CBD has taken the world by storm. Although hemp has always been a vital part of ancient medicine, we’ve only now been reunited with the healing plant. And this time, we have the advantage of science on our side. Research has discovered many new benefits and qualities of hemp, making it possible for us to optimize our CBD use even more.
Unfortunately, the general public is still left in the dark with most things hemp-related. But that’s what we’re here for. We will do our best to keep you informed on all things worth knowing, and answer your questions such as “How long does CBD last in your system?”
This is important for many reasons- it helps you determine how often you should be taking CBD, and also what risks there are when taking a drug test after using CBD (hint: there are none as long as you take high-quality CBD, such as Mission Farms CBD).
Influencing factors on CBD in your system
Frequency
It generally takes a few days for CBD to completely leave your system. Taking it every day will naturally build up this buffer of leftover CBD in your body and it will take longer to completely leave your system. The less frequently you take CBD, the faster it will pass through you. This is also why we recommend taking CBD for a full week when first trying it out, to give it a chance to fully unfold its effects.
Quantity
Having one cup of coffee to start the day will perk you up for a few hours, whereas having three will keep you energized for most of the day. With CBD it’s not much different. The more of it you take, the longer it will stay in your system. After all, your liver can only break down so much at a time.
Your liver is responsible for removing foreign substances, such as CBD, from your bloodstream. If for example, your liver breaks down 100ml of CBD per hour, then it will take around five hours for your body to eliminate a dose of 500ml CBD.
Personal conditions
Your physical health is an important factor in how fast your body can process things. For example, if you’ve caught a cold, it will pass through you much faster if you’re in good health, relatively active, and have a decent amount of muscle on you. It will take longer to get over a cold if you’re overweight, have a sedentary lifestyle, and slow metabolism. It’s the same with CBD.
Nutrition and medications
With oral consumption methods, CBD passes through your stomach to your liver where it gets broken down and can then leave your system. Since your stomach metabolizes everything else as well, the whole process may take a bit longer if you’ve just eaten before taking CBD. Especially eating fatty foods will increase the time it takes for your body to flush out the remaining CBD in your body.
And as we’ve mentioned before in a previous article, other medications can influence how CBD works in your body. CBD may hinder your enzymes from metabolizing other medications causing unwanted side-effects, but other medications may also cause CBD to be left unmetabolized, causing it to stay in your system longer.
Consumption methods
There are four main ways to take CBD. We’ll break them down for you:
Ingesting CBD
When ingesting CBD orally, such as by taking CBD capsules, it travels through your stomach, to your liver, and finally into your bloodstream where it can take effect. When ingesting CBD, you will have to wait a bit longer than with other consumption methods to start feeling an effect, but it will also last and stay in your system for longer. Many people wonder, how long do the effects of CBD last when taken orally? While there isn’t a standard answer to this question, the effects of CBD taken orally generally last for up to 6-8 hours.
Absorbing CBD
Submucosal absorption is one of the most popular choices when it comes to taking CBD. Instead of ingesting CBD, and having to wait for it to travel through your liver and into your bloodstream, you can simply put a few drops of CBD oil under your tongue and keep it there for about a minute, for it to be directly absorbed into your system where it can take effect.
And lucky for you, by directly absorbing the CBD, you’ll be getting more from less since compared to ingestible CBD products, none of it gets metabolized along the way. When taking CBD sublingually, you won’t have to wait long at all to start noticing relief from the CBD oil, and it should last anywhere between 2-6 hours, depending on how much you take.
Inhaling CBD
When inhaling CBD, such as by vaping or even smoking it, the substance is absorbed into your lungs and sent directly into your bloodstream. This is the fastest way to notice effects and it will also leave your system faster than with other consumption methods. But keep in mind that there are many risks associated with smoking and vaping.
Applying CBD topically
You can also apply CBD as a cream or gel. Your skin has its very own endocannabinoid system, so the CBD doesn’t have to travel through your liver and into your bloodstream. Instead, it directly affects the cells where it’s applied and is, therefore, a great way to treat trouble areas. Technically, CBD applied topically isn’t in your system at all and cannot be detected either.
CBD half-life
A study has shown that CBD has a general half-life of 18-32 hours. This means that if you take 100ml of CBD, you’ll only have 50ml left in your system after 18-32 hours. Does CBD stay in your system after the effects wear off? Yes, many reports suggest that traces of CBD will stay in your system for up to four days after consuming it.
Risks & Tricks
Typically, people care about how long CBD stays in your system for one of two reasons: Either how long they can expect to feel the effects of CBD or how long CBD would be traceable on a drug test.
First off, how long do CBD effects last? You’ll usually feel the effects of CBD for at most up to six hours. This depends a lot on the consumption methods, as well as all other factors mentioned above. Orally ingested and topically applied CBD will last the longest, whereas inhaling CBD will generally only last up to 2-3 hours, but you will notice the effects faster than with the other consumption methods.
And regarding drug tests, CBD tends to stay in your system on average for 3-4 days. But this does not mean it will show up on a drug test. CBD derived from hemp with a THC level under 0.3% is legal in all US states. How long does hemp stay in your system? It doesn’t stay in your system as long as cannabis products derived from marijuana, since THC, the component which gets you high, is traceable for much longer than CBD.
The only thing that may show up on a drug test is the THC content. If the THC in your system is over the legal limit, you may have to demonstrate that it is derived from a CBD product. But testing positive for THC when taking a legal CBD product is an extraordinarily rare occurrence. At Mission Farms CBD we do not have any reports of customers testing positive for THC. How long does CBD stay in your urine? While there isn’t much research on this yet, a study from 2016 suggests that CBD is not detectable in urine after 24 hours.
All Mission Farms CBD products contain less than .3% THC and often less than half that amount. Our products are triple-tested to ensure the CBD and THC content fulfills all legal regulations. You only need to worry about CBD showing up on a drug test if it is of bad quality or mislabeled.
Still, if you’re interested, here are a few tips on how to get CBD out of your system fast:
– Healthy diet (less sugar and sodium, more fiber)
– Plenty of water
– Exercise
The Bottom Line
So how long does CBD stay in your body? CBD will generally stay in your system for 3-4 days. It depends on how frequently and how much CBD you take, as well as your health and lifestyle. However, you are likely to notice the effects of CBD for only 6 hours.
It should not be a problem for CBD to stay in your system this long, but if you’re concerned about failing a drug test due to CBD, simply make sure the CBD you take is high-quality and in accordance with all legal guidelines. We’ve explained this in a previous article which you can read here. You do not have to worry about taking “too much” CBD and having the THC levels add up since we’ve estimated that you’d need to take more than 40x the recommended servings of our full-spectrum CBD products to risk failing a drug test.
But there are many CBD products that are mislabeled and contain more THC than the label claims. The best way to stay on the safe side when buying CBD is by looking for a Certificate of Analysis to make sure it really contains what it says. Here you can see our third-party lab results for all Mission Farms CBD products. We make sure to triple tests our products to guarantee high-quality.
If you’d still rather take CBD without any THC content, we’ve released THC-free CBD oil, which you can check out here.
