If you’re considering integrating Kratom into your daily routine, you might be concerned about Kratom alkaloids showing up on a drug test. Whether Kratom can be detected on a drug test depends on what the test is designed to do, the particular test’s detection windows, and your habits with this botanical. Today, we’re providing an overview of the detection of Kratom in drug tests commonly used in the workplace or athletics.
What Is Kratom? How Do You Detect Kratom Use?
Kratom is a botanical substance derived from Mitragyna speciosa, a tree native to Southeast Asia and botanically related to the coffee plant. It’s taken for general well-being and comfort and can have a variety of effects including supporting of calm, elevated well-being, or positivity, depending on the dose and strain used. Kratom is legal in most US states, but some areas (states, municipalities, etc.) have banned the substance. Because of the potentially psychoactive effects of Kratom, screening for the active compounds of Kratom (alkaloids) is becoming more common.
Can Kratom Show Up On A Drug Test?
The legality of Kratom in the United States is a bit complicated and varies from state to state. Because Kratom use is still relatively obscure, drug tests are not normally designed to detect Kratom. That being said, Kratom is detectable in blood and urine drug tests, as it constitutes a foreign chemical in your bloodstream. The average workplace drug test looks for cannabinoids, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, and PCP. Kratom is not detectable in opioid drug tests, as the two chemical compounds are not structurally related.
It is extremely unlikely that Kratom would cause a false positive in this generalized test, although interactions between Benadryl or Prozac and Kratom may trigger a false positive result. Speak with a medical professional before taking over-the-counter or prescription drugs while taking Kratom. If you take an average drug test after taking Kratom, metabolites may show up in the test as a different substance.
Is Kratom Legal?
Kratom is not restricted under the United State’s Controlled Substances Act, so it is not subject to federal regulations. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lists Kratom as a “drug of concern”. Because the federal government hasn’t taken a hard stance on Kratom, legislation regarding the botanical is mostly left up to the states. Regardless of its legality in your area, the places where you work, travel, or play ball could have their own policies you need to follow.
For more details, check out our guides to Kratom legality:
- Is Kratom Legal Where I Live?
- Is Kratom Legal in Cailfornia?
- Is Kratom Legal in Tennessee?
- Is Kratom Legal in Texas?
- Is Kratom Legal in Florida?
Why Test For Kratom?
It may be within your employer’s rights to order a Kratom drug test if your work productivity is lagging and you are suspected of overusing Kratom. When you apply for a position, your employer should make the drug policy available to you so you know what to expect.
Routine Department of Defense (DoD) drug tests do not detect Kratom, although Kratom is not approved for service members to use. Public schools, also, screen for illicit drugs on a random-testing basis. You may also see Kratom-specific testing in professional or collegiate athletics. Typically Kratom tests are for adults, but in a medical setting, children may be screened if it is suspected they’ve ingested Kratom. Kratom is not recommended for anyone under 18 without medical recommendation and supervision.
Is Drug Testing Legal?
If you are a federal, state, or private worker you can be subject to workplace drug testing. Some state regulations may restrict the legality of random drug tests for employees in positions that don’t require extra safety precautions. Your employer should pay for the drug tests, which normally occur during your normal working hours when you are on the clock.
If your work follows a comprehensive drug-free program, you should have access to a written policy that outlines the expectations regarding employee drug use. If you are concerned that your Kratom supplements may endanger your job, speak with your human resources representative to learn how Kratom is addressed in your company’s drug policy.
Testing For Kratom – Collegiate Athletics
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and member schools routinely test collegiate athletes for illicit substances, as well as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Kratom is not specifically listed as an NCAA-banned substance, but there is no complete list of banned substances. Collegiate athletes should speak with team trainers before ingesting Kratom.
Testing For Kratom – Professional Athletes
Kratom is not prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). As of 2018, Kratom is no longer even monitored by the WADA. The US Anti-Doping Agency is following a similar line, allowing athletes to use Kratom at their discretion. Kratom is not considered a PED, although many athletes like to ingest Kratom before a workout.
How Long Does Kratom Stay In Your System?
It takes about 3-7 days to flush a moderate dose of Kratom out of your system. Trace quantities of Kratom might be detectable in a urine sample for a week or longer after ingestion. A blood test is often able to recognize Kratom in your blood for 24 hours following your dose. If you use Kratom often, it can build up in your body and be detectable in your blood for longer than a day following your last Kratom ingestion.
The elimination half-life of Kratom is around four hours, after which the concentration of Kratom in your blood is about half of the original dose. Read more about Kratom tolerance here.
What Impacts How Long Kratom Stays In Your Body?
The larger your dose of Kratom, the longer it stays in your body. Other factors, including how you take Kratom and your individual body composition, impact how long Kratom remains in your system.
Consuming Kratom on an empty stomach or drinking lots of water after taking Kratom can decrease the amount of time it stays in your system. Mitragynine, the active chemical in Kratom, is fat-soluble or stored in your body fat. Kratom can remain longer in people with a higher body fat percentage. Younger people generally have faster metabolisms and consequently rid themselves of Kratom more quickly than older people.
How Does Your Body Metabolize Kratom?
