Article updated: 2022 May 4. doi: 10.101515/ Author Leslie Griver, Robert Henry

Do THC detox drinks really work?

Yes, THC detox drinks work, but many people misunderstand the principle of how these drinks work.

They don’t actually detox you, i.e. they don’t permanently remove marijuana metabolites from your body.

They lower the concentration of detectable marijuana metabolites in the urine, so you’ll have several hours to pee clean and pass the drug test.

This is also named “flushing’, “dilution”, and ‘masking”. No detox drink can remove THC from your system permanently.

Here’s how THC detox drinks work.

Good THC detox drink must contain:

  • Diuretics, make you urinate frequently and flush THC from the bladder.
  • Enzyme inducers. These are the elements, that block the activity of drug-metabolizing enzymes, so THC in the blood is not metabolized and is not excreted into the urine.
  • Fiber. Fiber absorbs THC in the intestines and prevents its absorption back into the blood.
  • Carbohydrates(sugar) raise insulin levels in the blood and block the breakdown of body fat. So no new THC is excreted into the blood
  • They slightly change the PH levels of the urine, so THC from the renal tubule is not reabsorbed into the blood.
  • Creatine to restore the creatinine levels in the urine.
  • Minerals and vitamin B restore specific gravity and the color of the urine

So always check the ingredients of detox drinks to contain all of the listed above. Missing any of these ingredients will make the detox drink useless for helping to pass a drug test.