Interest in CBD has been growing among several age groups for a while. This special compound comes in a variety of forms and offers a range of benefits for users with certain health conditions. However, despite its widespread usage as an alternative form of medication, there are very few guidelines indicating what the correct dosage for CBD is.
Let’s take a deep dive into the world of CBD and learn what the right dosage is for someone interested in trying it for the first time.
What is CBD?
CBD refers to cannabidiol, which is one of the active ingredients in cannabis. This substance offers many therapeutic benefits such as relief from chronic pain, assistance with sleep problems, and calming symptoms of anxiety.
CBD is extracted from cannabis plants and sold in the form of CBD products. These products include:
- CBD oils
- CBD tinctures
- CBD vapes
- CBD topicals products
- CBD capsules
- CBD gummies and edibles
Each of the aforementioned CBD products contains a different concentration of CBD. This can make it difficult to judge what the right dose is for first time users.
Factors that Affect CBD Dosage
There are multiple factors that affect what the ideal CBD dosage is for patients. These include:
- Concentration of the CBD in the product and administration method
- Body weight
- Tolerance
- The health condition the CBD is treating
CBD Concentration and Administration Method
The concentration of CBD in a particular product is usually mentioned on the label. However, it is important to understand what this concentration actually refers to if you wish to figure out how much to take.
Some products such as oil capsules and edibles tell you exactly how many milligrams of CBD are in each pill or gummy. However, other products may list the total amount of CBD contained within a full bottle or packet of a CBD product.
For example, a 20 mL bottle of CBD may be advertised as containing 2000 mg of CBD. This means each millilitre contains 100 mg of CBD. If we assume that 1 mL consists of 20 drops from a dropper, then each drop would contain 5 mg.
Dosages can be difficult to measure out for certain types of CBD products. For example, if you purchase a CBD vape pen that contains 400 mg of CBD, you may not know how much CBD you are consuming each time you draw from the vaping device. This is further complicated by the fact that users with different lung capacities may draw different vapor volumes with each draw.
Some types of CBD products such as topical lotions and creams may not be completely absorbed by the body. This is because they penetrate through the skin at a very slow rate, so users may need to use a higher quantity of the product than expected to feel the CBD’s effects.
Body Weight
It is believed that people with a high body weight require higher doses of CBD to feel its effects. However, the exact correlation between CBD dosage and body weight has not been studied extensively.
One source claims that users who weigh 150 lbs should take between 15 – 25 mg of CBD, while those to weigh 200 lbs should take 20 – 33 mg.
CBD Tolerance
Another factor that may affect CBD dosages is tolerance. Many people assume that the body builds up a tolerance to CBD similar to how you may develop a high tolerance to THC or alcohol after frequent usage. However, consuming CBD regularly may actually reduce your tolerance.
This is because CBD tends to accumulate in the body over time. As a result, you will need to take smaller and smaller doses of the compound to achieve the same intensity of effects as before. However, these tolerance changes can be difficult to measure, so CBD users should always be careful when consuming any CBD product.
The Type of Health Condition Being Treated
Your CBD dosage may also vary depending on the type of condition you are trying to treat or alleviate. This makes sense, as the cbd oil dosage for back pain could be higher than the dosage required to help with insomnia.
Unfortunately, there are very few studies confirming the amount of CBD required to alleviate symptoms of different health conditions. One may assume that health conditions with intense symptoms require a higher dosage than other conditions with mild symptoms, but this is complicated by the fact that CBD does not act equally on each part of the body.
How Much CBD Should I Take for my First Time?
After learning how complicated it is to determine CBD dosages, the best advice we can offer is to experiment with different dosages to find the one that is right for you. Start off with a small dose such as 5 mg per day, and then increase the amount by 5 mg each day until you start feeling the effects.
You can then keep increasing the dosage until you feel you have reached the point where the CBD is alleviating your symptoms.
How do I Know if I Have Consumed too Much CBD?
Overdosing on CBD is a common problem for first time users. However, these overdoses are not believed to be fatal. To date, there have been no reports of users dying from consuming too much CBD.
If you have consumed a CBD tincture dosage that is too high, you may experience symptoms such as:
- Dry mouth
- Drowsiness
- Lethargy
- Upset stomach
The aforementioned symptoms shouldn’t last more than a day, but CBD users may still be inconvenienced by them.
Where Can I Purchase CBD Products?
Some CBD products manufacturers do not accurately label the CBD concentration in their products. This can lead to users underdosing or overdosing the first time they try them.
To avoid such problems, you should always purchase CBD products from a reliable seller such as Nothing But Hemp.
