There isn’t a definitive answer as to whether you can drink beer the night before taking a drug test. The results can be impacted by how much beer you have consumed and what type of drug test you will undergo.
Drug tests usually include the detection of opioids, alcohol, and club drugs. Usually, a sample of your urine, blood, saliva, sweat, or hair is taken to perform these, and they can be used for different purposes, such as employment, participation in sports, or before/after a drug detox.
When it comes to alcohol, besides being a sedative, it is a mild anesthetic. As such, it slows down the signals between the body and brain. Moreover, it is believed to produce a sense of euphoria, or a so-called “high,” as it releases dopamine and serotonin. Due to the ‘happy hormones’ being excreted, alcohol activates the pleasure and reward centers in the brain.
Even though many factors can influence a person’s response to alcohol, it’s considered that a healthy liver can process one drink per hour. Thus, if you finish a drink at 7 PM, you should be clear by 8 PM.
However, individuals with liver damage issues don’t produce enough enzymes to metabolize alcohol in the body, which is why they might need more time to process it. The same goes for individuals with lower metabolism, as their organism takes more time to burn calories, including the ones found in alcohol.
The liver breaks down the majority of alcohol being consumed. Only a small amount of it gets removed from our system through sweat and breath, which leaves only 1-2% of alcohol in our system that gets eliminated through urine.
Thus, urine tests can usually detect alcohol up to 12 hours after your last drink. However, some of them, including EtG and EtS, are even more sensitive and can identify traces of alcohol for up to 72 hours.
