How long do drugs stay in the body?
Many people share a common belief that drugs only stay in the body for a short time. The drugs are present during the period when the person is high, and then are thought to rapidly leave the system over the course of the hours and days following use. While it may be true that most of the drugs that a person takes do get flushed out shortly after ingestion, what is not true is that all of the substance leaves the body. The fact is that most drugs are fat-soluble substances. In simple terms, this means that the chemicals in many drugs mix well with fats, including the fatty tissues in the human body. Fat is generally effective in terms of absorbing other substances, which is one of the reasons that it is so widely used in cooking -- it soaks up the flavors of other foods. In the same way, the fat present in the body tends to soak up drugs when they are present in the bloodstream. A common example of a fat-soluble drug is tetrahydrocannabinol, more commonly known as THC. There are several chemicals present in cannabis, but THC is the one that is responsible for getting a pot smoker high. When a person smokes marijuana, a large percentage of the THC passes through the bloodstream to the brain, where it achieves its intoxicating effects on the user. Not all of the drug, however, makes it all the way.
Drug Residues Can Soak into Fatty Tissues
Because THC has low levels of water solubility, it has difficulty staying mixed into the blood. Think of what occurs when you try to mix oil and water. Oil has very low water solubility, so no matter how hard you stir the mixture, the oil will eventually separate back out. As the THC passes through the blood, it has a tendency to separate out of the blood, and it finds a welcoming alternative in the fat that lines the veins. In fact, the fat not only accepts the drug, it also tends to pull it out of the blood like a sponge. Consequently, small amounts of THC or other drugs with high fat-solubility gradually get sucked out of the bloodstream, accumulating in the fatty tissues of the body. This is true no matter how one consumes drugs, whether they are smoked, injected or swallowed in pills. Over time, a person who continues to use drugs will build up considerable accumulations of drug residues in his or her body. Walking around with so much toxic residue has a negative effect on one’s health, particularly when an addict is trying to recover and live a life of sobriety. Relapse is such a common phenomenon that many people in the field addiction treatment consider that relapse is a part of recovery. Factually, these accumulated drug residues are found to be responsible for a large percentage of cases of relapse. When a person goes without food for an extended period, engages in heavy exercise or experiences physical or emotional stress, some of the accumulated fat is dislodged or burned for energy, with the result that the drug residues are released back into the system in small quantities. As a result, the person may experience cravings or even flashbacks that prompt him or her to start using drugs again. In many cases, relapse is not a sign that a person has not recovered emotionally from addiction or that he or she somehow lacks willpower, but rather the person has unwittingly gotten a small dose of drugs and is craving more.
Sauna Detoxification Contributes to the Outstanding Success of Narconon
The residues of past drug use can remain in the body for years, even when the person has quit using drugs and is now living a healthy lifestyle. To flush the body’s tissues clean and get a fresh start, it is necessary to take more sweeping action than simply quitting drugs. One of the things that truly sets the Narconon program apart from other drug rehab programs is the fact that it incorporates a sauna detoxification step. Researched and developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the Narconon sauna detox involves a combination of healthy diet, nutritional supplements, moderate exercise and spending time in a dry heat sauna. This combined approach serves to flush the fatty tissues of the accumulated drug residues, while also supporting the body’s system with the nutrition it needs to remain stable and to restore the cells as they heal from the ravages of addiction. People who are progressing through the sauna detox program commonly experience flashbacks or new trips while the drugs are flushing out of their system. At the end of the process, the fatty tissues have been wiped clean of the drug residues, and the person is far less likely to suffer a relapse after completing rehab. This is one of the reasons that Narconon boasts a success rate that is among the highest in the world.