How to Get Drugs Out of Your System

Co-authored by Arvind Madan and Eric McClure

Last Updated: September 12, 2024 Fact Checked

If you’ve taken illegal narcotics, you may find yourself needing to quickly flush them out of your system—for example, to pass a work-administered drug test. Or, you may be trying to quit a drug altogether and want it entirely out of your body. All types of drugs can be flushed out of your body in more or less the same way: increasing hydration, eating healthy foods, and waiting for the drugs to pass through your system. Completely detoxing from any drug will take time, so give yourself at least a week to fully flush drugs out of your system.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Hydrating to Flush out Drugs

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1
Drink at least 10–12.5 c (2,400–3,000 mL) of water throughout the day. The best way to flush any type of drug from your system is to keep your body very hydrated. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Over the course of several days, the water will dilute the concentration of drugs in your body, and frequent urination will help flush out any detectable sign of the drugs.^{[1]
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- For drugs that are stored in the fat cells of your body (e.g., cocaine and the THC from marijuana), increasing your water consumption will not have a noticeable effect.
- Adult men should drink at least 15.5 cups (3.7 L) of water a day, and adult women should drink at least 11.5 cups (2.7 L) of water daily.^{[2]
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- If you’re drinking water to flush drugs out of your system, increase the amount of water you’re drinking daily by about 2–3 cups (0.47–0.71 L).
2
Consume tea or cranberry juice daily in addition to water. All types of tea are great detoxing agents, and cranberry juice will make you urinate more frequently.^{[3]
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Research source} Drink 3-4 glasses of tea or juice every day while you’re trying to clear drugs out of your system. You can drink green, black, white, jasmine, or any other type of tea. The tea will provide your body with antioxidants and electrolytes, which will accelerate your metabolism.^{[4]
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- If you don’t like tea or cranberry juice, pomegranate, grape, and apple juice are also very high in antioxidants.^{[5]
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- You can drink your green tea hot by steeping tea bags. Or you can drink it cold, by making iced tea.
- If you’re drinking hot green tea, pour ¹⁄₄ teaspoon (1.2 mL) of lemon juice into the tea to enhance the flavor.
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3
Avoid drinking alcohol when flushing out drugs. Drinking alcohol—especially in large amounts—only slows your body down as it heals and gets rid of the drugs in your system. Getting drunk may also increase the odds you go back to any drugs you’re trying to avoid and flush from your body.^{[6]
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- Alcohol can have negative effects on your body on its own and may also lower your inhibitions and result in you taking more of the drug you’re trying to flush out.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Sweating out Drugs

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Perform aerobic exercises to burn off fat. Certain types of drugs (most notably cocaine and the THC from marijuana) build up in the body’s fat cells. So, reducing your body’s fat may also reduce drug levels. One of the best ways to burn fat is through sweating, and aerobic exercises tend to make you sweat a lot. As you burn fat and sweat, you may help remove drug residue from your body.^{[7]
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Go to source} Aerobic and other sweat-inducing exercises include:
- Biking or hiking.
- Running or jogging.
- Jumping rope.
2
Spend 20-30 minutes in a sauna daily to sweat out drugs. While it doesn’t require any physical activity, sitting in a hot, steamy sauna is a great way to cause your body to sweat. This will flush out some of the drug metabolites stored in your body.^{[8]
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Go to source} Saunas can be found in community centers or gyms, often next to the pool. Other ways to increase your sweating and flush drug toxins out of your skin and fat cells include:
- Participating in hot yoga.
- Sunbathing.
- Be aware that sweating in a sauna may only flush out a small amount of metabolites. Also, avoid saunas if you’ve recently been binging on drugs, as the sauna’s heat could be dangerous.
3
Add 2 cups (400 grams) of Epsom salts to your bath water. When you’re drawing the water for a bath, pour the Epsom salts into the bathwater. Soak in the salty water for at least 15-20 minutes. The salts may help open your pores, which could help improve magnesium levels in your blood and improve metabolic function.^{[9]
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- Epsom salt contains magnesium, which is an important mineral that can help your body remove toxins (including chemicals leftover from drug use).
- Do not drink Epsom salt water as part of a “detox” plan or kit. It’s extremely bad for you and there is no scientific evidence it will improve your health or flush drugs out of your system.^{[10]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Modifying Your Diet to Speed up Your Metabolism

