The Problem
THC tests detect past exposure, not impairment. A cannabis user who last consumed two weeks ago tests positive. A drunk driver tests negative. This is not science — it is 1980s policy dressed up as a safety measure.
30 days
THC detectable
12 hours
impairment lasts
0
impairment tested
Harm Reduction Tool

Know your
actual window.
Not a guess.

A free, pharmacokinetics-based calculator that tells you when you're genuinely clear — and exactly what to do when you're not. Built for people navigating a system that wasn't designed fairly.

estimated days remaining
9
until GC-MS threshold clearance
clear by
Mar 21
home strip · 50 ng/mL
likely pass
screen
GC-MS confirm · 15 ng/mL
likely fail
confirm
body fat adjusted estimate
22% · 185 lbs
deurenberg model
Not a guarantee. Threshold provides pharmacokinetic estimates for harm reduction and educational purposes only. No supplement protocol guarantees a negative test result. Individual metabolism varies significantly. Always confirm with a home test strip before your actual test date. This is not medical advice and should not substitute professional guidance.

How it works

01
Enter your profile
Weight, height, sex, use frequency. The model calculates your actual fat mass — not a generic body type. THC-COOH stores in fat tissue, so fat mass is the single biggest driver of your clearance window.
02
See both thresholds
Most tools only show the 50 ng/mL immunoassay cutoff. Threshold shows you both — including the 15 ng/mL GC-MS confirmation threshold. That gap is where most people get a false sense of security.
03
Follow the protocol
Set your test date and get a day-by-day plan with weight-scaled supplement doses and a complete shopping list. Every ingredient is explained by mechanism, not marketing.

Clearance Calculator

Free · No Login Required
Select substance
threshold · pharmacokinetic model v1
harm reduction tool
body composition
Body fat %
Estimated: 21%
Uses Deurenberg BMI formula. Less accurate for very muscular builds.
use pattern
test date
your results
12 Days Remaining
7–17 day range
realistic window accounting for individual metabolic variation (±35%)
point estimate · GC-MS threshold (15 ng/mL)
Mar 26
clear date
Low
confidence
21%
body fat
last use15d
home strip · 50 ng/mL
likely fail
GC-MS confirm · 15 ng/mL
likely fail
uncertainty factors for your profile
Body fat estimated from BMI
Deurenberg formula has ±5% error — consider measuring if result is borderline
moderate
Still within your detection window. Estimated range is 7–17 days remaining. Confirm with a home strip 2 days before your test.
your day-by-day protocol
Today — start now
excretion Stop using completely. Every additional dose resets your window.
excretion Start daily psyllium fiber (5–7g) to interrupt enterohepatic recirculation.
avoid No intense exercise — keeps lipolysis low and metabolite release stable.
Days 2–4 — maintenance
excretion Continue fiber daily. Drink above-average water to support renal excretion.
excretion Light walking only — no cardio, no weights.
diet Eat normally. Caloric restriction triggers lipolysis and spikes metabolite release.
2–3 days out — prep and confirm
excretion Stop all exercise. Eat fatty meals to suppress lipolysis.
excretion Continue evening fiber.
confirm Test with a home strip. Negative = you may not need the full flush. Positive = run full protocol.
Night before — gut clearance
excretiongut
Psyllium husk fiber
5–7g in water
Binds bile-conjugated THC-COOH in the GI tract — promotes fecal elimination instead of reabsorption.
Activated charcoal
1–2g with water
Adsorbs metabolites before reabsorption. Do not take with medications.
Fatty meal
Full dinner
Suppresses overnight lipolysis. Keeps metabolite release low through morning.
Morning of test — load phase (3–4 hrs before)
mask dilutionassay interference
Creatine monohydrate
15g in water
Metabolizes to creatinine — restores urinary levels that drop with dilution. Critical for avoiding a flagged specimen.
Zinc sulfate
200–300mg with food
Directly interferes with EMIT immunoassay enzyme reagents. Best-evidenced non-dilution mechanism in published literature.
Fatty breakfast
Full meal
Continue suppressing lipolysis. Do not fast this morning — fasting is counterproductive.
Skip first void
Use 2nd or 3rd void
Overnight urine carries the highest metabolite concentration. First void is the worst sample to submit.
1–2 hours before — dilution phase
dilutecolor mask
Water
17 oz over 2 hrs
Core mechanism. Spread intake over two hours — do not chug. Drops ng/mL concentration below the immunoassay cutoff.
Riboflavin B2
200–300mg
Renally excreted rapidly and turns urine yellow. Prevents an obviously colorless dilute specimen.
Vitamin B12
500mcg
Additional color support. Pair with B2 for more natural-looking urine color at high dilution.
Electrolytes
1–2 servings
Maintains specific gravity in the normal range (1.003–1.030). Plain water alone collapses osmolality.
Test daytest day
Mid-stream catch only. Let the first few seconds pass before collecting. You've done everything you can.
Mid-stream catch only on test day — let the first few seconds of urine go into the toilet before collecting the sample. First and last portions carry the highest concentration.
Zinc sulfate can cause nausea on an empty stomach — always take with food. Activated charcoal binds medications; skip if you take daily prescriptions. Doses are scaled to your body weight. Not guaranteed to produce a negative result.

