Kratom, as you may know, is an herbal substance that has some psychoactive properties brought about by the presence of mitragynine compounds, which are declared legal for recreational use in the United States. As such, there is no practice of subjecting individuals to a Kratom drug test. However, misconceptions still abound this plant, making it susceptible to false claims and eventual misuse.
What Happens When You take a Kratom Drug Test
Mitragynine present in Kratom acts as an opioid that influences brain activity such that it will reduce feelings of pain when it is consumed. While in this process, moods can be affected, which can help decrease the anxiety of the individual. This is brought about by the euphoric benefits that Kratom can also supply your brain, which is a lot similar to what heroin or opium can do, but apparently with fewer side effects.
So when you take a drug test, will Kratom’s presence in one’s system be detected? In which case, the question would be on how long Kratom lingers inside your body. And if there’s a way that it won’t show on the tests. Together, let’s find out in the succeeding topics.
Kratom in your body during a drug test
Let’s say you have a gram of Kratom today, which is a Monday, for example. The following will give you the lowdown on how Kratom lasts inside you that’s enough to be flagged in medical tests.
- If you take a blood test on a Friday that same week, you will fail in your result.
- If you take a urine test on a Monday the following week, your Kratom will show.
Kratom takes effect at the soonest
Kratom kicks in quite fast, at least 10 minutes from the intake. When taken in low doses, its effects will probably last for about two hours. For a higher dose, the effects will linger for up to eight hours. To achieve the prolonged results, it will require you to ingest about 8 grams of Kratom.
You will reach the peak of strength from Kratom at least an hour and a half to less than 3 hours from ingesting it. If you want it even more potent, you should take it without eating any food prior. And when you already have, you will have to wait at least another hour to get a kick. Capsules take longer to unleash the drug’s potency because its breakdown in your stomach will take some time.
Kratom drug testing and its half-life
So you take Kratom and wonder afterwards how long the substance will stay in your body. This would concern you if you have become addicted to Kratom and decide to stop its use. And then, you’re worried about withdrawal symptoms and how soon they start to show. Another cause for concern would be if you are about to take a drug test and you’ve been a regular Kratom user. If it’s any consolation, Kratom usually remains undetected by a conventional drug test.
Unfortunately, there is not much study conducted on the Kratom drug, much more its half life. If at all, the effects were established based on animal testing. Mitragynine is an alkaloid present in copious amounts in Kratom, is believed to possess the half-life of less than 24 hours that’s based on informal research. That said, a Kratom user will only detox 50% of Kratom from his body in one day. Roughly speaking, your body can be cleared of the Kratom substance in more than five days as a result.
More recent research indicate that Kratom alkaloids can have a quickest half life of seven hours. This means that you can be fully cleared from Kratom for more than one and a half days. On the other hand, the slowest possible half-life of Kratom can take up to nine days. So you can only be Kratom-free on the fortnight almost.
As such, somebody who uses Kratom occasionally or much less, should be able to clear the substance from his body in lesser time compared to heavy Kratom users. And if you’ve been using Kratom for a longer period and more frequently, the drug substance will naturally take longer to be flushed out of your system.
Kratom lingers depending on several factors
Aside from your frequency and dosage of use, there are other variables at play that affect the length of time Kratom sits in your bloodstream. These factors will provide different half-life probabilities and their lingering aspect in one’s body and they are:
Kratom user’s age
An age that gets older makes a lot things more complicated, unfortunately. When you’re older, expect a longer half life period, compared to users of Kratom who are much younger. Just to clarify, this is not unique to Kratom, but is actually the common consequence among other drug substances. Especially if these older people take Kratom orally, they will have to wait much longer to clear their bodies of the herbal drug before they can take the test. Medical issues related to aging such as physical changes, taking other medicines, and renal functioning are factors as well. In other words, when you’re over 65 years old, Kratom will take time to disappear in your body.
Kratom user’s body fat percentage
Body weight and fat percentage can affect the length of time Kratom is detoxed from an individual. Unluckily for the heavyset, the alkaloid mitragynine dissolves in fat and can be stored in the body’s fatty tissue. Needless to say, a user who has a high fat percentage will be susceptible to storing metabolites of Kratom much longer compared to the skinny one. It also becomes an advantage for those who have low fat percentage as they can expel the Kratom substance much faster because they don’t have much fat in their body that it can cling to.
Kratom user’s genetic makeup
This may be a general idea, but nonetheless can make a lot sense when wondering why there are people who can be cleared from this drug substance much quicker than others. Their genetic markers may very well affect the rate which Kratom can be flushed out so it will not show in the drug test.
Kratom user’s water intake
When you use take Kratom along with food, especially when it’s a high-fat meal, it may take a bit long for the effects to show but when it does, it can be at its most potent. In the same manner that you drink a lot of water after your last Kratom use, you will be urinating frequently, which can tremendously affect how fast you can expel Kratom through your own urine.
There are also many other factors that may impact how Kratom will stay in your body. These include your urinary pH levels, metabolism, and your renal functioning, which are the same factors that affect other drug substances as well. Another thing to consider is the Kratom strain you are taking. That’s because levels of mitragynine alkaloids vary across different Kratom breeds. It is even said that the mitragynine levels of Southeast Asia-bred Kratom are a lot higher compared to Kratom that’s cultivated outside of that region.
Kratom can beat a drug test
This is only partially true because Kratom does not usually show up in standardized drug testing such as SAMHSA-5. This is why Kratom has also become the drug of choice for those who are conscious about this, which other drug substances like opiates and heroin cannot escape from. However, Kratom cannot be totally invisible in all medical tests, especially during renal tests where blood and urine samples are taken from you. And if you’re really unlucky, you might be administered a Kratom 10 panel drug test which will surely reveal your Kratom ghosts.
Kratom shows in urine testing
As mentioned, Kratom can reveal itself in urine testing. There is not much available information on Kratom’s length of detectability in urine samples. But it has been observed that Kratom can stay in your urine for more than a week. So if there were to be specific Kratom drug testing to be conducted in the future, using your urine samples will most probably be the way to go.
Kratom drug also shows in your blood work tests
Aside from urine testing, your blood work can also reflect any Kratom usage of the individual. In fact, it can be very easy to detect Kratom in your blood, especially if you are a heavy user of the substance. That’s because Kratom metabolites will appear in your blood sample, although it will have a shorter stay of about 3 to 5 days. This is unlike in your urine where it can still be detected even after 7 days. So, it’s common to pair up your blood test with a urine exam as well given this scenario.
Kratom can probably show in a saliva test
This is very much possible, especially if you consider oral ingestion of Kratom. Again, there is no study on this nor is there any existing practice because Kratom is not considered an illegal drug in the US. Saliva testing would usually be conducted when checking for any use of illegal substances by the person.
Kratom and hair sample drug test
Hair strands are commonly examined when determining the presence of drug substances. However, there is no definitive answer when it comes to Kratom. And loosely speaking, it is quite possible that Kratom use cannot be detected using one’s hair strand.