THC-COOH

THC-COOH, or 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC, is the inactive metabolite the body forms after processing delta-9 THC, and the compound that standard urine drug tests detect.

After THC enters the body it is converted in the liver first to an active intermediate and then to this carboxylic acid form, which is stored in fat and excreted slowly in urine. Because it lingers far longer than THC itself, it is a reliable marker of past exposure. Its persistence is why detection windows vary so widely between occasional and frequent use.

Drug panels target this metabolite, not CBD and not THC directly, so the question for anyone using a hemp product is whether the product contained enough delta-9 THC to produce it. Products verified at 0.0% THC on their certificate of analysis are formulated to avoid the source compound, though the figure reflects a laboratory reporting limit rather than absolute absence, and no product can guarantee a test outcome. The metabolite is inactive; its presence does not indicate current impairment.