How Long Does Heroin Stay In Your System?

Heroin is an illicit opioid drug that is categorized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule I substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no legal medical use.

Heroin is known to cause a rapid, euphoric high. Although the effects of heroin use can begin to wear off within 45 minutes to a few hours, this doesn’t mean heroin can’t still be detected in a drug test. Heroin use can be detected through urine tests (enzyme immunoassay (EIAs), blood tests, oral fluid (e.g. saliva tests), and hair tests.

Clinicians can find positive results for heroin use for up to one to three days on average, or up to 90 days with hair testing. Drug purity, polysubstance abuse, and a range of other personal factors may affect heroin detection times.

How Long Heroin Can Be Detected Through Drug Tests

Not all types of drug tests screen for common drugs of abuse the same way or can detect heroin for the same amount of time.

Average drug detection times for heroin are:

• urine tests: one to three days
• blood tests: up to six hours
• saliva tests: up to 24 hours
• hair tests: up to 90 days

How Is Heroin Use Detected?

Heroin has a very short half-life, which means that the body metabolizes it very quickly. However, like the illicit drug cocaine, heroin metabolites may be detected in a person’s system after the heroin has already processed through a person’s system. Following use, heroin is metabolized into morphine, a natural opiate derived from the seeds of the opium poppy plant. Street heroin can also contain acetylcodeine, which is metabolized to codeine in the body.

Therefore, detecting morphine or codeine in the body may be considered a sign of illicit heroin use. Heroin use can also be detected if a specific heroin metabolite, 6-monoacetylmorphine (6MAM), is found in a drug screening. Saliva tests, also known as oral fluid tests, can detect high levels of the heroin metabolite 6-acetyl morphine for a short period of time after using heroin.

How Long Do Urine Drug Screens Detect Heroin Use?

Urine tests are one of the most common types of drug tests. Heroin use may be detected in urine samples for one to three days after last use. The cutoff for detection in the urine is typically 2000 ng/ml for opiate detection, or 10 ng/ml for heroin metabolites.

Learn more about detecting heroin in urine tests

How Long Does Heroin Stay In The Blood?

Research has found that the heroin metabolite, 6-monoacetylmorphine (6MAM), can be detected in the blood for up to six hours after ingestion through a 6-AM assay test.

Learn more about how long heroin can be detected in your blood

How Long Can Heroin Be Detected In Hair Tests?

Hair testing involves collecting samples of a person’s hair follicles. Heroin may be detected in hair follicles for up to 90 days after your last dose.

Chronic heroin use may extend this window, causing the drug to be detectable in hair samples for longer than people who use heroin irregularly or infrequently.

Learn more about how long heroin can be detected in your hair

Factors That Can Affect Heroin Detection Times

Heroin detection times can vary from person to person based on a range of factors. The timeframes shared on this page refer to the average detection times.

How long heroin stays in your system may depend on:

• frequency of heroin use
• how long you’ve been using heroin
• method of use (route of administration)
• polysubstance abuse (using multiple drugs)
• drug purity
• metabolism
• body composition (e.g. body fat, height, weight)
• level of hydration
• heroin dependence

If you’ve been using heroin for a long time, heroin may stay in your system longer. The amount of heroin you’ve used can also affect how long it remains detectable.

Can You Get A False Positive From Heroin Drug Tests?

The short answer is: Yes. Testing for specific drugs like heroin can be tricky because heroin use is detected by metabolites that can also be found when screening for morphine or codeine use.

Research has also shown that eating an excessive amount of poppy seeds can also cause false positive test results for opiate use. This is because poppy seeds contain trace amounts of morphine and codeine.

Why Are Heroin Drug Tests Used?

Drug screenings can be ordered based on suspicion of illicit drug use, as a condition of employment, or through random testing.

Generally, drug tests are used to determine whether someone has used drugs, although the accuracy of drug tests can vary.

Common reasons for drug screenings include:

• pre-employment screening
• drug-free workplace programs
• testing professional athletes
• legal and forensic purposes
• prescription drug monitoring

Heroin is an illegal, addictive drug that can take over a person’s life. If you’re concerned about having heroin show up in a drug test, it’s time to consider seeking professional help.

Signs That Heroin Use Has Become An Addiction

Heroin is so powerfully addictive, the line between use and addiction can be crossed faster than most people expect, sometimes within days or weeks of first ingesting the drug.

Common signs that heroin use may have become an addiction include:

• Physical Signs: Track marks from injection, sudden and dramatic weight loss, consistently small pupils, chronic drowsiness or nodding off at unusual times, and persistent flu-like symptoms during periods without the drug.
• Behavioral Changes: Withdrawing from family and friends, losing interest in activities that once mattered, neglecting work or school responsibilities, and becoming defensive when questions about drug use come up.
• Financial Warning Signs: Unexplained money problems, missing valuables, or frequently borrowing money without a clear reason can indicate someone is spending heavily to maintain a heroin habit.
• Inability to Stop: Wanting to cut back or quit but being physically and psychologically unable to follow through is one of the clearest indicators that dependence has developed.
• Withdrawal Symptoms: Experiencing muscle aches, nausea, sweating, anxiety, and intense cravings when going without heroin confirms that the body has become physically dependent on the drug.

If several of these signs are present in yourself or someone you care about, reaching out to a doctor or addiction specialist is the most reasonable next step to getting help.

Find Addiction Treatment Today

Many rehab centers across the country offer treatment programs for heroin addiction.

Browse our directory or reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for more information about addiction recovery.

Written by the Addiction Resource Editorial Staff