How long will drugs show up on a saliva drug test? You will note below that a saliva drug test can positive drug results in a matter of hours. A urine drug test can show positive results in a matter of days.
| Drug Detection Window* Saliva Compared To Urine Tests |
||
|---|---|---|
| Targeted Drug | Saliva | Urine |
| Alcohol (an EtG urine test can show use up to 80 hours) | 1-12 Hours | 6-12 Hours |
| Amphetamines | 2-48 Hours | 1-4 Days |
| Barbiturates | 2-48 Hours | Short acting type:1-4 Days Long acting type: 3 Weeks or longer |
| Benzodiazepines | 2-48 Hours | Infrequent user: 1-3 Days Chronic user: 4-6 Weeks |
| Cannabinoids (THC-Marijuana) | 1-18 Hours | Infrequent user: 1-10 Days Chronic user: 30 Days or longer |
| Cocaine Metabolite | 1-48 Hours | 1-4 Days |
| Methadone | 1-48 Hours | 1-6 Days |
| Methamphetamines | 1-48 Hours | 1-4 Days |
| MDMA (ecstasy) | 1-48 Hours | 1-3 Days |
| Nicotine (Tobacco)** | 4-6 Hours | Infrequent user: 1-3 Days Chronic user: 7 to 14 Days |
| Opiates (Heroin, Morphine, Codeine) | 1-48 Hours | 1-3 Days |
| Oxycodone | 1-48 Hours | 1-3 Days |
| Phencyclidine (PCP) | 1-48 Hours | Infrequent user: 1-8 Days Chronic user: 1-28 Days+ |
| Propoxyphene | 1-48 Hours | 1-3 Days |
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*There are many factors that affect the actual window of detection (see How Long Do Drugs Stay In Your System - Drug Detection Times for more information). This chart is meant to give relative results for the majority of cases. There are always situations that affect the actual drug test window.
**Nicotine is metabolized as Cotinine and can be detected on a Cotinine Urine Test.