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Cansecond Hand Marijuana Smoke Cause Positive Urine Drug Test?

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Posted on Fri, 20 Jun 2014
Question: We did a urine test on our 20 year old son for drug use. It came up positive for THC nothing else. He is telling us he hangs out with this one friend that smoke marijuana in the morning and afternoons and he is with him in the same room or outside and that is the reason why he tests positive. Apparently there is a grey area where you can test positive form second hand marijuana smoke if you are around it while it’s being smoked. We as parents don’t know much about this specific subject and if we do a search on second hand marijuana smoke online we get conflicting answers. My Question is yes it is possible or no there is now way you can test positive just being around it. That would mean my son is lying to us and we need to get him help right away.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Indu Kumar (54 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Sorry,your son is not telling the right story.

Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXX
Thanks for writing to HCM

Sorry to say that your son is not telling you the right story.
Your doubt is genuine.
Second hand marijuana smoke can leave traces of the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in urine for a day or so after breathing the smoke. However,the amount is usually not enough to make the test positive.
Most drug tests have intentionally high standards to avoid false positive results due to incidental ingestion of second hand smoke.

Your son is very young and he should be tackled sensitively.
Guide him in selecting right things and discuss the fatal side effects.
You can take help from professionals like psychiatrist and psychologist.

Hope I have answered your question.
Further queries are most welcome.

Take Care
Dr.Indu XXXXXXX
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Indu Kumar

Radiologist

Practicing since :2004

Answered : 6728 Questions

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Cansecond Hand Marijuana Smoke Cause Positive Urine Drug Test?

Brief Answer: Sorry,your son is not telling the right story. Detailed Answer: Hello XXXX Thanks for writing to HCM Sorry to say that your son is not telling you the right story. Your doubt is genuine. Second hand marijuana smoke can leave traces of the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in urine for a day or so after breathing the smoke. However,the amount is usually not enough to make the test positive. Most drug tests have intentionally high standards to avoid false positive results due to incidental ingestion of second hand smoke. Your son is very young and he should be tackled sensitively. Guide him in selecting right things and discuss the fatal side effects. You can take help from professionals like psychiatrist and psychologist. Hope I have answered your question. Further queries are most welcome. Take Care Dr.Indu XXXXXXX