Alprazolam, which is often known by the trade name Xanax, may be a prescription medicine, but it can still trigger a positive on certain drug tests. Failing a drug test can have serious consequences for your career or even mean losing your freedom if you're on court-ordered probation.
So, what's the deal with drug tests for alprazolam. How long does it take to get out of your system?
Which drug tests can detect alprazolam?
If you will definitely be taking a basic 5-panel drug test, you probably don't need to worry about failing for alprazolam. Benzos are currently not included in these tests, because they focus more on detecting the use of common street drugs.
That said, testing labs know well that many prescription drugs are used for recreational purposes, so they offer extended tests that cover a wider range of both prescription and street drugs. Using any kind of benzo, including alprazolam, will likely cause you to fail one of these drug tests.
If you don't know what sort of drug test you'll be taking, we suggest that you take the safer route of assuming the possibility of failing it.
Same-day detox products
If you really have to take a urine drug test before your body can detox, you can use one of the many emergency detox products that are available. These drinks are great for flushing toxins from your bladder, enabling you to provide a relatively clean urine sample. The exact instructions for each product may differ, but they usually recommend using it at least an hour before your test. Using it too early, however, could mean it wears off before your test, so think carefully about when to drink it.
To avoid being caught short by a surprise saliva drug test, you could keep a good detox mouthwash on hand.
After using alprazolam, how long does it take to get out of your system?
Alprazolam has a relatively short half-life, so it actually leaves the body quite quickly. If you've been using it at normal dosage levels, and for not too long, you may be clean enough to pass a urine drug test in just four days. Not everyone is the same, however, and certain tests may detect metabolites that can linger longer. To ensure a thorough detox, we suggest waiting a week before going to any drug tests. Maybe use that time to go through a weeklong detox program.
If you've been using alprazolam regularly for about a year or more, you may have much more trouble passing a urine drug test. When people have been using benzos for so long, they can fail urine drug tests as many as six weeks later.
Saliva drug tests usually have a much shorter detection period of around 48 hours, but hair tests can present more of a danger with their typical 90-day detection time. We recommend applying a special detox shampoo to your hair before attending a hair drug test.
