If you’re an avid cannabis consumer, chances are you’ve experienced the panic that comes when you’re forced to pass a drug test. 

There are plenty of old wives’ tales-y hacks the cannabis community has sworn by for decades, and using niacin to flush out your system is one of them. 

But does it really work?

What is Niacin?

Niacin – a.k.a., vitamin B3 – is a member of the B vitamin family that is often utilized to treat high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It is known for reducing the risk of heart attack, nourishing your skin, and passing drug tests in a bind. 

Most people get enough niacin from food, but the vitamin also comes in supplement form at pharmacies or other healthcare stores. It typically comes two different ways: nicotinic acid and niacinamide (a.k.a., nicotinamide). 

Niacin Effects and Benefits

Outside of detoxing for an upcoming drug test, there are several reasons people turn to niacin as a dietary supplement. Here are some of niacin’s most commonly-recognized benefits:

• Niacin may help improve blood fat levels. This can result in an overall decrease in heart disease risk, and is ideal for anyone who can’t tolerate statin drugs. 
• Niacin may help reduce blood pressure. A function of niacin is its ability to release prostaglandins – a.k.a., chemicals that allow blood vessels to widen, which improves overall blood flow and can reduce blood pressure. 
• Niacin may boost brain function. Our brains need niacin to function properly and energetically, and studies have revealed that niacin seems to boost brain function and even undo brain cell damage caused by niacin deficiency. 
• Niacin may improve your skin’s health. Niacin is recognized for protecting skin cells from sun damage. Studies have shown that it may also be effective in preventing certain types of skin cancer as well. 

With a variety of healing effects, niacin sounds like a given when considering dietary supplements to add into the mix – drug test or not. However, high doses of niacin (anything over 2,000 mg per day) can come with some serious risks you should be aware of:

• Severe flushing of the skin (a.k.a. “niacin flush”)
• Increased heartbeat
• Itchiness
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Gout
• Diarrhea
• Liver damage
• Diabetes 

You should be especially wary of consuming too much niacin if you have gallbladder disease, liver disease, peptic ulcer disease, or severely low blood pressure. 

Niacin for Detox

Like any vitamin or dietary supplement, niacin comes with a range of possible health benefits and possible side effects. But you might be wondering what to expect when doing a niacin flush.

A niacin flush is both the term used to describe the possible side effect you may experience from taking too much niacin at once (flushed, reddened skin), and the term for utilizing the vitamin to flush out your system quickly – usually before a drug test. 

It’s niacin’s ability to bind to water-soluble materials (a.k.a., toxins) that makes it such a prime candidate for cleansing your system of unwanted toxins. If effective, the vitamin basically increases the body’s fat breakdown, which increases metabolism.

Although this sounds great on paper, the method isn’t very reliable. It may or may not work depending on your age, height, weight, and other physiological factors, and you run a high risk of ingesting a dangerous amount of niacin in the process. 

Niacin for Passing a Drug Test

Since niacin is known for its ability to flush out one’s system, cannabis consumers around the world have taken that to mean that the vitamin may be just as effective when the need arises to rid the body of THC.

However, this method is much more myth than fact. While the supplement may help speed the body’s natural detox along, it isn’t guaranteed to be successful, and the results can actually be dangerous if you’re not careful with the dosage. 

Too much niacin can be very hard on the body and can pose serious health risks, depending on the person. It also isn’t a miracle solution and can take anywhere from 2-7 days to actually take effect. Finding an effective detox kit and program is recommended over relying on niacin to detox your system.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, we feel there is a lot more risk than reward with the niacin flush detox method. However, there are plenty of other solutions for passing a drug test fast within the cannabis community, like exercising, taking hot showers, utilizing detox drinks, and, of course, abstaining from cannabis for the time being.

Still feel like you need some external aid to ensure your drug test success? PassYourTest.com is an excellent resource for detox needs and solutions, without any of the risk that goes along with a last-minute niacin overdose. 

The site offers a variety of detox kits for each type of cannabis consumer, accompanied by dietary supplements, meal plans designed for ultimate program success, at-home test kits to confirm “clean” status, and around-the-clock customer service and detox coaching to help you cross that finish line.

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