Whether you are in an office, driving, or working in construction, Australia does a lot of drug tests to find out if workers are either high or intoxicated, so does cannabidiol (CBD) show up in a drug test?
Even though CBD is a cannabis compound, it should not show up on drug tests in Australia. Drug tests are searching for the intoxicating THC cannabis compound and not CBD. Some CBD oil products (full-spectrum and broad-spectrum) may contain some amounts of THC.
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The typical drug tests in Australia are looking for intoxicating substances, and even though they may list “Cannabis”, the drug tests are targeting the THC compound and not CBD.
To give you an idea of the difference between CBD and THC, you are legally allowed to drive after taking CBD oil, but it is illegal to drive after taking THC oil due to its intoxicating effects.
Medicinal cannabis has been legal since 2016, and you are legally allowed to use it. Though some jobs may not allow workers to use THC.
There are different types of CBD oil available in Australia that may show up on a workplace or government drug test.
Depending on the type of CBD oil you are prescribed, you may fail your drug test.
CBD Isolate oil is a pure CBD concentrate without any other cannabis chemical compounds.
This means that you have an incredibly low chance of testing positive on a drug test for CBD Isolate medicine as it does not include THC.
Full-Spectrum CBD oil is the most natural form of CBD medicine that includes a variety of other cannabis compounds, including THC.
Unlike the CBD Isolate, the Full-Spectrum oil does not filter out any of the THC cannabis compounds. The cannabis plants used to extract Full-Spectrum CBD oil generally have high CBD and low THC potency.
You may fail a drug test due to the small amounts of THC found in your system from taking the Full-Spectrum CBD oil.
Broad-Spectrum CBD oil has a high CBD potency, THC filtered out, and a variety of other cannabis compounds like the Full-Spectrum oil.
This type of CBD oil will generally not show up on any drug test that targets THC due to the extra filtering process that removes any trace amounts of THC.
*For the majority of drug tests in Australia, CBD oil will not show up due to these tests targeting the intoxicating THC cannabis compound.
Drug tests in Australia commonly come in 5, 8, 10, and 15 panels. Each panel targets a specific drug that may be found in urine, saliva, hair, blood, and so on.
The 5-Panel drug test is the most common drug test that looks for the following drugs:
The 10-Panel drug test is less common due to it being more expensive and includes the following drugs:
Lastly, the 15-Panel drug test includes the following drugs:
The official drug tests generally list “Marijuana” and not “CBD” or “THC”, as seen here with the Western Australian PathWest drug tests.
Marijuana, weed, ganja or cannabis includes a wide variety of different cannabis compounds. The main intoxicating compound is THC and is often the main target for Marijuana drug tests.
The summary is that CBD oil without any THC will not show up on drug tests. For patients using THC, there is a high chance that this will show up on drug tests for marijuana detection.
Australian and international pharmaceutical companies are supplying patients with medical-grade cannabis in the form of oil, dry herb (flower), edibles, capsules, and more.
Medical cannabis products that include THC will general show up on drug tests, and these include:
There are a large number of cannabis products that include both THC and CBD oil.
Often you will find that the cannabis oil includes 20% CBD and 5% THC, or other varying ratios of CBD and THC.
A discussion with your doctor and employer about the implications of THC in the workplace is an important step towards the safe use of medical marijuana.
More and more Australians in the workforce are taking medicinal cannabis products for their medical conditions, but how are they protecting themselves from drug tests?
The most common question from workers is “can you get fired for taking CBD oil or medical cannabis?”
The general answer is “No, you cannot get fired for taking CBD”, but every situation is different.
First and foremost, CBD is legal in Australia and does not impair your ability to drive or operate machinery.
Every workplace is different, so it is difficult to provide a blanket answer to “is it safe to use CBD at work”.
The key takeaway is that CBD oil is safe and legal to use, it does not impair your ability to work, and you should feel confident after a discussion with your doctor and employer that your medicinal cannabis will not affect your ability to work.
Does CBD show up in Australian drug tests? No. Most drug tests in Australia that target Marijuana, Cannabis, or Weed, are searching for THC.
THC is an intoxicating cannabis compound that affects your ability to work, drive, and operate machinery.
CBD is a non-intoxicating cannabis compound that does not affect your ability to work, drive, and operate machinery.
There are medicinal cannabis products that include both THC and CBD, and these will show up on drug tests.
The safest cannabis products are CBD Isolate and CBD Broad-Spectrum oil medicine that does not include any THC.
Medicinal CBD does not show up or ruin workplace or government drug tests in Australia, but can you get fired for taking CBD oil at work?
In general, you should not get fired as it is a legal medicine that does not affect your ability to work, but we strongly recommend discussing the implications of CBD oil with your doctor.
James is an experienced writer and legal cannabis advocate in Australia. He answers all the questions about business, legalisation and medicinal cannabis.
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