Shopping list

Every ingredient explained by mechanism — not marketing. All available at Amazon, Walmart, or your local pharmacy. Generic versions work equally well.

Creatine monohydrate
Optimum Nutrition unflavored
15g · 3 hrs before test
buy on Amazon →
Zinc sulfate
Now Foods 220mg caps
200–300mg · with food, 3 hrs before
buy on Amazon →
Riboflavin B2
Now Foods B-2 100mg tabs
200–300mg · 1–2 hrs before
buy on Amazon →
Vitamin B12
Any methylcobalamin 500mcg
500mcg · 1–2 hrs before
buy on Amazon →
Psyllium husk fiber
Metamucil or NOW Psyllium caps
5–7g · night before
buy on Amazon →
Activated charcoal
Nature's Way 560mg caps
1–2g · night before · no meds
buy on Amazon →
Electrolyte tablets
LMNT or Liquid IV packets
17 oz water · spread over 2 hrs
buy on Amazon →
Home THC test strips
Easy@Home single THC strips
Test 2 days out + morning of
buy on Amazon →
Estimated total: $40–70 depending on what you already have. Test strips are the most important purchase.

The science

how THC is stored

Fat-soluble metabolites

THC itself converts quickly in the liver to THC-COOH — the glucuronide conjugate that drug tests detect. Because THC-COOH is fat-soluble, it deposits in adipose tissue, the liver, and brain lipids. It releases back into the bloodstream slowly during lipolysis, then gets excreted renally. This is why body fat percentage is the single most important variable in your clearance window.

why two thresholds matter

The confirmation gap

Workplace immunoassay screens (EMIT) use a 50 ng/mL cutoff. If you test positive, the sample goes to GC-MS confirmation — which has a 15 ng/mL cutoff and is nearly impossible to manipulate. Most commercial detox products and calculators only target the immunoassay screen. Threshold shows you both because knowing you'd pass the screen but fail confirmation is critical information.

why exercise timing matters

Lipolysis and the pre-test spike

Aerobic exercise mobilizes fat stores (lipolysis), which temporarily spikes THC-COOH release back into blood and urine. This is counterproductive before a test even though exercise accelerates long-term clearance. Avoiding exercise 24–48 hours before testing and eating fatty foods suppresses lipolysis and reduces the transient concentration spike.

the zinc mechanism

Assay interference

Zinc sulfate taken orally reaches urine and directly interferes with EMIT immunoassay enzyme reagents — the same assay used in most workplace screens. This is mechanistically distinct from dilution and is supported by published literature. It's the most scientifically interesting element of the protocol and the most underutilized. Note: it does not affect GC-MS confirmation.

The policy problem

"Drug tests don't measure impairment. They measure exposure history."

A positive THC test tells you someone consumed cannabis in the last 2–30 days. It tells you nothing about whether they're impaired right now. Alcohol is tested for current impairment — nobody tests whether you drank last weekend. Blanket THC testing applies a fundamentally different and scientifically indefensible standard.

For safety-sensitive positions — surgeons, pilots, air traffic controllers, heavy equipment operators — impairment testing is justified. For accountants, coders, retail workers, and teachers, the safety rationale evaporates. What remains is insurance pressure and institutional inertia from policies written in the 1980s.

Threshold exists because people navigating this system deserve accurate information. The data generated by this tool will contribute to research and policy arguments for impairment-based standards across all industries.

This tool is free.
It will always be free.

The calculator, the protocol, the shopping list — no login, no paywall, no catch. If it helped you, a $5 donation keeps it running and supports drug policy reform. Entirely optional.

Support Threshold — $5 suggested
pay what you want · every dollar goes toward harm reduction + drug policy advocacy