There are many ways to ingest CBD but how long it takes to work depends on how you decide to ingest it. Whether you choose to apply it directly, add drops of oil under your tongue, vape it in an e-liquid or ingest, it’s important to know the ways of ingestion that are more successful than others so that you can make the most of your CBD experience.
A number of factors come into play with CBD, and it’s important to remember that everybody is different. What works for your friend, might not work for you. How much CBD you need to take, as well as how often, depends on factors like body weight/mass and metabolism.
This post looks at how long each method of CBD ingestion could take to work, so that you can decide which method is best for you.
CBD needs to be absorbed into the blood stream for it to work, as it must be distributed through the endo-cannabinoid system, where the cannabinoid receptors are. It could take some time before you begin to feel the long-term effects of CBD, so it’s important to take it regularly and keep up your dose.
|
Ingestion method |
Time to effects |
|
Vaping CBD |
Almost immediately |
|
Drops of CBD oil under the tongue (sublingually) |
Up to 20 minutes |
|
Drops of CBD oil in a drink |
Up to 40 minutes |
|
Applied topically |
Up to 45 minutes |
|
Drops of CBD on food |
Up to 2 hours |
Be aware that adding CBD to food and drink reduces its efficacy, as for you to feel the benefits, the CBD must be digested alongside your food. Through the process of digestion, a large percentage of the CBD compound is lost. In other words – there are much more efficient ways to take CBD.
You should also remember that high heat can destroy the CBD in food or drink – so if you add CBD to a freshly brewed cup of tea, there’s a high possibility that the compound could be destroyed altogether. Similarly, adding it to water isn’t a good idea, as CBD isn’t water soluble, and in a clear bottle, the light and air will degrade the CBD severely. Therefore most CBD tinctures are sold in green or brown glass bottles.
Although vaping is the most efficient way of taking CBD, everybody’s different. If you’re a non-smoker, you may not feel comfortable vaping CBD, and so you may decide to take it sublingually. It also depends on the reason you’ll be taking CBD. If you can wait 20 minutes for ibuprofen or paracetamol to kick in, you might decide that waiting 20 minutes for CBD to enter your blood stream sublingually makes no difference. One person’s preference doesn’t necessarily match the others, so if you equip yourself with knowledge you can make the best decision for you personally.
Make sure you buy from a reputable manufacturer – one that produces a third party certificate of analysis with each product, like Canavape
Choose the correct strength – all Canavape’s products are high strength and high quality, meaning you’ll need to take less to feel the benefit
Be consistent – don’t just take it as and when you need it, take it daily at the same time, and spread out the dosing over the day
Please note: This blog post reflects historical data predating recent changes in cannabinoid laws, medical cannabis regulations, and some of our best CBD product names, strengths, and formulations. These historical blogs remain as a reference post our website update, but they might contain outdated information. Discover our updated CBD and legal cannabinoid products for the best CBD experience.
