was indeed what it should have been. Negative.
The next test involved the consumption of cannabis edible. For me, that meant ingesting a 5mg THC candy. Low by the standards of many (I’m guessing) but perfect for a relaxing evening without the possibility of paranoia.
With that out of the way one late December evening, I redid the test the following day.
As you can see, everything is exactly as it should be. Remember that, unlike a COVID test, a single bar on these indicates a positive result. So far, so good!
* * *
After completing the 1st test of this experiment (edible), the questions “How long does THC remain detectable by way of these tests?” and “Do consumption methods (i.e. eating or smoking) change this result?” occurred to me. I decided to tackle this question by changing my test methodology a bit. Since these things have already proven their accuracy (more or less), I felt no need to use multiple units per test.
I started by purchasing 10 more test kits (much to the amusem*nt of the teenage cashier serving me). My goal this time would be to check the duration of THC detection over 5 days.
It should be noted that I don’t want people to think that a negative result with these test kits will guarantee that a professional drug test (i.e. that conducted by a laboratory) will yield a similar result. This is just a public record of an experiment of my curiosity. Take nothing else from what you see here.
* * *
Though I embarked on this experiment just before Christmas 2022, I put the whole thing on hold to work on reaching the next stage of my driver’s licence (which involved passing the road test. I’ve been putting the test off since 2012). Since sobriety is essential to driving, I decided to keep completely sober (both in terms of alcohol and cannabis) until after I passed the test. Though I could very well have worked around the lessons and test(s?), I decided it better to just abstain. As such, I didn’t return to the experiment until April 2022.
Starting with the edible test (1 5mg candy).
Day 1
The next morning’s result is an unsurprising positive (as none of the THC has had a chance to be flushed out of my system yet). The interesting results should start tomorrow and onward as my body continues to flush the THC.
Day 2
Our day 2 results are already showing a bit of change. Though the test indicator is indeed positive, the red line isn’t quite as pronounced as it was on the first day. And it looked like there is just a slight hint of the 2ed line (T), though it doesn’t show up very well in this photo.
Day 3
The changes are starting to become more apparent now. Though the red line indicative of positivity is about the same as in yesterday’s result, the other line is also starting to come back into view. Though it was barely visible yesterday (the camera didn’t pick it up), it has reappeared today.
Day 4
It looks like we are pretty much back to the baseline now, though I still have one more test to go.
Day 5
We are indeed back to baseline according to these things. That may not be surprising since my initial dose was so low (I rarely consume more than 5mg at a time. I save 10mg or higher for social situations).
Either way, it seems that low-dosage edibles don’t seem to stick around one’s system long. Thus, I can now move on to part 2, the next portion of the test.
* * *
Part 2 – Smoked Cannabis
This next portion of the test comes with a bit of a caveat. It is more challenging to dose THC traditionally (smoking) than it is through foods.
I’ve had bad luck in the past when it comes to legally purchased joints (or pre-rolls, as they are marketed). For example, my first pre-rolls bought legally were so weak that I didn’t feel anything after 3 of them in a row. Because of this, I didn’t think twice about eating an entire 10mg chocolate bar, which led to a very pronounced and long-lasting experience. Not necessarily a BAD experience. Just an experience that I was not prepared for.
You can read more about that experience HERE if you want. Along with some of my youthful cannabis experiences from back when I was 18 (when it was still illegal in Canada).
Either way, the issue is with the dosages that I want to test. Since I don’t think I can do another round of testing encompassing 1 joint versus 2 over a couple days (the tests have become hard to find since my initial purchase), I’ll probably just go the multiple route. A joint a night over 2 days simulating a weekend of partying for a typical otherwise non-user.
Now, I just need some suitable weed. And a quiet weekend.
* * *
I had planned on publishing both results simultaneously, but since it’s taking so long to finish this, I chose to go this route. Now you know how long these things seem to test low-dose THC edibles. Eventually, you will know how they handle traditionally smoked THC.
