How Long Does CBD Stay in Your System? – Muscle MX
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How Long Does CBD Stay in Your System?
CBD Education

 

How Long Does CBD Stay in Your System?

 
CBD has recently become a popular alternative supplement for people who want to help ease feelings of stress and tension in a variety of areas. There are many different reasons to take CBD, including for sleep, muscular tension, feelings of stress, and generalized discomfort in the body.

If you’ve never tried CBD or have been trying it for a little while, you may be wondering how long it stays in your system. Let’s look at some of the main factors determining how long CBD stays in your body.

What Is CBD?

CBD comes from hemp, a type of cannabis plant that’s grown for its oil. CBD is a cannabinoid, or naturally occurring chemical compound that’s found in the cannabis plant.

Technically, hemp and marijuana are both the same species of plant — the difference is that hemp has much lower (basically untraceable) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the cannabinoid that causes intoxication. More specifically, hemp plants are categorized as any cannabis with less than 0.3% THC.

What Types of CBD Are There?

Which CBD products are available is going to depend on the rules and regulations of each state. At the federal level, if a CBD product has less than 0.3% THC levels, then it’s legal across the board. Whether or not higher levels of THC are legal will depend on what state you’re in, as a number of states have legalized higher THC level products.

There are three main types of CBD products:

  • CBD isolate: When a product is a CBD isolate, CBD is the only cannabinoid in the product — all other cannabinoids have been removed. If you’re concerned about any potential effects from other cannabinoids and want to only be getting CBD, then you might be interested in a CBD isolate product. These products are legal at the federal level if they come from the hemp plant and have less than 0.3% THC.
  • Broad-spectrum: Often considered the most beneficial CBD products available, broad-spectrum CBD contains all of the cannabinoid compounds that are found in hemp — except THC. This potentially means that you get all the benefits of the other cannabinoid compounds in hemp, but without THC’s psychoactive effects.
  • Full-spectrum: This type of CBD contains all of the cannabinoids in the CBD spectrum, including THC. This means that while you may be getting all the benefits of the full spectrum of cannabinoids, you’re also getting trace amounts of the psychoactive cannabinoid THC. Full-spectrum products are not legal at the federal level because of their levels of THC but are legal in some states.

How Does CBD Work?

Cannabinoids work by interacting with our body’s endocannabinoid system, a network of sensors that helps support many of our basic bodily functions and can even influence the way we feel mentally and emotionally.

Products that come from cannabis interact with our body’s endocannabinoid system and can bring about a generalized ease of tension, relaxation, and a feeling of overall well-being. If they’re applied to specific areas topically, they have the same effect in a smaller area of the body.

What Factors Impact How Long CBD Stays in Your System?

The short answer is that CBD can last in the body anywhere from a day to about a month, but this depends on a number of factors.

While there are many things that influence how quickly CBD leaves the body, here are the main factors:

  • The dose of CBD - How much and by what method do you take CBD?
  • The frequency of use - When you take CBD, how much are you consuming?
  • Your metabolism - What are your eating habits, weight, and amount of physical activity?

We’ll take a look at each one of these factors to determine what effect they have on how long CBD stays in the body, but first we look at what CBD is, what the difference between different forms of CBD are, and how it can be taken.

How Does Metabolism Impact CBD?

The process of converting food and nutrients into energy is called metabolism. If your metabolism is high, that means you’re able burn fat into energy at a higher rate than someone who has a low metabolism.

Your metabolism is affected by several factors, but the two most important are nutrition and exercise. Good nutrition and regular exercise work to encourage a faster metabolism, while inactivity and an imbalanced diet can cause your metabolism to slow.

With a fast metabolism, you have the ability to convert food into energy more quickly. This means you also have the ability to cleanse your body of toxins and eliminate chemicals at a quicker rate.

All of these factors work together to cause CBD to stay in your system for a shorter time if your metabolism is fast and a longer time if your metabolism is slower. One way to get more clarity about your metabolism is to find out what your body mass index (BMI) is.

Food

Another factor influencing how quickly CBD exits the body is how much food you’re eating and when. For example, if you take CBD right after you eat, it will take longer for it to pass through your digestive system and into your bloodstream, and thus, longer to be eliminated from your system.

