While there are countless articles on the internet about the difference between CBD and THC, and about the health benefits of CBD, there are very few that talk about CBD’s ideal dosage and ingestion method for an individual. In this article we aim to discuss one of the most persistently asked questions by the first-time user of CBD – what is the ideal dosage and ingestion method for CBD? Regardless of whether you are a first-time user or an experienced one, without correct knowledge of optimum dosage and ingestion method you will most likely end up not receiving full benefits of CBD.  

How do you take CBD? 

While selecting a suitable ingestion method it is important to keep in mind the following questions:  

• Onset: How quickly will CBD begin to work? 
• Dose: What’s a reasonable starting dose? 
• Distribution: Which parts of the body will be most affected? 
• Duration: How long will the effects last? 

Although CBD oil is one of the most popular CBD products, CBD is available in various forms. There are four main ways to ingest CBD –  

• Oral ingestion through CBD edibles, gummies, capsules, or oil added to food, tend to have longer-lasting effects, but onset takes longer, too. Before it can enter your bloodstream, where it begins to interact with your endocannabinoid system, the CBD  has to go through your digestive system first (which can take 30 to 90 minutes).  
• CBD oil administered sublingually has a much faster onset because it bypasses the digestive system and enters your bloodstream directly under the tongue. Users start to feel effects within 5 to 20 minutes. 
• CBD extracts inhaled with a vape pen provide the quickest effects, making them ideal for acute symptoms. After inhalation, users start to feel the effects within a few minutes. However, the effects only last for a few hours. 
• CBD oils applied topically, such as lotions or balms, are best for treating targeted areas. The oil can be massaged directly onto the area to relieve pain or inflammation within minutes. Effects can last for several hours.   

How much CBD should you take? 

The basic idea behind the dosage is to make sure that CBD easily ends up in your system and provides the desired results. The dosage of CBD also plays a role in how strongly you feel the effects of CBD. The ideal CBD dose for you depends primarily on your body weight, but it can also be influenced by other factors, such as your personal body chemistry, your age, sensitivity to CBD, and any other health conditions you may have. When determining the optimum dosage, your aim should be to find the minimum dose that provides the benefits you need without any side effects. 

The standard recommendations are to base the CBD dose on your body weight. Take 1 to 6 mg per 10 pounds of body weight. So, for a person weighing 100lbs, 10-20mg will be considered as a low (starting) dose, whereas, 21-49 mg is a medium dose and 50-60mg is a high dose. It is best to start with the lowest recommended dose for your body weight, and gradually increase from there until you feel the desired effects. Once you’ve found the dose which gives you the desired effect, you can stick with it. The good thing about CBD is that people do not develop tolerance to CBD so your dose should continue to work for you, unless other variables such as bodyweight change significantly. 

These are just the basic recommendations and the dosage may vary according to the needs. For example, someone suffering from chronic pain may need a higher dose on a regular basis in contrast to someone taking CBD occasionally to cope with situational anxiety.  

Everybody processes CBD differently, so be patient with yourself as you work out the best dose for you. 

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Can the CBD ingestion method affect your dosage? 

As we have discussed earlier that the method of ingestion affects the onset and duration of the effect of CBD, however, it can also affect the size of the dose you may need to take.  

CBD has a very low oral bioavailability, which means it takes time to enter the systemic circulation, so when CBD products are ingested orally, they lose a lot of the CBD through the digestive system, leaving only a fraction of it to make it into the bloodstream and exert the desired effects. As a result, you may need to take a higher dose of CBD. 

When CBD is applied topically to the skin like in the form of a lotion or a soap it doesn’t reach the bloodstream. Instead, it will interact with nearby cannabinoid receptors to treat the pain. The Transdermal application typically requires a higher dose, so the CBD can penetrate deep enough in the skin to combine with those cannabinoid receptors. 

Unlike the topical and oral ingestion methods, the sublingual and inhalation methods enable the CBD to enter the bloodstream directly resulting in a higher amount of CBD being absorbed by your system. As a result, you can take a lower dose of CBD when you use sublingual tinctures or vape extracts.   

Here’s an overview of the different CBD ingestion methods and how they can affect your dosage. 

Ingestion Method	Types of CBD Products	Onset	Duration	Dose Needed
Oral	– Edibles  – Food or drink powder  – Capsules	30 to 90 minutes	4+ hours	Higher
Sublingual	Sublingual tinctures	5 to 20 minutes	4 to 6 hours	Lower
Inhalation	Vape extracts	1 to 3 minutes	2 to 3 hours	Lower
Transdermal	– Lotions  – Balms  – Ointments  – Transdermal patches	1 to 3 minutes	4 to 6 hours	Somewhat higher

We hope this article helps you find your optimum CBD dosage and better understand your suitable ingestion method.  

Thank you for reading, we appreciate your time.