Will CBD Oil Show In A Drug Test In Australia?

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While roadside drug tests do not detect cannabidiol (CBD), it is a crime to drive with any detectable amount of THC in your system (even if it is only trace amounts). Many CBD oils also contain both CBD and THC, so it depends on which CBD oil you take.

  1. You can drive while taking a CBD oil containing no THC.
  2. What Is a Drug Test?
  3. What Type Of Drug Tests Are Commonly Used In Australia?
  4. Does CBD Oil Show Up On A Drug Test?
  5. How Can I Avoid Getting In Trouble With CBD Oil?
  6. Is There Any Way To Avoid False Positives when taking CBD Oil?
  7. Should I Bother Using CBD Oil?
  8. Is CBD oil safe?
  9. What Are The Laws Surrounding CBD oil In Australia?
  10. Conclusion


1. You can drive while taking a CBD oil containing no THC.

Medical cannabis products including CBD oil, are still new medications to Australian patients. While Australian doctors have prescribed CBD oil to treat the symptoms of various health conditions, there is still a lot of confusion surrounding CBD oil, especially

  • What are the potential health benefits?
  • Can I drive while using CBD oil?
  • Does CBD oil come up in a drug test?

With the increasing popularity of CBD oil, many people are curious about how it interacts with drug testing procedures in Australia. This blog post will discuss what you need to know about drug tests in Australia.



2. What Is a Drug Test?

A drug test is the process of testing for the presence of certain drugs in an individual's body. While many drug tests detect the cannabis plant, very few detect CBD. The presence of a variety of substances (including medicinal cannabis) can be tested through urine, saliva, hair follicle, or blood tests.

Employers can use drug tests to make sure that their employees are not intoxicated while at work or taking illegal substances recreationally. Many employers use drug tests as a pre-employment screening process as well. Law enforcement agencies also use drug tests to ensure that drivers are not under the influence of any drugs or substances that impair the central nervous system of a driver or somebody operating heavy machinery.


The most commonly used type of drug tests include:


4. Does CBD Oil Show Up On A Drug Test?

Certain CBD oils can show up on a drug test. Very few drug tests are designed to detect CBD, they are designed to detect THC. There are three types of CBD oils available in Australia, from which only full spectrum CBD oil can be detected in roadside/regular drug tests.

CBD isolate oil: Is commonly referred to as "pure CBD". It only contains CBD and the carrier oil (none of the cannabinoids or terpenes naturally found within the plant).

Broad spectrum CBD oil: Contains all of the active cannabinoids and terpenes found in the plant, excluding THC.

Full spectrum CBD oil: This oil contains all of the cannabinoids and terpenes naturally found within the plant, including THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which certain drug tests, including roadside drug tests can detect. Please follow the doctor's advice regarding how long to wait before driving and operating heavy machinery.

If this concerns you, it is recommended to stick to CBD isolate oil or broad-spectrum CBD oil, which is medical grade and dispensed from a licenced Australian pharmacy.

Some cannabis oils contain the majority of CBD and more than 2%THC. You must wait significantly longer before driving or operating heavy machinery when taking these oils. The doctor will give you an allocated wait time during your consultation.




5. How Can I Avoid Getting In Trouble With CBD Oil?

Even though most standard drug tests don't look for THC, there are still risks associated with taking CBD oil products that contain even trace amounts of THC. If an employer suspects that an employee is impaired at work due to cannabis-based products, they may require an employee to take an advanced drug test that can detect minimal levels of THC.

If you want to avoid getting in trouble with CBD products at work or during a drug test, there are several steps you can take:

  • Make sure that you are prescribed the CBD oil.
  • Do not drive or operate heavy machinery while having any detectable THC in your system.
  • If you need to be able to drive at a moment's notice, you should make sure that your CBD medication contains 0% THC. CBD isolate oil and broad-spectrum CBD oil is ideal and won't produce a positive roadside drug test.
  • Purchase CBD oil from an Australian pharmacy that is licensed to dispense medical cannabis oils. Avoid nonprescription CBD products which can be purchased online. They often have different quantities of THC and can lead to a positive test.
  • Don't bring any medical cannabis products containing even trace amounts of THC to your workplace. Also, do not consume them while on the job unless first approved by your employer.
  • Do not travel overseas with any cannabis medication before checking that they are legal in the country that you are travelling to. Make sure you also check that the medication is legal in any country where you have a stopover.