On the other hand, if you take it on an empty stomach, it can enter your bloodstream quicker, shortening the overall time it’s in your system.

How Can You Take CBD?

There are several ways to take CBD that provide different benefits and methods of action. CBD can be taken orally, applied topically to a specific area, or inhaled as a vapor.

Here are the main ways that CBD is used:

  • Oils and tinctures: These are CBD-infused liquids that are taken sublingually (under your tongue). You can also add a couple of drops in your favorite tea, coffee, or other beverage.
  • Edibles and Ingestibles: Products like CBD gummies, chews, and beverages are classified as edibles and ingestibles.
  • Capsules:Capsules can be taken orally and are a very convenient method of consumption.
  • Vape: Though there’s increasing concern over the effects of vaping, it is another way to use CBD.
  • Topicals:Creams, balms, and lotions are a few topical methods of using CBD. These products are applied to specific areas of the body, especially areas where you are experiencing discomfort. While you don’t get generalized benefits of CBD when it’s applied only to a specific area, you do get more targeted benefits in that specific area.

Whether you’re new to CBD or have been using it for a while, it’s good to know how long it stays in your body, as this can influence and affect other parts of your body’s chemistry. If you need to start a new medication for a health-related issue, for example, you may want to know how long CBD is in the body so that both can work together.

Let’s take a look at some of the factors that influence the duration of CBD in your body.

What Is CBD’s Half-Life?

Like all drugs and chemicals that go into your body, CBD has a half-life once it enters your system. A half-life is the amount of time it takes for 50% of the chemical to be eliminated from the body. If you take a normal dose of CBD oil (for example, five to 10 milligrams), its half-life is generally one to two days.

To find out how long it would last in your system, simply double its half-life.

There is some variation to how this number is calculated, and you may find a few different numbers if you do more research, but two to four days is generally considered the average time it takes CBD to leave your system entirely. However, the half-life can extend as much as 14 days if you take CBD on a consistent basis at a high volume.

How Much CBD Can You Take?

The average dosage for CBD oil generally starts at around 2.5 to 5 milligrams, usually twice a day. Depending on what you’re taking CBD for, you might increase your dose to as much as several hundred milligrams per day. If you’re new to CBD, the best rule of thumb is to start small and work your way up. You start with a low dose and keep increasing until you receive the benefits you’re seeking.

The higher your average dosage, the longer it will take for your body to eliminate CBD from your system. So if you take 100 milligrams a day instead of 10, you can expect your body to spend a few more days clearing out any traces of CBD.

How Often Can You Take CBD?

The more you take CBD, the longer it will take to get it out of your body completely. Because CBD is fat soluble, it can build up in fat cells over time, specifically if you take it frequently.

This is especially true with CBD oil, as it gets into the bloodstream and is distributed throughout the body. If you take CBD oil every day, it can take a few weeks to completely leave your system from the moment you stop taking it.

A Note on Drug Tests

While you may be taking CBD oil that is completely legal where you live, sometimes facing a drug test can be worrisome. You can find some relief in the fact that drug tests test for THC, not CBD.

There is, however, a risk that certain CBD products may trigger a positive result, but this mostly has to do with the type and quality of CBD being used. This is why using a high-quality, broad-spectrum CBD product is essential — broad-spectrum CBD products do not contain THC.

Here at Muscle MX, we offer broad-spectrum CBD products so you can enjoy the soothing benefits of CBD and other cannabinoids without having to worry about the psychoactive effects of THC — or the potential for THC to build up in your body and lead to a positive drug test.

MuscleMX CBD

As with any medicine or supplement, it’s always best to consult with your healthcare provider to determine if CBD is right for you.

At MuscleMX, we’re dedicated to providing you with high-quality, simple, natural CBD products. We know the beneficial effects of CBD and want to try and provide them to as many people as possible who want to ease stress and tension and promote overall wellness.

Our products are broad spectrum, which means that they don’t contain any traceable THC. Check out our other resources to find out more about what CBD can do for you, and then look at our store to see what products might benefit you today.

Sources:

5 Vaping Facts You Need to Know | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Cannabidiol: Promise and Pitfalls | PMC.

Cannabidiol use and effectiveness: real-world evidence from a Canadian medical cannabis clinic | PMC

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