Most of the time, Klonopin is flushed out of your system within a few days.
If you misuse Klonopin, take high doses, or have been taking it for a longer time, more factors can influence how long it will show up on a drug screening.
Overview of Klonopin
Klonopin, the brand name of clonazepam, is a benzodiazepine known for its sedative and tranquilizer effects. The medication is also an effective treatment for epilepsy and anxiety that co-occurs with bipolar disorder.
Klonopin is a controlled substance. It is not legal to own or use if you do not have a prescription. It should only be used as directed, not in larger doses or more often than stated on its product label. Controlled substances can cause physical and psychological dependence if misused.
If you are currently taking Klonopin, chances are you have been diagnosed with a panic or anxiety disorder. Klonopin is a prescribed benzodiazepine that can cause you to feel calmer.
Like other prescription medication, Klonopin is sometimes misused on purpose or by accident.
Some employers test urine, hair, or blood for drugs, and Klonopin can show up in some of these tests. The criminal justice system and some addiction treatment programs may also use drug testing.
What Factors Influence How Long Klonopin Remains in Your Body
You might be wondering how long Klonopin stays in your body if you know you have a drug test coming up. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that Klonopin’s half-life is usually 30 to 40 hours.
A medication’s half-life indicates how long it takes for half of it to be metabolized and flushed out of your body. This means that it takes approximately 30 to 40 hours for half of the Klonopin you ingest to leave your bloodstream.
Everyone is different, and there several factors that affect how long Klonopin remains in your system. Factors include your age, weight, gender, and genes. Medical conditions can also affect how long a medication stays in your body, which means that these same factors determine how long clonazepam is detectable by an exam.
How Long It Can Be Detected on Various Drug Tests
The type of drug test used can determine whether or not Klonopin will be detected.
Per Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, the most common ways to screen for drugs include:
- Urine — The University of Rochester Medical Center explains that urine tests are used to check for overdose or if a doctor suspects you might misusing Klonopin. Benzodiazepines are detected in urine for up to seven days.
- Hair — A hair follicle test can detect most substances for up to 90 days, per Healthline. Hair follicle tests typically do not screen for the presence of benzodiazepines, but your employer may request this exam as part of a randomized test or for another reason.
Most hair follicle tests are taken in a lab or hospital. Some employers conduct the test using a kit that is mailed to a lab later. Coloring, cutting, or treating your hair does not affect whether or not the test can detect any substances. You can receive a positive, negative, or inconclusive result with a hair follicle test.
- Saliva — Testing for benzodiazepines using saliva only yields positive results within a few hours of use.
- Sweat — Like saliva, most substances are detected in sweat for only a few hours after use. Testing sweat also provides limited readings.
Blood tests may be used because it is harder for a patient to tamper with them compared to urine or other tests. This method is one of the most expensive forms of testing. Blood tests are more common in hospital settings, but your employer may request a blood test if you have tested positive on a more routine test, such as a urine or saliva test.
Is It Possible to Prepare For a Drug Test?
Your employer may have asked you to take a drug test as part of its employment policy. Using Klonopin that is prescribed should not be a problem as long as you let your employer or the test practitioner know beforehand.
People who misuse and abuse Klonopin are at risk of facing negative consequences if their test results are positive.
While there are many methods people use to try to pass drug tests after they have used drugs, none are medically proven to work. Most often, their effectiveness is advertised by those selling the kits.
The only way to ensure you will have no substances in your system is if there is sufficient time between ingesting a substance, and when you take your test. Time is the only surefire method to ensure you pass a drug test.
Even so, there are popular methods people use to speed the metabolism process. These include:
- Drinking a lot of water — This will not purge a substance from your body more quickly, though it is the most frequently touted “trick” to pass a drug test.
- Taking B-complex multivitamins — Taking B-vitamins two hours before testing is said to restore yellow to your urine samples, as clear urine (from drinking a lot of water) may create suspicion.
- Taking aspirin — This may get in the way of some screening mechanisms in certain urine drug test kits.
- Taking diuretics — Some diuretics may cause you to urinate more often, and some believe this can expedite the process of expelling drugs from the body.
