One of the frequently asked questions by aspiring CBD users is regarding the duration the substance takes to clear from their bloodstream.
Indeed, it’s essential to understand how long the effects of CBD can last in your system. This knowledge is critical if you have a drug test coming up soon or are simply looking to clear the compound from your body.
Fortunately for you, we’ve prepared a definitive guide to the duration of CBD’s effects on the bloodstream. But first things first.
What Is CBD?
CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a phytocannabinoid in cannabis marketed for its many healing properties.
CBD is recommended for diseases with pain and inflammation as their main symptoms, such as arthritis and cancer. The compound may also serve as an effective remedy for anxiety, insomnia, epileptic seizures, nausea, erectile dysfunction (ED), and a host of other common medical issues.
In addition to cannabidiol’s diverse therapeutic applications, another reason behind the compound’s popularity is its non-psychoactive nature. CBD may come from a plant famed for its dramatic psychedelic effects. But the compound contains no mind-altering properties and won’t get you high.
How Long Do The Effects Of CBD Last?
As an aspiring cannabidiol user, you may have wondered about the average duration the effects of CBD can last in your system. Unfortunately, there’s no definite answer to this question.
The effects of cannabidiol may linger in your bloodstream for weeks. But the same results may wear off in as little as one hour.
As you shall find, numerous factors dictate the average longevity of CBD’s effects on the body. And the rule applies to virtually all other cannabinoids in marijuana, including delta-10 tetrahydrocannabinol. Therefore, the duration of delta 10 in your system also comes down to the factors determining the longevity of CBD’s effects. Those factors are discussed below;
1. Age and Body Mass
Children generally have a smaller body mass than adults. Therefore, cannabidiol travels a shorter distance from the delivery site to the bloodstream. This translates to higher bioavailability.
Bioavailability refers to the total quantity of a drug or similar substance that makes its way to the bloodstream compared to the total serving amounts. The bioavailability of CBD (as with any medication) is usually expressed in percentages.
Higher bioavailability means more CBD enters the system, which implies that the body may need to work extra hard to eliminate the compound. And that’s precisely why children and users with smaller body mass may feel the effects of cannabidiol longer than adults and big-bodied CBD users.
2. CBD Potency
Cannabidiol potency refers to CBD’s total concentration or strength in a product. That concentration is usually measured in milligrams and expressed as a percentage or fraction of the product’s total composition. The higher the potency of cannabidiol in a product, the longer the duration of the compound’s effects on the body.
Now, it’s important not to confuse potency with bioavailability. By way of illustration, assume product A contains 10 mg of CBD in a 100-milliliter bottle while product B contains 20 mg of CBD in a 500-milliliter bottle.
At first glance, it may seem that product B is more potent as 20 mg is intuitively bigger than 10 mg. But if cannabidiol were to be expressed in terms of the products’ total composition, you’d realize that A has 0.1 mg/ml while B has 0.04 mg/ml of CBD. Therefore, product A is definitely more potent than product B, which means its effects will last longer.
3. Serving Amounts and Frequency of Use
Cannabidiol will last longer in the body if consumed in larger doses. Again, that’s because your body will need to work extra hard to eliminate the effects of high CBD doses.
Similarly, you’ll experience the effects of CBD for much longer if you consume the compound regularly than if you’re only an occasional user.
4. Delivery Method
As with all cannabinoids, cannabidiol products come in many preparations. Popular ones include smokable products, inhalable products, edibles, topicals, and oral tinctures.
Your choice of specific products depends on your intended delivery method. But as you shall find, the various ways to consume CBD also influence the compound’s longevity of effects.
The effects of smoking hemp flowers or vaping CBD e-juices usually wear off the soonest, sometimes in about one hour. On the other hand, CBD edibles may linger in your bloodstream for weeks. That’s because the compound is never absorbed into the body all at once. Instead, some of it remains in your gastrointestinal tract and is released slowly into your system.
What If I Have A Drug Test Coming Up Soon?
Most marijuana screening procedures seek to detect the presence of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in the body. CBD is rarely tested except in jurisdictions where cannabis is illegal for medical and recreational use.
Therefore, it’s always prudent to consume products formulated with pure CBD if trying to pass marijuana-related drug tests. It would also help to familiarize yourself with your local cannabis laws before using cannabidiol or other cannabis-derived compounds.
In Conclusion
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for predicting the duration cannabidiol may exert its effects on your body. That’s because there are numerous factors at play.
But maybe you don’t need to fret about CBD’s duration of effects either, considering that the compound generally doesn’t show up in drug tests.
