CBD oil is unquestionably the most buzz-worthy ingredient right now. It’s so popular, in fact, that revenue from products made with CBD—the naturally-occurring compound present in the flowers and leaves of cannabis plants (there’s no THC, which means it can’t get you high)—are projected to grow to $20 billion by 2024. But determining the correct CBD dosage for you can take a bit of trial and error. Learn more about CBD and how to determine
Why CBD Is Popular
You can thank the laundry list of promising purported CBD health benefits—from reduced anxiety to help with nausea, inflammation, and insomnia—for its rise in popularity. We’re still waiting for clearance from the FDA (and more robust research on the proven perks of the ingredient), but in the meantime, many consumers are eager to test out the positive potential of CBD.
If you’re one of the folks wondering whether it’s time to jump on the CBD bandwagon, you’re not alone. But as with any new food, drink, or supplement that promises health benefits, it’s best to start slow—and smart. How’s anyone to know whether one, five, or ten CBD gummy bears is ideal? Should you put that entire vial of CBD oil under your tongue or keep it to one droplet? And what does 5mg even mean?
The tricky thing with CBD is that there aren’t a lot of hard-and-fast rules that work for everyone—or every product. “A lot of the evidence comes from observational studies, which take people using CBD and track how they’re doing,” says Tory Spindle, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine, a researcher on the pharmacology of cannabis. “There haven’t been a lot of randomized trials that give one group a placebo to compare the two groups and be able to say, ‘You need this dose for this therapeutic condition.'”
One CBD Dose Doesn’t Fit All
There are a number of factors that can impact your appropriate CBD dosage. Individual characteristics, like your sex and weight can impact how much you should take—but even two 150-pound women may need different amounts, Spindle says. “Start with a relatively low dose. It’s a fairly common reported experience that they have to do a lot of playing around to figure out optimal dose.”
It may also depend on how you plan to use the product—as you may need less to help with sleep than you would to help with pain, for instance.
Strategies to Find Your Best CBD Dosage
So where do you start if you do want to give CBD a try? Try these tips to help you hit on exactly what you need.
Consider chatting with your doctor.
This can be especially important if you’re on other medications, as CBD can interact with how your body absorbs and uses the medicines. “There’s a real potential for drug interactions, as CBD is metabolized in liver like a lot of prescription meds,” Spindle says. “Generally, it slows the metabolism of those other medications.”
Spindle recommends being up front about your CBD usage with your doctor, so they can advise you on how CBD may interact with your medications.
Buy your CBD from a reputable source.
Spindle analyzed samples of CBD from various sources, including online retailers, gas stations, pharmacies, and big-box retailers, and found that amount of CBD and other ingredients listed wasn’t accurate on many of them. “Several examples basically didn’t contain anything, and some products said THC free, but we detected THC in them. These products are not federally regulated, so there’s not great quality control or oversight.”
Since the products aren’t well regulated, you could be getting THC unknowingly, which could make you fail a drug test for your employer.
Spindle recommends purchasing your products from a dispensary if possible. “Dispensaries are state-licensed, so they have some requirements to meet certain quality control guidelines.”
Start slow when you’re trying CBD.
“The best practice and the industry standard for dosing is to guide new CBD users to ‘start low and go slow.’ This means starting at a dose of 10mg and slowly titrating up as needed by increasing the dose in 5mg increments every 2 to 3 days,” says Alex Capano, the chief science officer for Ananda Hemp, who holds the first doctorate in cannabinoid science in the United States.
Ease up your CBD dosage—then stop.
The dose response curve looks like an inverted ‘U,’ or a bell-shaped curve, so the aim is to identify the peak of the individual’s response curve. “More is not always better!” emphasizes Capano. Therefore, you technically have to exceed your maximum dose to identify it. For example, if you felt the same or worse after adding 5mg, then return to the previous dose. This requires some effort and patience from the consumer. Dosing is highly individualized, and scientific evidence does not support weight-based dosing in adult humans at this time. “In my observation, however, most people will achieve their optimal dose between 10mg and 40mg daily with high quality, full-spectrum CBD oil,” she adds.
Here’s an example.
| CBD Dosage Trial | |
|---|---|
| Day | CBD Dosage |
| 1 | 10 mg |
| 2 | 10 mg |
| 3 | 10 mg |
| 4 | 15 mg (feels better than 10 mg) |
| 5 | 15 mg |
| 6 | 20 mg (feels better than 15 mg) |
| 7 | 20 mg |
| 8 | 25 mg (does not feel different than 20 mg—or feels worse |
| 9 | Return to 20 mg (optimal dose) |
Try having CBD before bed.
“I recommend people start using CBD at home, 1-2 hours before bedtime,” Capano says. The most common side effect is drowsiness, so if someone experiences this, then a nighttime dose will not compromise their safety or their productivity. Also, a nighttime dose will likely result in a good night’s sleep.
Tweak your dosage according to the type of CBD you’re using.
Lastly, dosing depends on the delivery route—and there are lots of options there, from gummies and tinctures to lotions or salves. “A lot of properties of the product itself influence absorption,” Spindle says.
You need less from a tincture that goes under the tongue (sublingual) than you would from an oral product, like a gummy or a capsule. This is because some of the active ingredients are lost to the GI tract by something called first-pass metabolism when taken orally. Tinctures under the tongue bypass this route, and therefore you get more of the active ingredient (greater bioavailability) from sublingual delivery versus oral delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions
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1. How much CBD is too much?Spindle says there’s no hard and fast answer for that question, as so many factors—from the CBD product used to the person’s sex, weight, health concerns, and other medications taken can factor into the appropriate dose. A 2017 study did find that humans can tolerate doses of up to 1,500mg—but that’s definitely not where you should start your experimentation.
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2. What are the side effects of taking CBD?Most of the most common side effects—drowsiness, dry mouth, and fatigue—are relatively mild, but some people experience dizziness, an increased heart rate, or gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea or nausea and vomiting.
A recent study did find a link between CBD use and an increase in the risk of heart attack and stroke, especially when it was smoked. But Spindle says that THC, which can increase heart rate, may be the root issue with that. “With pure CBD by itself, we don’t see any evidence of this,” Spindle says. “I think we’re still trying to learn a lot about those sorts of things as far as acute and long-term recommendations.”
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3. Can anyone take CBD?CBD is currently only approved by the FDA for treatment of pediatric epilepsy disorders, but it can be helpful for pain, sleep, and anxiety issues. But Spindle says to be more cautious if you have cardiovascular health issues, are taking prescription medications, or may need to go through drug tests with your employer.
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