Happy Bears

HOW MUCH CBD SHOULD I TAKE? [BEGINNER’S GUIDE]

When people are first getting into CBD, it’s understandable that they have anxieties about how much they should be taking each day. “How much CBD oil should I take” is a very commonly asked question, but unfortunately it is not one with a straightforward answer.

How much CBD you should take depends on an array of different factors, including age, sex, weight, other medications you may be using, and the condition you’re looking to treat. We wish we could just tell you exactly how much you should be taking, but you might actually have to figure that out for yourself.

Luckily, we have compiled this handy guide that should let you know roughly how much CBD you should be taking. Read on to learn about how to dose your CBD.

WHAT IS OUR CBD OIL?

Firstly, it’s important to know a bit about what CBD is, before you start to take it. Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the active compounds in cannabis. Contrary to some other cannabinoids, it does not get you high because it does not have psychoactive properties. It does, however, have some impressive medicinal benefits that have propelled it into the mainstream.

CBD has very few side effects, and those that do occur are all minor. Side effects include nausea and dry mouth, which are solvable problems. The likes of nausea are usually experienced by people who are not used to CBD oil, and this side effect may reduce over time. What’s more, CBD has caused no hospitalizations, nor has it ever led to an overdose. According to research, you would need to take a huge amount of CBD in a very short space of time in order to suffer the consequences.

Most users of CBD opt to take it in an oil form. These are made by extracting the CBD from the Cannabis Sativa plant or Hemp – usually by supercritical CO2 extraction – and suspending the extract in an inert oil, most often MCT oil or coconut oil. CBD oils are quite versatile, as they can be applied topically, dropped into food, or taken sublingually – the latter option is the most commonly used.

In order to do this, you basically place a few drops of CBD oil beneath your tongue and hold it there for up to 90 seconds before swallowing. The CBD is absorbed directly into your bloodstream via the capillaries beneath the tongue, meaning that administering CBD this way is ideal for those seeking fast relief. There is also a good degree of bioavailability when taking CBD this way, meaning you can reap plenty of the benefits.

Since sublingual administration is the most widely used method, we will be talking about how to dose CBD this way. If you prefer to use edibles, vapes, or other methods, then the dosage will actually be quite different.

HOW TO DOSE CBD

We should start by saying that, if you are lucky enough to be in touch with a doctor or physician who is happy to talk about medical marijuana, or at the very least CBD, then you should be having a conversation with them about dosage. Since it has been suggested that CBD can interact negatively with certain pharmaceutical medications, it is crucial to consider this factor so that you can stay healthy. If you have access to such a doctor, then do not hesitate to ask them about your CBD dosage.

If not, then the following information is here to help. There are currently no clinical guidelines for CBD usage, though, so this is a rough guideline and you should still proceed with caution.

In general, it is strongly recommend to find the “Minimum Effective Dose.” In other words, you should start out with a very low strength CBD and work your way up from there until you find the smallest dose that works against the symptoms of your ailment. This way, you won’t be over-prescribing yourself with CBD. As an estimate, people taking CBD for mental disorders such as depression or anxiety may wish to start with 1 mg of CBD, whereas those looking to treat pains may begin with 5 mg.

For example, if you take a 5 mg dose in the morning and do not notice any discernible effects, try out an 8 or 10 mg dose in the evening.

We recommend using a diary or journal to keep a track of things. You should be noting how much CBD you took, what time you took it, and how long the effects last. A lot of companies recommend taking multiple doses of CBD per day rather than having it all in one go, but you can find what works for you.

If you experience any side effects, you should also note this down in your CBD journal. Many users do take doses in excess of 30 mg per day without experiencing side effects, but everybody is different and it’s important to make the experience as enjoyable as possible for you – CBD is meant to make you feel better, after all, not worse!

Here are some things to note:

  • Those suffering from mental illness often need lower doses than other ailments.
  • For chronic pain, the “sweet spot” is usually between 10 and 20 mg per day, often taken in multiple doses throughout the day.
  • No matter how much CBD you take, administering it one hour before or after a meal allows you to best reap the benefits of the cannabinoid without interfering with the liver and how it processes other medications.

HOW MUCH CBD IS IN ONE DROP OF OIL?

Dosing CBD relies heavily on knowing how much is in your bottle. Most CBD oils come in dropper bottles, but some now come in sprays. Usually, companies will tell you exactly how much CBD is in each drop or spray. Manufacturers sell a huge variety of CBD oils, in different sized bottles with different amounts of CBD, and this is why you’ll need to do a little maths.

