How Long Does CBD Last?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is more popular than ever and is now available in many online and retail stores. People are looking for more ways to consume their favourite wellness product, which we cater for in abundance at CBD Hemporium. This natural plant-based product is one of the trendiest supplements for a good reason — many people are experiencing healthful benefits and an increase in their quality of life from using CBD.

If you’ve just started on your CBD journey, you might be wondering how long CBD stays in your system and how long the effects will last. Many factors affect this and everyone reacts differently to CBD products. Some people will feel the effects more quickly with vaping or CBD tinctures, while some like to use a combination of products to get their desired results. Keep in mind that each type of CBD product has different absorption rates — CBD usage guidelines vary, and aspects like your BMI, diet, lifestyle, metabolism and genetics all influence how long CBD will last in your body and how fast you will feel the effects of CBD.

How Fast Will You React to CBD?

To figure out how fast your body will react and how long it stores CBD, you first have to consider bioavailability. When you consume a drug, substance or compound, your body only processes a small percentage of it because much of it is lost to first-pass elimination. Only a certain amount will hit your bloodstream and cause a reaction in the body. Research shows that you can absorb about 35% of the CBD in any given product, but, again, this varies according to many factors.

When you consume CBD, it will travel through the body in different ways, depending on the method of consumption. Some people note that they feel CBD the fastest when they vape liquid because it bypasses the digestive system and hits the bloodstream faster. Many prefer the ease and convenience of taking CBD oil in a tincture or spray, which is a great way to have a noticeable reaction that isn’t as strong and rapid as vaping. It’s important to experiment with different methods of consumption to find what works for you.

How Long Does CBD Stay in the Body?

After it hits your bloodstream, CBD is processed by the liver and either makes its way out of your body through the digestive tract as waste or is stored in fat cells. This means that most of the CBD in a particular product is excreted through your stool within a day or two after your first dose. Research is ongoing, but based on early data, we can provide a guideline on how long CBD stays in the body. How long you use CBD for and if you are using it on a regular basis or sporadically will also affect how long it remains in your body — in essence, the more often you consume cannabinoids, the longer it will take to pass out of the body.

• Single use — Up to three days
• Moderate use — Three to five days
• Repeated and frequent use — Up to ten days and possibly longer

However, these are rough estimates that come with serious caveats. For one, they are based on limited research on the half-life of CBD. In pharmacology, the term “half-life” is used to denote the amount of time it takes for a substance to decrease by half through elimination. This is important because the half-life will determine how often you take a drug.   

A 2016 review paper published by the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research found that the average half-life of the cannabinoid tested was between 27 and 35 hours following a single dose.

Another study found CBD used regularly for six consecutive weeks had a half-life of two to five days. If these small studies hold true for a larger population, the amount of CBD in your system will fall by half in just over a day to up to five days, depending on usage.

How Body Weight and BMI Affects CBD Absorption

Your body weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) could affect how fast you absorb and eliminate CBD. Since CBD is a fat-soluble molecule, it tends to build up in fat stores. Someone with a higher body weight may feel the effects of CBD longer than someone with a fast metabolism and lower body weight. More research is needed to determine exactly how CBD is absorbed and stored, but we can look at other scientific studies on drug absorption to understand this concept.

How Lifestyle Affects CBD Absorption

Your lifestyle choices will affect everything in your life, and how you absorb CBD is no different. Those with poor diets and sedentary lifestyles may hold CBD in their body longer than those with an active lifestyle and a healthy diet high in fibre. On the other hand, if you don’t typically take prescription or over-the-counter drugs, you may feel the effects faster. Again, you’ll have to experiment with different CBD products and dosages to see which you prefer, as your unique biochemistry will affect how CBD is metabolised in the body.

So as you can see, there is no definitive answer on how long CBD will last in the body or how it will affect you. Taking CBD as a food supplement is very much a process of trial and error — we suggest starting with a low dose and slowly increasing it until you find the optimal consumption level for you. Taking CBD-rich products to maintain wellbeing is an endeavour in personalised natural healthcare. We can’t recommend CBD enough, as the benefits can be immense. Don’t give up after just trying one product at one dose — continue to experiment to find your sweet spot.

Now that you have a better understand of how long CBD lasts, are you looking to start your CBD journey? At CBD Hemporium, you’ll find the highest-quality, organic and lab-tested CBD oil products, along with the best customer service. Browse our products today.