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Guide to Finding The Perfect CBD Dosage

More people are jumping on the bandwagon and vouching for CBD as a great healing and lifestyle booster. But how do you know the proper CBD dosage for you and your situation?

Finding the right dose is probably the most important step in using cannabis medicinally. Similar to supplements and prescriptions, CBD will affect everyone a little differently.

We recommend taking a slow and grow approach to beginning your personal CBD regiment. This is especially important if you are fresh to cannabis.

This guide will break down exactly how to dose yourself and maximize the benefits of CBD.

Factors to Consider for Your CBD Dosage

Top factors to consider:

  • Weight
  • Body Chemistry
  • Metabolism
  • Severity of Condition
  • Tolerance to Cannabinoids
  • Concentration of CBD

Dynamic Effects

When we come into contact with even small amounts of phytocannabinoids, our naturally occurring cannabinoid receptors up-regulate, so that we become more sensitive to the natural cannabinoids our bodies produce.

This up-regulation occurs over about 72 hours and helps explain why so many people achieve such significant results with just a milligram or two of cannabis a day.

An additional thing to consider is that CBD’s effects may change over time. For example, if you’re taking CBD to alleviate nausea, you may gain weight. With added weight, you may need to increase your CBD dosage to feel the same effects.  

The same applies if you are using CBD for depression, you may lose weight and need less CBD for the same results.

Bell Curve Dosage

With cannabis, more is not always better.

You might receive good results with a certain dosage. This might lead you to believe you will receive double the results with double the dose, but this is not the case. In fact, sometimes it is the opposite.  

This is because CBD is biphasic.

Biphasic is “having two phases,” so CBD will have a different effect with different doses. Evidence strongly supports a bell-shaped dosing curve, meaning

  • a small dose may have some effect,
  • a greater dose may have a stronger effect,
  • and an even greater dose may then have less of an effect.

With this in mind, the goal is to achieve your minimum effective dose.

Track Your Progress

With so many variables to find the right CBD dose, we recommend keeping a journal or using a dosage tracker.  

Keep track of

  • your dose,
  • how you feel before and after consuming CBD,
  • how long it takes for effects to occur, and
  • any other information useful to you.

Although side effects of CBD are uncommon, discontinue or reduce your dose if you have any undesired feelings.

Everybody’s Different: Finding Your Dose

Take note of your personal timelines for how long it takes for you to feel effects.  Even if you do not feel anything right away, don’t take more until you have waited a fair amount of time.

Times will differ person to person and with the different delivery methods.

How to Dose Your CBD Tincture

A tincture will take 15 to 60 minutes for effects to be felt.

When the tincture is used under the tongue, CBD is absorbed faster than when you add the tincture to food or beverages.

General serving size will be anywhere from a 1/2 to a full dropper depending on the milligrams. Apply the guidelines below to tailor your dose to you.

How to Dose Your CBD Vape

The major benefit to a vape pen is the effects can be felt immediately. This is a result of the CBD entering your bodydirectly through your lungs.

Unfortunately, there is no real way to measure the exact amount of CBD you receive from every puff of the pen.

Many pens have an automatic shut off that helps with dosing. These vapes will often allow approximately 1 to 3 mg of CBD per hit.

How to Dose Your CBD Edible

Edibles can be tricky when it comes to timing.

Most edibles in gummy form will hit you fairly quickly. This is because the gummy breaks down in your mouth allowing the CBD to be absorbed through the tissue in your mouth. Effects can be felt immediately or within a few minutes.

Whereas, eating a brownie or other baked treat the effects will be delayed. When consumed this way, the CBD has to go all the way through your digestive track before entering the blood stream. Effects can be delayed as long as 90 minutes.

Can You Take Too Much CBD?

A common CBD dosing question is whether or not you can overdose from CBD.

The short answer is no.

The bodies natural endocannabinoid system was built to receive cannabinoids, and thus tolerates even very high doses. As a direct result, there are no reported fatal overdoses of CBD.  

In some cases, people report being very sleepy from CBD use. Keep this in mind when first deciding when to take CBD.

General CBD Dosage Outline

CBD is as personal to your body as any other medication.  Below are general guidelines as a suggested place to start. Remember to factor in all the items mentioned above and speak to your cannabis educated, health care professional for more help finding your proper dosage. 

The infographic below is a general guideline for CBD dosing.

Determining Your Dose

Different products will have different “serving sizes” and percentage of CBD per serving. You will need to know this information and then apply some simple math to calculate your starting dose.

Some good guidelines to follow:

  1. Check the CBD label for the serving size
  2. Read the label to see the amount of CBD in milligrams per serving.
  3. Use the chart above as a general outline to determine your dose
  4. Calculate your personal CBD mg desired dose

Example Calculation

Let’s take a 145 pound female suffering from medium levels of pain from a sprained ankle. The product purchased has a serving size of 5 drops and the amount per serving is 25mg.

By dividing the milligrams by the drops she can determine each drops’ dose.

25 / 5 = 5 so there are 5 milligrams of CBD in each drop.  

Having never tried CBD before, this woman would want to start with 15mg of CBD as her first dose. Rather than consuming a higher amount by taking the full serving size, she can take just 3 drops and see how she feels before increasing the dose.

There are many factors that determine your best dose.  

We recommend that you consult your cannabis educated healthcare provider to help guide you.

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