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MDMA, often sold as ecstasy or molly, is one of the many employers may test you for. So, how long does it stay in your body, and can you flush it out any quicker?
Published on August 19, 2019

Maybe you popped some E over the weekend, and now your unenlightened employer selected you to pass a drug test first thing Monday morning. Or maybe you’re considering rolling for the first time, but you’re not sure how long the drug is gonna stick around in your body. 

Well, you came to the right spot. 

Before breaking this down, it helps to understand a little chemistry behind the MDMA molecule. MDMA is water-soluble, meaning it dissolves in water. In contrast, THC, the intoxicating component of weed, is fat-soluble, meaning THC naturally dissolves in only fat or oils.

MDMA’s water-solubility determines its detection windows for drug screenings. Unlike weed, it’ll clear out of your system much faster, usually within just a few days. Weed, on the other hand, can show up on drug tests months after the last toke.

For the average person, after taking a “recreational dose” of 50 to 100mg of MDMA, about half of the MDMA should clear out of your system within 8 hours. It’ll take another 40 hours for 95 percent to clear. But detection windows also depend on the dose and the type of screen used. Additionally, compounds that are chemically similar to MDMA, such as MDA, follow similar if not identical clearance timelines.

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Urine

Urine tests look for MDMA, but the most damning evidence comes from detection of MDMA metabolites, not MDMA itself. (After all, why would you have MDMA metabolites in your urine if you didn’t pop any? Or so the legal argument goes…) 

The detection window for MDMA under a urine screen is usually 3 to 4 days from when it was last taken.

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Blood

Blood tests are usually administered by police, since they’re quick and show that MDMA metabolites were circulating in someone’s system at the time of the blood draw. Usually blood tests can detect MDMA and its metabolites for up to one or two days after popping it. 

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Hair

Hair follicle tests analyze hair samples. Or, to be more precise, these tests detect drug metabolites excreted through skin oils, which eventually become trapped in growing strands of  hair. Since the metabolites are trapped inside of the hair and not just sticking to the hair’s surface, hair follicle tests can detect MDMA up to a year after it was taken, though usually it’s gone within three months.

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Saliva

Saliva tests are fairly uncommon when it comes to finding MDMA in someone’s system. These work in a similar fashion to blood screenings, so expect MDMA to show up on these tests one to two days after rolling.

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How to Speed Up the Clearing Process

So, maybe you’re the unfortunate individual at the beginning of this post who has to undergo a drug screening shortly after taking some MDMA. What now?

Since MDMA is water-soluble, you could, potentially, flush some of its metabolites from your body. Simply chug water prior to the screening, and make sure you’re peeing a lot. Just don’t keep flushing yourself right up to the point that you’re taking the test, otherwise the lab techs will find out because your urine sample has the wrong color, wrong pH, wrong creatine levels, etc. If the techs suspect that you flushed your system or tampered with the sample in any way, that’s usually an automatic disqualification.

Gallery — Vintage Drug Ads:

Metabolism also plays a huge role in determining how long MDMA will stay in your system. Obviously, those with faster metabolisms will clear it out faster than those with slower metabolisms. You could, theoretically, perform a bunch of sweat-breaking exercises — like running, biking, or other cardio activity — to speed up the clearance process, but it’s not a guarantee.

Of course, cheating a drug test may be illegal depending on your state and circumstances (e.g. maybe not against the law for an employment screening, but definitely illegal AF if it’s for probation or parole). Intentionally flushing your system or otherwise fooling a drug screen is something we don’t recommend. 

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Randy Robinson
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Based in Denver, Randy studied cannabinoid science while getting a degree in molecular biology at the University of Colorado. When not writing about cannabis, science, politics, or LGBT issues, they can be found exploring nature somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Catch Randy on Twitter and Instagram @randieseljay
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