How Long Do Opiates Stay in Your System?

Most opiates show up in urine for 1 to 4 days and in hair for about 90 days. Heroin leaves the blood in about 6 hours. Hydrocodone, morphine and oxycodone stay in urine for about 2 to 4 days. Age, body fat, liver and kidney health and frequent use all stretch those windows.

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The US is in an opioid epidemic, with many people abusing these drugs. So opiates have become a major cause of death. In fact, legal drugs now kill more people in the US than illegal drugs.

Legal drugs are very toxic at higher doses. They usually have a so-called narrow therapeutic window. That means the gap between a helpful dose and a harmful one is small. People who depend on opioids are also likely to take higher doses as tolerance builds. They need more and more to ease pain, stop withdrawal or get high.

Luckily, these drugs are well studied, and science knows how they work. But there are many opiates. The word is not one drug. It is a name for a group of chemically related drugs.

So opiates differ a lot in how safe they are and how the body handles them. Some stay in the body a short time. Others may stay much longer. Some illegal drugs are also opiates. The most commonly abused opiates in the US are hydrocodone, oxycodone and heroin.

What affects how long opioids stay in your system?

Luckily, the liver breaks down most opiates fairly easily, and the body clears them quickly. Their effect may last much longer, though.

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It is vital to know that when the liver breaks down these drugs, it still makes some active byproducts. So the drugs act much longer. Most opiates are taken as pills, but not always. Heroin can be snorted, injected or smoked for faster, more predictable effects.

Many factors affect how long a drug can stay in your body, and people differ a lot:

People break down drugs at different rates. Race and genes play a big role.
Body size also matters. Lean people seem to break down drugs faster. But people with a larger body may need more of a drug to get high.
More body fat may also slow the breakdown of drugs.
Age is another factor, because metabolism slows with age. That is why older adults are more likely to get high at much lower doses than young adults.
Liver and kidney health play a central role in clearing drugs. People with diseases of these organs may struggle to break down drugs. So they may need more time to clear them from the body.
How often opiates are used also affects how long they last, because repeated doses build up. Taking drugs too often may also slow some of the body’s breakdown processes.
The quality of drugs matters a lot, above all with illegal drugs.
The amount of water in the body is another key factor.

How long does each opiate stay in your system?

Here we look at some of the most common opiates. Of these, the illegal drug heroin acts for a very short time, and the body clears it quickly. Usually, most of it has left the body in 5-7 hours. So saliva tests stop finding it after 5 hours, and blood tests after about 6 hours. But traces stay in the body much longer. Urine tests can find it for a week. It may also build up in hair and be found there for about 90 days after the last use.

Hydrocodone is one of the most commonly abused opiates. It is used to treat painful conditions. It is a medicine, but most people who abuse it may buy it from illegal sources. A saliva test can find it for about 36 hours and a urine test for 2-4 days. It stays in hair for three months.

Morphine is another commonly abused painkiller. A blood test can find it for about 12 hours. Urine tests find it for 3 days or a bit longer. For hair, it is again 90 days.

Codeine is not just an excellent painkiller. It also helps calm a dry cough. Blood tests can find it for about 48 hours, urine tests for 24-48 hours and saliva tests for 1-4 days. Hair tests can find it for 90 days.

Oxycodone or OxyContin shows up in urine 1-4 days after last use. On average, drug tests may find it for 3 days. Saliva holds a fair amount for 48 hours. Like all other opiates, it stays in hair for 90 days.

Finally, it is vital to know that the figures above are just averages. People differ hugely. People who are addicted are also more likely to test positive, because their bodies break down the drugs slowly. Hair tests find drugs much longer because hair is not very active. Once a drug builds up in hair, the body has a hard time clearing it.

Frequently asked questions

How long will you test positive for opioids?

It depends on the test. Most opiates show up in urine for 1 to 4 days and in hair for about 90 days. Blood and saliva tests catch them for a much shorter time, from hours to a few days. These are averages. Age, body fat, liver and kidney health and frequent use all stretch the window. People who are addicted tend to test positive longer.

How long does oxycodone stay in the system?

Oxycodone (OxyContin) shows up in urine 1 to 4 days after the last use. Most drug tests pick it up for about 3 days on average. Saliva holds a fair amount for about 48 hours. Hair holds it for about 90 days, as with other opiates. Frequent use, age and liver or kidney problems can push those times longer.

How long does hydrocodone stay in your system?

A saliva test can find hydrocodone for about 36 hours after the last dose, and a urine test for 2 to 4 days. It stays in hair for about three months. Hydrocodone is one of the most commonly abused opiates. Repeated doses build up in the body, so detection times for heavy users can run past these averages.

How are opioids cleared from the body?

The liver does most of the work. It breaks down most opiates fairly quickly. But that process makes active byproducts, so the drug’s effect can outlast the drug itself. Liver or kidney disease slows clearing. Body fat, age, genes, the amount of water in the body and how often the drug is taken also change how fast it clears.

Sources

Moeller KE, Kissack JC, Atayee RS, Lee KC. Clinical interpretation of urine drug tests: what clinicians need to know about urine drug screens. Mayo Clin Proc. 2017;92(5):774-796. PMID 28325505 · DOI 10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.12.007.
Milone MC. Laboratory testing for prescription opioids. J Med Toxicol. 2012;8(4):408-416. PMID 23180358 · DOI 10.1007/s13181-012-0274-7.