Mitragynine is the most abundant alkaloid in Kratom and is eventually broken down by the liver into other metabolites that are excreted in the urine. Phase I metabolism involves modifying the compound through oxidation or hydrolysis reduction. The Phase II reactions conjugate the metabolites with charged species. This makes the compounds more polar so they can be excreted from the body.
Different Types Of Drug Tests
There are many types of drug tests to detect the presence of medications, supplements, or other chemicals in the body:
- Urine tests
- Saliva drug tests
- Hair follicle testing
- Tissue sample testing
- Blood tests
Standard drug tests for employment are often done with a standard 5-panel drug test, which tests for amphetamines, phencyclidine, cocaine, opiates, and marijuana. These tests are not designed to test for or detect the Kratom metabolites in the body which would indicate the use of Kratom. Tissue samples and other methods of toxicology screening can also be performed by a medical examiner. Sometimes Kratom is included in the toxicology panel.
While Kratom won’t show up on standard drug tests, if you need a screening test for Kratom to use at home, these are available online. They detect whether or not Kratom metabolites are in the urine.
What Tests Can Detect Kratom?
Individuals subject to drug testing should be cautious when they take any type of supplementation such as Kratom products. Knowing how drug tests screen for substances can help you to make informed decisions about Kratom use.
To be clear: Kratom will show on any type of test designed to screen for it. These types of drug tests aren’t as common as ones designed to screen for commonly abused prescription medications, illicit drugs, or in some cases, alcohol.
8-panel Drug Tests | 10-panel Drug Tests
There are more broad 8-panel and 10-panel drug tests. An 8-panel drug test screens more specifically for commonly abused medications and illicit drugs, including Oxycodone and alcohol.
While Kratom metabolites are not listed, a panel of 10-12+ drug tests is most commonly associated with Kratom detection. A test that would confirm Kratom use would be designed to screen for Kratom’s metabolites, which would indicate the presence of Kratom’s two main alkaloids; Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine.
Other Drug Testing Options
Immunoassay (IA) tests are the most common drug tests because they are quick and inexpensive. They test for antibodies to detect the presence of selected drugs. These tests occasionally provide false positives, meaning they sometimes report substances that are not actually present in the urine test. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is the more reliable urine screening system. This test is often reserved to verify the results of people who have failed a previous drug test.
Both types of urine tests can produce false negatives, where substances in the urine are not detected, especially if the urine is very diluted. The tests also both operate with cut-off levels. The cut-off level for a Kratom drug test is often 1 ng/mL. This means that the concentration of Kratom in your blood must be at least 1 ng/mL to produce a positive result. The cut-off method is used to avoid detecting passive drug consumption. This helps prevent a drug test from producing positive results because the subject had just eaten poppy seeds or inhaled second-hand smoke.
After the drug tests, you should be notified of the results within a few days. Negative results often take longer to be analyzed, as they are double-checked for accuracy.
The Limits Of Drug Testing
Drug testing can detect illicit or prescription compounds in your body, but it cannot relate the effect these substances have on your ability to perform a job or your level of impairment. If you test positive for an illicit drug, you’ll probably be suspended from any functions that require additional safety measures out of an abundance of caution.
What To Do During A Drug Test
The drug test administrator explains what you are expected to do during the urine sample. You should follow their instructions carefully and not attempt to tamper with your urine sample. Tampering with a drug sample often results in an automatic positive result and additional disciplinary consequences.
Over-the-counter medications, herbal products, and prescription medications can sometimes show up on a drug test. Tell the test provider if you are taking any medications that could cause a false positive result. If you are aware of an upcoming drug test, it is best to avoid taking Kratom for the week leading up to the test. Although it’s unlikely that anything unusual will be detected in your system, you can eliminate the risk and avoid a potential hassle by abstaining from Kratom.
Stay Safe While Enjoying The Effects Of Kratom
If you plan to use Kratom you should always purchase your products from a trusted vendor, like Kats Botanicals. Our products are third-party laboratory tested so you know exactly what you’re ingesting. Our Kratom leaf is natural and ethically sourced from Indonesia. By partnering with experienced farmers, we can provide Kratom products from the highest quality botanicals that were grown using traditional farming techniques.
Our mission is to provide our customers with pure, high-quality Kratom so you can feel your best. That’s why we don’t allow heavy metals, pathogens, bacteria, chemicals, or pesticides to be distributed with our pure Kratom leaf.
How To Use Kratom Powder: Discover the Best Ways To Take Kratom
Kratom Use & Drug Screening
Kratom contains alkaloids that are broken into metabolites during the digestive process. These metabolites can be detected in a drug test that is designed to look for Kratom. However, the majority of drug tests are only designed to detect illicit drugs, so a dose of Kratom shouldn’t cause you to fail your drug test.
Athletes, service members, and those who work with heavy machinery or in the medical field may not be able to take Kratom.
- Speak with your medical doctor before considering Kratom or other potentially psychoactive substances.
- Consult your company or organization’s drug policy to determine if Kratom is on the list of substances you can’t use.
- Always stay within Kratom’s dosing guidelines.
If you’ve gotten the all-clear, remember to use Kratom mindfully. It’s easier to enjoy Kratom in your wellness routine and boost your well-being throughout your day if you use Kratom responsibly!
