How to use baking soda to pass a drug test: Instructions
A lot of online debates and theories are circulating around the internet about the effectiveness of baking soda by meth users to pass a drug test.
The reason why this question persists is that baking soda is famously known to keep drugs from the amphetamines group in the system.Consumption of baking soda may lead to an undetectable amount of drug that excretes from the body through urine.
The substance increases the pH level of urine that supposedly masks alkaline drugs like methamphetamine, and thus giving negative results during the test. Further, in this article, we will discuss how baking soda might help you pass a drug test.
Source: https://tmedweb.tulane.edu/pharmwiki/doku.php/ph_effect_on_drug_elimination
Disclaimer
There may be risks associated with the consumption of sodium bicarbonate. If used in excessive amounts, baking soda may cause a variety of severe metabolic abnormalities. Misuse of baking soda may pose a possible danger and associate adverse effects.
What is required
Following are the simple ingredients that are required to proceed:
- Baking soda
- Glass of water
- Tablespoon
Step-by-Step Instructions
You need to know the exact amount of baking soda to make this method work effectively. There is no science behind it, but numerous suggestions from the people who passed meth tests successfully recommend this:
The classic recipe implies to mix 2-3 tablespoons (30 grams or 1 ounce) of baking soda with one glass of water (240 milliliters or 8 ounces). Some people recommend using one tablespoon for every 50 pounds (22 kilograms) of your body weight with 20-30 ounces of water.
You must also make sure that the dosage of baking soda is aligned with your current blood pH. You must be careful not to overdose baking soda as it is contagious and has dangerous side effects.
You must follow the below-mentioned steps to pass a urine test for meth:
- Take a glass full of water.
- Now take two-three tablespoons of baking soda and mix it with water.
- Drink the prepared solution.
- Wait for 3 hours before the test as the intake of baking soda creates an imbalance in pH levels that may help you pass the test.
- Drink at least one glass of water after that and keep drinking as much as you can until the test.
- Make sure not to empty your bladder until you feel it’s full. Try to manage your urination so that you urinate at least two times before you send the sample. Your third time might be the cleanest for the test.
Does it Really Work? The Science Behind the Method
Sodium bicarbonate is the main component that reduces the acidity by making the urine and blood more alkaline. According to the studies, the alkali in urine also decreases the renal elimination of amphetamine drugs like methamphetamine (meth). It means that urine might have fewer drug metabolites before your drug test that might also increase chances for test results to go negative.
We can conclude that baking soda might help to pass the urine test for meth or other amphetamines to a reasonable extent. However, no scientific research has come up with any proof, so there is not much of surety about the working of this drug concentration.
On the other hand, baking soda might not help you pass a drug test for marijuana because it has the primary metabolite THC-COOH acidic substance. So, according to some of the studies, weaker acids are likely to get excreted much faster in alkaline urine. It means that baking soda may increase the concentration of THC-COOH in your urine; thus, the result may come positive.
Why This Method is not Reliable
The pH level must range from 4.5 to 8.0 because, during the test, lab technicians might check the pH level of the urine. So, if you take sodium bicarbonate, make sure it is not too much to increase the pH levels in the urine, i.e., above 8.0.
However, because of the lack of studies and reliable information, we are not sure about the exact amount of baking soda that you must take. So you can try it at your own risk since it is just more of a theory and that too not much reliable one.
Dangers posed by drinking baking soda
Baking soda is a non-toxic substance, so a mild overdose is not life-threatening. However, there could be a few severe issues like kidney injury, electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, muscle weakness, heart rhythm disturbances, intracranial, and shock hemorrhage. Sometimes there might be fatalities that are extremely rare, but in case if you face any difficulty or experience severe symptoms, you must seek medical attention without wasting any time.
If you believe in home remedies, it is good. But drinking baking soda to clear the meth test is probably not the right choice. It is because there is a possible danger of going overdosed and getting ingestion.
Remember not to take an excessive amount of baking soda. A report published by the American Journal of Emergency Medicine also describes the potential side effects of chronic or acute side effects from the overdose of baking soda. These include:
-
- metabolic alkalosis, blood too alkaline
- hypertension, high blood pressure
- intravascular volume depletion, low blood plasma
- hypernatremia, too much sodium, electrolyte imbalance
- hypochloremia, excessively low chloride
- hypokalemia, which is a lack of potassium in the blood
- gastric rupture, tearing of the stomach wall
- urinary alkalization
- hyporeninemia, kidney dysfunction
In 2016, The Western Journal of Emerging Medicine described the case of a 33-year-old man admitted to the ER. He had a history of schizophrenia and substance abuse. He emptied a box of baking soda. Now baking soda is not drug abuse. However, he appeared to be in the middle of the road, confused, mumbling, and disoriented. Most of the physical parameters were normal, and he proved negative in his toxicology tests. Later the study demonstrated that overdose of baking soda could lead to brain hemorrhage, confusion, and convulsions.
There was another case, and the Missouri Poison Control Center has it on their website when a suspected methamphetamine user consumed large doses of baking soda in a possible effort to pass the urine drug test. He took around five tablespoons of baking soda and drank a gallon of water. Well, this is too much of baking soda and water. He was admitted to a hospital, and he got the surgery done. Luckily the stomach was suctioned well, and it was all taken care of.
Conclusion
It all depends on the type, dosage of the drug, and obviously the person’s body. If you want to pass the drug test with the help of baking soda, this substance may increase the pH level of urine. Consumption of baking soda with water might be an effective way to pass a drug test for amphetamines, but you need to be careful about the dosage. We have provided all the necessary information above, so we hope you make the right choice.
Reference links:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5017849/
- http://tmedweb.tulane.edu/pharmwiki/doku.php/ph_effect_on_drug_elimination
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470195/#:~:text=Normal%20urine%20pH%20is%20slightly,range%20is%204.5%20to%208.0.
- https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB01390
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8285975/