6. Is There Any Way To Avoid False Positives when taking CBD Oil?

A number of factors can impact if the CBD oil returns a false positive:

  1. Does your CBD oil contain any THC?
  2. When was your last dose?
  3. Which type of drug test are you taking?

The best way to avoid false positives when taking CBD oil is to purchase products from a licenced Australian pharmacy. These medications must adhere to strict manufacturing protocols verifying the medication's contents and purity levels. Imported CBD products often have different levels of CBD and THC than advertised, which may lead to a positive drug test.

Many manufacturers of cannabidiol CBD oil in Australia offer "THC-free" or "THC undetectable" CBD oils, which guarantee no traces of THC whatsoever, so these may be worth looking into if avoiding false positives is especially important for you when using CBD oil-related products.


7. Should I Bother Using CBD Oil?

Medicinal cannabis products (including CBD oil) are not a primary treatment in Australia. Doctors should only prescribe CBD oil to treat the symptoms of a chronic condition when other medications have been unsuccessful.

Australian doctors have prescribed CBD oil to help treat the symptoms related to chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

While small clinical trial and anecdotal evidence suggests that CBD oil may provide beneficial effects to treat the symptoms from the above conditions, more research is required through larger clinical trials, which can prove the therapeutic benefits of CBD oil for the above conditions. Until then, CBD can't be recommended as a primary medication to address the symptoms related to the above conditions.

If you are suffering from a condition you believe may benefit from CBD oil, we would recommend filling out our Free-online pre-screening before booking a consultation with a Chronic Therapy doctor.

If you are an appropriate patient, you will be able to access CBD oil online legally and have your medications delivered to your door.


8. Is CBD oil safe?

While the Therapeutic Goods Administration deems CBD to be generally safe, it is essential to be screened by a healthcare professional (doctor) before accessing CBD oil in Australia. CBD interacts with other medications and conditions poorly.

There are a variety of common conditions and medications that can make taking CBD oil unsafe. An example of this is taking blood thinners to address high blood pressure. For this reason, it is essential to be screened by a doctor. They will write you a custom, safe dosage protocol to follow, which can often prevent adverse effects.


9. What Are The Laws Surrounding CBD oil In Australia?

Medicinal cannabis products (including CBD oils) have recently become legally available to Australian patients with a prescription, while nonprescription CBD products are illegal in Australia.

In Australia, it's not against the law to drive with CBD in your system. However, if you have any trace of detectable THC in your system while driving, it is considered a crime. All authorised prescribers of cannabis medications must have their patients sign a form saying that they know it's a crime to drive with THC in their system.

If you have consumed CBD oil with THC, you'll need to wait the allocated time specified by the doctor during your consultation. The allocated time is dose-dependent, which should prevent roadside drug tests from picking up any THC.

While full-spectrum CBD oils commonly do not have enough THC within a dose to intoxicate you before driving, it is essential to understand that there is a zero tolerance to driving with any THC in your system. You'll want to thoroughly understand the laws surrounding medical cannabis and driving in Australia before consuming any medicinal cannabis product.


10. Conclusion

Drug tests are an essential part of ensuring safety at work and while driving, but they can also cause unnecessary stress if you're unsure about what might trigger a false positive result due to substances present in your system, such as those found in cannabis derivatives like hemp-derived CBD oils.

To avoid these potential issues when using CBD oil, it's best practice to attain a prescription and buy CBD oil from licenced Australian pharmacies which can guarantee purity levels and the absence of any contaminants that could lead to false positives during a drug test. The CBD oil cost has significantly reduced in Australian pharmacies, and they are priced similarly to black market CBD oils.

For more information, browse through Chronic Therapy. Our telemedicine platform connects Australian patients with doctors who can screen patients for cannabis medications. Appropriate patients are then given access to to buy CBD oil and other medical cannabis products online from a licensed pharmacy. These medicinal cannabis products are legally sold directly to you online (once you have a prescription) and are delivered to your door in less than a week.