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Cut sugars and unhealthy fats from your diet. Your body has a lot of work ahead of it, as it processes narcotics and removes toxins from your system. Sugar and unhealthy fats—like trans fats and saturated fats—are also difficult to process and break down.^{[11]
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Arvind Madan
Nephrologist

Expert Interview. 7 June 2024.} If you eat a diet high in sugar and bad fats, your body will take a relatively long time to flush out detectable signs of drugs.
- Large amounts of sugars and unhealthy fats are found in things like soda, candy, processed foods, and junk foods.
- Processed foods are also high in sodium, which will lead to water retention. Water retention will slow down the rate at which you pass drugs out of your body.
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Eat vegetables and other foods high in fiber. Filling your body with healthy vegetables and natural, whole foods will restore your depleted supplies of vitamins and minerals.^{[12]
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Go to source} As your body becomes healthier, it will be better suited to process and remove drug residue. In the same way, fiber-rich foods will accelerate your body’s metabolism and the removal of drugs.^{[13]
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- While this isn’t the best route to take for passing a urine test (focus instead on drinking water), it’ll help your body remove drug residue and become healthier over a period of months.
- Other foods high in fiber include oatmeal, lentils, black and lima beans, broccoli, and most grains.
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Increase your consumption of foods rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants will improve the overall health of your body and make it more efficient at processing whatever drugs are still in your body. Foods that contain large amounts of antioxidants include:^{[14]
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- Berries, including blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.
- Leafy green vegetables, including kale, wheatgrass, and romaine lettuce.

Expert Q&A

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Question

How do you detox at home?

Tiffany Douglass, MA
Founder, Wellness Retreat Recovery Center
Tiffany Douglass is the Founder of Wellness Retreat Recovery Center, a JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) accredited drug and alcohol treatment program based in San Jose, California. She is also the Executive Director for Midland Tennessee at JourneyPure. She has over ten years of experience in substance abuse treatment and was appointed a Global Goodwill Ambassador in 2019 for her efforts in residential addiction treatment. Tiffany earned a BA in Psychology from Emory University in 2004 and an MA in Psychology with an emphasis on Organization Behavior and Program Evaluation from Claremont Graduate University in 2006.

Tiffany Douglass, MA

Founder, Wellness Retreat Recovery Center

Expert Answer

Talk to a doctor first—they can help you figure out a plan for a safe, healthy detox plan.

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Question

Can quitting cold turkey be dangerous?

Tiffany Douglass, MA
Founder, Wellness Retreat Recovery Center
Tiffany Douglass is the Founder of Wellness Retreat Recovery Center, a JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) accredited drug and alcohol treatment program based in San Jose, California. She is also the Executive Director for Midland Tennessee at JourneyPure. She has over ten years of experience in substance abuse treatment and was appointed a Global Goodwill Ambassador in 2019 for her efforts in residential addiction treatment. Tiffany earned a BA in Psychology from Emory University in 2004 and an MA in Psychology with an emphasis on Organization Behavior and Program Evaluation from Claremont Graduate University in 2006.

Tiffany Douglass, MA

Founder, Wellness Retreat Recovery Center

Expert Answer

Definitely. You can have life-threatening seizures if you suddenly withdraw from substances like alcohol, Xanax, and Valium.

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Tips

There is no set length of time that a specific drug stays in your body. Everyone metabolizes drugs at a different rate. The duration over which a drug can be detected in your body depends on physical factors including the usual dosage size, and how much of a tolerance you have.^{[15]
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As a general rule of thumb, marijuana stays in your system the longest: it can be detected for up to 30 days in urine and up to 2 weeks in blood.^{[16]
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Drugs like morphine and codeine stay in your body for a shorter duration: they can be detected for 1–3 days in urine and from 6–12 hours in blood.^{[17]
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Warning

Even if you’re in a hurry to flush drugs out of your system (e.g., for a urine test), avoid purchasing so-called “detox drinks.” These drinks have been widely medically debunked and are practically useless for removing drugs from your system.^{[20]
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Many types of narcotics—especially real and synthetic opiates—are harmful to your body and can be life-threatening. If you’re addicted to any type of drug, take steps to kick the addiction.^{[21]
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