How to Find the Right CBD Dose for You
How much CBD should I take?
Maybe you’re considering taking CBD and you’re curious about how much you’ll need. Maybe you just purchased CBD for the first time and now you’re looking for some guidance. Or maybe you’re a CBD veteran who’s looking to refine your dosage.
Whatever your background, if you’re here, you’re looking for answers to questions about CBD dosing. Welcome; by the end of this post you’ll know how to determine the ideal dosage for you, and then put that dosage into practice.
First things first; there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that there’s no one-size fit all CBD dose, which means you’ll have to do a little work to figure out what works best for you.
The good news is also that there’s no one-size fits all dosing chart, so the process of figuring out the right dosage for you will leave you more engaged and more directly in control of your health.
With that in mind, let’s get started.
The Basics: Everyone’s Different
As we mentioned above, there’s just no simple answer to ideal CBD dosage for any one person.
Your endocannabinoid (EC) system, your body’s natural system of communication between your body and mind that’s activated by CBD, is unique to you. And how your body responds to CBD will be influenced by a host of factors, including:
- Your weight
- Your unique body chemistry, which helps determine your sensitivity to CBD
- The severity of the condition you’re looking to treat
A 200-pound person looking to treat chronic pain is likely to need a larger dosage than an 120-pound person taking CBD for a subtle energy boost. And even among people of similar body types and with similar conditions, their body chemistry can vary enough to mean different ideal dosages.
Don’t be overwhelmed though, figuring out the ideal dosage for you is actually an exceedingly simple process.
Getting Started: Start Small, Build Slow
Throughout this process, your mantra should be start small, and build slow.Crucially, because pure CBD doesn’t contain any THC, the chemical that gets you “high”, there are no psychoactive effects. That means you don’t have to worry about taking too much and feeling out of control or being too impaired to function normally - this will not happen. In this sense, pure CBD is much closer to a vitamin or supplement than the “drug” people usually associate with cannabis.
Still, going out the gate with larger doses means you won’t be able to closely track the effect CBD has on you, and more precisely determine your ideal dosage.
Instead, the best recommendation is to start with 10 mg of CBD. In the case of Lucent Botanicals, this will mean taking one mint, and that level of precision is exactly the reason those mints are made to be 10 mg each.
For some who are smaller and/or have more sensitive EC systems, 10 mg may prove to be enough. Most though will need a higher dosage, so after waiting approximately 20 minutes, take an additional 10 mgs. Repeat this process until you feel the targeted effect you’re looking for. For many, approximately 20 mg will prove effective, but some may need higher doses. Again, there’s just no substitute for smartly determining what works for you.
More simply put:
- Start with 10 mg
- Wait, take an additional 10 mg
- Repeat as needed
Remember; start small, build slowly, and pay attention to how you feel. That’s good advice in both life and CBD.
The Spectrum: Minimums and Maximums
It bears repeating - everyone’s different. Someone else’s dosage, or even “most” people’s dosage, simply doesn’t matter when you’ve systematically found the right dosage for you.
Still, it is helpful to know some basic parameters. So with that in mind, here’s a quick word on the lower and upper ends of the spectrum.
As we mentioned above, it’s rare for someone to feel a significant effect at lower than 10mg, although it’s certainly possible. By contrast, everything above that 10mg beginning dosage is where there’s some real variation.
As a general parameter, many report feeling positive effects beginning in the 20-30mg range, and for those with less sensitive EC systems and more severe conditions, doses of 100 mgs a day aren’t unheard of.
At the upper end, there have been medical studies where doses of 300mg and even far more have been routinely administered, but those were for more intensive medical conditions including seizure disorders and were taken under a doctor’s direct supervision.
Speaking of which, regardless of why you’re taking CBD and at what dosage, talking to your doctor is always recommended.
Do the Math: A Note on Tincture Dosages
Lucent mints are designed with easy to understand, precise dosing in mind. One mint is 10mg of CBD, two mints would be 20mg, and so on. It really doesn’t get more complicated than that.That’s often not the case with other products, and so it’s important you pay attention to the label of whatever your product you’re taking, and may need to think through some extra steps.
For example, tinctures - delivered via droppers - are a common way of taking CBD. In that case, you’ll need to do some math to figure out how many milligrams of CBD are in one drop, and how many drops you’ll want to take.
Start by dividing the total CBD in the bottle by the number of milliliters in the bottle. Most droppers are 1ml each, so now you’ll know how much CBD is in one dropper. Then, divide the amount of CBD in each dropper by your desired dosage.
For example:
- There’s 1,000 mg of CBD in the bottle
- There’s 25 millileters in the bottle
- This means each milliliter contains 40ml of CBD
- This also means each dropper contains 40ml of CBD
- So if you wanted to take 30ml, you’d take ¾ of a dropper. A 10ml dose would be ¼ of a dropper. Etc. etc.
A Closing
Whether you’re just trying CBD for the first time or well on your journey, there’s no need to worry when it comes to figure out dosing. All you really need is a willingness to take control of your own health and to remember two simple rules:- Everyone’s Different: Find the dosage that’s right for you
- Start Small, Build Slow: Start with 10mg and go from there