One drop usually equates to 1 ml if you use the full amount in the dropper. If you have a 10ml bottle, then, which contains 100 mg of CBD in total, one drop would contain 10 mg of CBD. All you need to do is figure out how many drops are in the bottle, and then divide the number of milligrams of CBD by that amount.

Of course, if your bottle of CBD contains 5 mg of CBD per drop and you want to take 10 mg at a time, just use two drops! If you want to use half that amount, use half a dropper.

Here is the equation you need to follow:

[Total CBD in bottle] ÷ [Amount of ml in bottle] = Total mg of CBD in the dropper

CBD DOSAGE: A BREAKDOWN BY WEIGHT AND CONDITION (FOR HUMANS AND DOGS)

Here is a breakdown of how much CBD is the average taken per day for different weights and different conditions. Since it is based on weight, the table may be applicable to both dogs and humans.

FOR MILD PAIN

  • <25 lbs: 2 mg
  • 25-50 lbs: 4 mg
  • 51-100 lbs: 6-8 mg
  • 101-150 lbs: 8-12 mg
  • 151-230 lbs: 12-15 mg
  • 230< lbs: 15-30 mg

FOR MODERATE PAIN

  • <25 lbs: 4 mg
  • 25-50 lbs: 8 mg
  • 51-100 lbs: 9-12 mg
  • 101-150 lbs: 13-15 mg
  • 151-230 lbs: 16-30 mg
  • 230< lbs: 31-50 mg

FOR SEVERE PAIN

  • <25 lbs: 6 mg
  • 25-50 lbs: 12 mg
  •  51-100 lbs: 12-15 mg
  • 101-150 lbs: 16-30 mg
  • 151-230 lbs: 31-50 mg
  • 230< lbs: 50+ mg

FOR MILD ANXIETY

  • <25 lbs: 0.5 mg
  • 25-50 lbs: 1 mg
  • 51-100 lbs: 2-4 mg
  • 101-150 lbs: 3-5 mg
  • 151-230 lbs: 6-8 mg
  • 230< lbs: up to 10 mg

FOR MODERATE ANXIETY

  • <25 lbs: 2 mg
  • 25-50 lbs: 4 mg
  • 51-100 lbs: 5 mg
  • 101-150 lbs: 6-8 mg
  • 151-230 lbs: 9-12 mg
  • 230< lbs: up to 15 mg

FOR SEVERE ANXIETY

  • <25 lbs: 4 mg
  • 25-50 lbs: 5 mg
  • 51-100 lbs: 6-7 mg
  • 101-150 lbs: 8-10 mg
  • 151-230 lbs: 12-15 mg
  • 230< lbs: 15 mg+

For other conditions, you can apply similar rules. For example, for depression, the dose would be similar to that of anxiety. Remember, though, that for certain conditions it is a lot higher:

  • Epilepsy: 200-300 mg
  • Huntington’s disease: 10 mg/kg
  • Insomnia: 40-160 mg
  • Multiple Sclerosis: 2.5-120 mg
  • Glaucoma: 20-40 mg

Once again, we do recommend speaking to a doctor if at all possible.

IS IT DEFINITELY SAFE TO TAKE THIS MUCH CBD?

In an article for Harvard Health Publishing, Dr. Peter Grinspoon says that the unregulated nature of CBD products makes dosing all the more difficult. He says that, as the ingredients stated on the label may not be fully accurate, “we don’t know the most effective therapeutic dose of CBD for any particular medical condition.

Furthermore, according to neuroscientist Nick Jikomes, the perfect dose of CBD might change for an individual over time. In an interview with Leafly, he says that, “…people’s physiologies change over time, including the ECS […]. These things change over the lifetime of an individual, and so the optimal ratios and doses of these compounds, whatever they may be, are probably going to change as well.

This is why we recommend keeping a CBD journal. It is vital to know your own body and listen to what it is telling you. As long as you keep an eye on things, it is definitely safe to take CBD in whatever amounts – after all, an overdose is unheard of.

Additionally, this is why you should start at a very low dose and work your way up to find the minimum effective dose. This will make sure you stay healthy and save you some money in the process.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON DOSING CBD

Sadly, we can’t tell you exactly how much CBD you should be taking, because that number rests of a variety of factors. However, we can provide you with some rough guidelines to help you out. Remember that you should always start of small and give yourself time to figure out your own minimum effective dose. What works for someone else might not work for you.

Please note that none of the above should be taken as actual medical advice. If you can talk to your doctor about these issues, then do not hesitate to have a conversation with them. If not, then you can use these guidelines and ensure that you stay safe by keeping a CBD journal and making sure you listen to your body.

References:

https://premiumjane.com/ 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *