As a new or regular user of CBD, you may be wondering more about its chemistry; how long will you feel its effects for, and what period of time will it remain in your body for? One of our core values at Beyond Botanicals is Education, and we believe anybody consuming CBD should be educated about it as much as possible.
CBD begins entering the bloodstream shortly after CBD products are used. Once it reaches this point, it lasts for varying amounts of time based on a few different factors. Let’s explore!
What is the half life of CBD?
The half-life of a material is the amount of time it takes for half of it to break down in the body. This time corresponds heavily with the method of use. For some delivery methods, CBD can begin breaking down in as little as an hour. For others, it can stay around for days at a time.
Does it matter how I take my CBD?
The method by which you consume CBD plays a role in exactly how long it stays in your body, how fast CBD acts, and how long you feel the effects of CBD for.
How long does sublingual CBD stay in your system?
CBD taken by mouth usually takes up to a half hour to become effective, and lasts for as many as 6 hours. It can still be detectable for days to weeks, depending on how much and how often you use it.
Inhalation
CBD vape products are the fastest way to feel the effects of CBD, because inhaling them gets the CBD into your bloodstream almost immediately. The effects are gone nearly as fast as they come in, but the active compounds can remain in your body for days at a time.
Unfortunately, society is learning that the side effects of vaping may not be worth the benefits of fast action. More and more research is indicating that vaping can have long term health effects, and we cannot advise this as a safe delivery method.
Digestion
Enjoying edibles like THC-free CBD gummies can be convenient and delicious. Out of all the hemp derived CBD products, CBD edibles take the longest to kick in, and last the longest. This is because they have to go through what is known as first-pass metabolism, a fancy way of saying that they don’t work until they move through your digestive system first.
Although this is the slowest consumption method, you will feel the effects of CBD gummies sooner if you ingest it on an empty stomach.
Is there a difference between Full Spectrum and THC-Free CBD Oil?
CBD oils come in a few different varieties. The key to knowing how long it will stay in your body is to understand exactly what’s in these different CBD products.
Full Spectrum CBD Oil
Full Spectrum oil is made from complete extractions of the hemp plant. This material contains CBD in addition to a host of other cannabinoids and terpenes – including CBC, CBG, CBN, and THC. It is widely considered to be the most effective extract due to the Entourage Effect – a synergy between each of the active cannabinoids working in unison.
How long does full-spectrum CBD stay in your system?
The CBD present in these oils works the same way as any other CBD and follows the rough timelines we discussed previously. The THC present in full spectrum CBD can remain in your body for weeks at a time due to how well it binds to you body’s fat cells. This is of particular concern if you are drug tested for any reason.
THC-Free CBD Oil
Traditionally, THC-free oil is made with pure CBD isolate, an extracted compound that contains only CBD. Although it is effective, you’ll find that it is slightly less so than full spectrum oils. Its advantage is that you don’t have to worry about drug testing issues with products made this way.
Broad spectrum CBD is another option that is usually THC-free, but it is important to check third party lab results, since not every oil is extracted cleanly.
How long does pure CBD oil stay in your system?
For the most part, any CBD you take is gone from your body within a week. To get the most benefit from CBD, you’ll need to take it on a regular basis. If you only use CBD every once in a while, the benefits won’t be nearly as noticeable and you may feel as if you’re wasting your time.
How long will I feel CBD for?
Depending on the method of use, you’ll feel the effects of hemp derived CBD for up to 8 hours from the time you use it. There’s always some variation from person to person, which is why we suggest titrating. This is the concept of starting low and slow, increasing the amount of CBD you take over time until you notice the desired results.
By using this technique, you’ll be using the least amount of CBD possible to get results, and you’ll have the added benefit of knowing exactly how much you need, so you won’t waste any by using more than necessary.
How long does CBD oil stay in your system?
Different cannabinoids can stay in your body for different amounts of time, so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, and it depends on whether you use CBD frequently. It’s best to break down each one individually and tell you what that means for how you’ll feel.
How long does CBD stay in the body?
To recap, CBD can stay active for as little as an hour and as long as 8-10 hours. It will break down and be undetectable in your body within a week, give or take a few days based on your unique use scenario. Fortunately, there are no known employers including CBD in their drug screens, so you can use pure CBD itself freely without any concerns.
How long does CBG stay in your body?
Cannabigerol, or CBG, works very similarly to CBD. It remains active for a few hours, and will disappear within a week given light use. Continued long-term use can make it last longer than this before breaking down.
Like CBD, CBG is not an intoxicating compound and is not screened for in drug tests. Thus, the length of time in stays in your body is more important when discussing the benefits than it is when discussing any risks.
How long can CBN stay in your system?
Cannabinol, or CBN, is a compound of note because of how it is created. When THC breaks down in the presence of heat, oxygenation, or light, it can convert partially into CBN. Although CBN itself is non-intoxicating, there is the potential for it to exist alongside trace amounts of THC.
In a full-spectrum product that contains small amounts of THC and CBN, this changes nothing. But, if you’re taking a product with high amounts of CBN, there have been instances in which third party labs report tiny amounts of THC being present. You should avoid these products if you’re subject to drug testing, because the trace THC levels can cause you to fail a test, similarly to the way full spectrum oils behave.
How long does THC last in your system?
For all the talk of how long CBD stays in your body, this is the real question! THC can last longer than any other cannabinoid in the body, and it’s also the specific compound that drug tests are looking for. Whereas CBD and its companions can last for up to a week, research has shown that THC routinely has a half-life as high as two weeks! This means that THC can remain in the body for weeks to months after use.
Since THC is present in smaller amounts in a full-spectrum oil that it is in marijuana products, it won’t last nearly as long in the body of a CBD user compared to a marijuana user.
However, most drug tests designed to detect THC metabolites – even with a false positive – don’t give you a second chance. So, ingesting THC-containing products isn’t a risk worth taking if you deal with drug tests on a regular basis.
How long does hemp oil last in your body?
There is some confusion nowadays between hemp oil and CBD oil, and it’s important to clarify the differences between the two. CBD oil is made using an extraction that targets the flower of the plant only. The flower is where all the active, beneficial cannabinoids like CBD and THC live. Conversely, hemp oil is made from the seeds of the plant, which contain plenty of beneficial omega fatty acids, but no cannabinoids.
All this to say, hemp oil can be treated like any other food and won’t last in your body any longer than it takes you to digest it.
What else affects how long CBD stays in my body?
There are individual factors that affect how long CBD stays around, and these differ from person to person. Amount, frequency, and personal biology are the biggest factors to take into consideration.
Metabolism
Cannabinoids – the class of compounds that CBD, THC, and others belong to – are naturally stored in fat cells. The amount of time taken for them to leave the body is dependent on your individual metabolism. How fast you process naturally, and how much body fat you have both impact the rate at which you metabolize CBD.
If you have little body fat and a fast metabolism, you’ll notice the effects of CBD come and go much faster. Conversely, higher body fat and slower metabolism both make the results of CBD use slower to come on and to leave.
How much CBD you use
The dosage when taking CBD is also important to consider. Imagine two scenarios: one where you need to empty a 1 gallon bucket of water through a garden hose, and another where you need to empty a 5 gallon of water through a garden hose. The size of the hose is the same in each scenario, so the 5 gallons of water will take more time to get from end to end than 1 gallon will.
In much the same way, your body will not process CBD faster just because there is more of it. Higher CBD concentration doses will remain present and active in the body for much longer than smaller doses will. In 2018, researchers determined that CBD may last for less than 24 hours with light use, but can remain in the body for up to 5 days with regular use.
How frequently you use CBD
How long it’s been since the last time you took some CBD also makes a difference. Going back to that garden hose analogy, pouring in more water before the hose empties won’t make things go any faster, it just creates more work to do.
The more frequently you use CBD, the longer it will last before dissipating. This can also be beneficial – the more frequently you use CBD, the more you will notice its benefits.
Will CBD show up on a drug test?
Drug tests screen for THC specifically, and not CBD compounds. This means that you should avoid full spectrum CBD oils if you are being drug tested, since they can contain small amounts of THC which stays in your system. The method of testing doesn’t make a difference – blood tests, urine tests, and saliva tests can all detect the trace amounts of THC present in full-spectrum CBD.
CBD – How long does it stay in your system?
There are two important ways to approach how long CBD remains in your system. The first is from a practical perspective of potential health benefits, and the second is from a drug-testing perspective. Here are the important parts that sum up everything you need to know as you consume CBD products.
Practically speaking, you will notice the effects of CBD between 10 minutes and 2 hours after taking some, depending on the delivery method. Inhalation will always be on the lower side of that spectrum, and ingestion will be on the higher side. The effects will last for anywhere between 2 and 8 hours on average, and the CBD itself will remain detectable in your body for up to a week.
When subject to drug testing, the CBD in full spectrum oils will act as we discussed above. The THC that comes along with full spectrum oil can remain in your bloodstream for weeks to months, depending on how much and freely you partake. In this instance, it’s best to choose a THC-free CBD product.
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