Expert: Jacqui - 10/3/2011

Question
This is a long post, but the question itself is short, this is mostly background info.

I am a 24 year old male, I weigh between 150 - 160 lbs and I am 5'10. I am very active, maybe not as much recently, but I walk at least a half our everyday (I used to play a lot of sports but have been busy the last couple months so I haven't been played very much)

For the last 7 years I have had the worst insomnia, that I beleive has ruined my life. I've been fired from jobs for not being able to get up in the morning because I sleep so late, I've failed/dropped classes because I couldn't make it on time, and the low quality of sleep I've been getting has made me feel like shit all the time.

It should also be noted that I used to be strongly against smoking weed, and looked down upon people that did it. For one reason for another, I tried smoking about 4 months ago, and it was the best thing I've ever done. Ignoring all the other ways it benefited me, I was able to sleep early and get quality sleep (It should be noted that I have only smoked with a medical card for my insomnia, I tried all the pills you could imagine and even the one's that worked had side effects where the bad outweighed the good.)

The problem now is I JUST found out I'm being tested for a job (Last second thing, I wasn't expecting to be let go from the job I'm working at) and I'ts going to happen in about a week. I've stopped smoking for 2 days, and have gone online and looked for some ways to help flush the THC out of my system, but I don't know if it's all for not.

Is there a point in trying to flush it out or is it impossible? I've smoked everyday, but not a large amount, and took a month off of smoking in the summer (I wanted to stop smoking out of bongs and saved money for a vaporizer).

Do you know of any "proven" ways to pass the drug test. I will try just about anything to pass, because I feel like my need for sleep and my need to pay rent are about equal.

Also: I have confirmed they don't want someone even with a medical card, but I live off of minimum wage and I live paycheck to paycheck.

Thanks,
Tony

Answer
Hey Tony,

Firstly I think that it is purely bullshit that if you have a medical card they still don't want you.  Is there no discrimination laws for medical conditions in the US?  

Unfortunately, cannabis can take a long time to get out of your system, and it goes down slowly.  The more you smoke, the longer it can take.  All you can do is try and see what happens.  Frankly I think the drug laws in the US are a total disaster, but that is another story.

Now here is my little psychology spiel.  As much as I respect any individual's right to put any substance they like into their bodies (and I probably feel about as strongly about that as anyone), the best treatment for insomnia is not medication/drugs/alcohol/etc.  Psychological therapies are generally the most effective means, and I am guessing you are not sleeping because you are worrying about something, then you probably realise that the worrying is keeping you awake, then you are probably worrying about staying awake and worrying even more about how little sleep you get.  This doesn't make your situation any better but I do believe it is worth noting that short term psychotherapy for sleep is very useful.

All I would suggest is trying to stop for as long as possible in the lead up to the test.  Even if you are really, really tired, you will have the clean drug screen the stupid company feels is so important.  Then afterwards you can go back to the smoking.  

Do you have health insurance at all?  It sounds like you need to see a sleep specialist.

I am sorry I can't be more helpful.  There isn't much you can do to speed it up.  Drinking a lot of water has been known to help, but cannabis is stored in body fat so hard to excrete.  

All I can say is I wish I could help more and best of luck.

Kindest regards,

Jacqui