How Do You Take CBD?

A Quick Primer on CBD Delivery Mechanisms.

By now it’s pretty much a given that you’ve heard about cannabidiol (CBD) and its effects/benefits on the human endocannabinoid system. Perhaps you are interested in taking CBD to assist your body in achieving a specific outcome; anxiety relief, fight inflammation, mood or appetite regulation, or perhaps any number of other reported benefits of CBD. The question then becomes, how is CBD administered and which delivery mechanism is right for you and your specific needs.

In this post we’ll discuss some of the most common CBD delivery mechanisms, such as inhalants/vapors, sublinguals/tinctures, ingestibles/edibles, and finally topicals. While this list isn’t inclusive, our wishes are that it sheds a bit of light on the most common CBD deliveries and which one may be right for you.

Inhalants & Vape Products

Onset: 1-5 Minutes | Duration: 1-3 Hours

Vaping or inhaling CBD-based products is a convenient and quick way to deliver a dose of CBD to the body. As you may expect, inhaling the products will get the active ingredients into the bloodstream quickly. The tradeoff, however, comes in the fact that inhalants typically have the shortest duration of effects on the body. Instances where this tradeoff may be acceptable is in the case of anxiety or pain in which quick relief is more important than duration of the effects. One other consideration to keep in mind is that it’s a bit more difficult with a vapor product to measure and administer consistent dosing amounts repeatedly.

Sublinguals & Tinctures

Onset: 15-30 Minutes | Duration: 2-4 Hours

The term “sublingual” comes from the Latin of “under the tongue”. As the name suggests, these products are simply placed under the tongue for a short period of time and absorbed into the bloodstream. Sublingual CBD products come in many forms, such as tablets, dissolvable strips, pouches, and most commonly, tinctures. The benefit of a sublingual product is that it’s still a fairly rapid onset period for the effects of the CBD to be realized, but it also allows for a longer duration of the cannabinoids in the system. This is perhaps more ideal for outcomes where one can wait a few minutes to feel the effects of the CBD, but also wishes for these effects to last a bit longer before needing another dose. Tinctures and sublinguals are also very easy to consistently measure and micro-dose time and again.

Ingestibles & Edibles

Onset: 30-60 Minutes | Duration: 6-8 Hours

When a CBD product is ingested, whether swallowed whole in pill form, or chewed and swallowed in an edible form, provides a number of benefits to specific consumers of CBD. Aside from the everyday familiarity of taking a pill or chewable product, ingestibles provide a very good solution to users who need the realize the effects of their CBD for longer durations of time. While offset by a longer time to get into the system, CBD administered by metabolism allows the products to stay in the system for long periods of time. This is especially useful for users looking to get ahead of, or fight inflammation and joint pain. With very specific dosages in each pill or edible, it’s almost certain to get the dosage amounts the same each and every time a pill is taken, and easily becomes part of a daily routine.

Topicals, Creams & Salves

Onset: 0-15 Minutes | Duration: 1-2 Hours

When it comes to specific, localized pain and discomfort little will be as effective quickly as a topical application. As the name suggests, topicals are applied directly to the skin using the hands or a use-specific applicator such as a roll-on. The benefit of a topical is simple in that the CBD is applied directly to where it’s needed and the user is not reliant on metabolism to push the cannabinoids through the system. This works great for sore muscles, joints, and localized tension. Additionally, since the product is not ingested one can simply apply as much or as little as needed for relief.

We hope to have shed some light on a few of the most common CBD delivery mechanisms and some of the benefits of each. As always, we’re here to help. Contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Feel Informed.

*Disclaimer: The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here is not meant as a substitute for or alternative to information from healthcare practitioners. Please consult your healthcare professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any product. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires this notice.