Not nearly as long as some people might think.
Cannabidiol. Not only is the word on the tip of many peoples tongues these days, but the product itself is
also, although it’s usually called by the name CBD or CBD Oil. The “little brother”, if you will, of THC (the
compound in cannabis that gets you “high”) CBD has no intoxicating effects although many believe that it
offers a wide variety of therapeutic effects. From reducing chronic pain and inflammation to helping with
anxiety and depression, CBD is touted by many to be one of the wonders of nature.
One concern that many people have about CBD, however, is that if they use it they may fail a drug test.
While it’s well known that CBD oil doesn’t have the capability of making someone “high”. it does contain a
tiny amount of THC. Also, some are worried about the general stigma that surrounds hemp, cannabis, and
anything that has to do with either one.
For those reasons, if you just started using CBD, you want to start, or even if you’ve been using it for quite some time, one question that you might have is this; how long CBD stays in your system? You might also be wondering how long the effects of CBD oil last? The fact is, just like its big brother THC, CBD does get stored in the human body. While most drug tests only screen for THC, for many people it’s still a concern. Because of that, we put together this article to address the question How Many Days Does CBD Stay in Your System? Enjoy.
What Factors Determine How Long CBD Will Stay in Your System?
Every person is different and every human body assimilates CBD oil differently because we all have different rates of metabolism. For that reason, it’s nearly impossible to say exactly how long CBD oil will remain in your body. There are some factors, however, that you can use to help you determine what that length of time would be.
Your Metabolism
As we mentioned, your metabolism plays a very prominent role in how quickly CBD oil is removed or excreted from your body. If you have a very fast metabolism, maybe because you’re a young person, it will likely be a shorter time than someone who is older and has a slower metabolism.
When You Take Your CBD OIl
Another factor that plays a role in how long CBD oil remains in your body is whether you take it on an empty stomach or full stomach. Certain foods enhance the “bioavailability” of CBD oil, or how much your body can use at one time. Also, other foods can increase the concentration of CBD oil in your body, both of which affect how long it will stay there.
How Frequently You Use CBD Oil
Just like its big brother THC, the more CBD oil that you use the longer it will remain in your body. It builds up in your body over time. If you use it once in a while, it would likely disappear quite fast. If you use it multiple times a day, it will stay in your body much longer.
How Much You Use At One Time
Using a small amount of CBD at a time will likely metabolize it much faster than if you use a large amount every time. This is called the dosage and the higher the dose the longer the CBD remains in your system.
How You Ingest the CBD Oil
The way that you ingest your CBD oil plays a big part in how long it remains in your system. Some people smoke or vape CBD oil and, when they do, the effects usually start immediately. On the other hand, if you ingest CBD oil by dropping it on your tongue or eating it in an edible, the effects will come on much more slowly. The former will disappear more quickly from your system while the latter will stay a bit longer. (We’ve got more on his below.)
How Frequently (Or Infrequently) You Exercise
One fact of note is that CBD oil is fat-soluble, which means that the human body can store it within its fat cells. What that means for you is that if you exercise a lot, and thus burn off a lot of fat, your body will likely get rid of CBD faster than someone who doesn’t exercise all that often and has more fat than you do.
If You Use a CBD Lotion
We find this to be very interesting. You can purchase CBD as a lotion and rub it on, for example, your joints for pain relief. If you use CBD oil this way, it won’t stay in your system at all because it never enters into your bloodstream. It will simply remain on your skin and, as soon as it gets absorbed or is washed off, it’ll be gone from your system.
Some Studies on How Long CBD Oil Stays in Your System
The amount of time that CBD oil stays in your system is a subject of hot debate among researchers and scientists. There have been several studies on CBD oil to date and many of them have looked at this area in particular. They include:
Pharmacology Biochemistry & Behavior / Study 1991
This study from over 20 years ago suggested that CBD oil would not stay in the human body for over a week. Participants of the study were given 700 mg of CBD every day for 6 weeks. After the six weeks were up, all of the participants were tested, and, within one week, the CBD oil was virtually undetectable in their systems.
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring / Study 2005
This was a relatively small study that had participants ingest 1.35 mg of CBD one time. They then tested the participants and found there was no detectable CBD in their blood after about nine hours.
Review 2018
In 2018 a review of several existing CBD studies was done. At that time it was estimated that 2 to 5 days was the “half-life” of CBD oil, which would mean that 4 to 10 days would be the time it would take to be eliminated completely from the human body.
Is There CBD that Contains No THC at All?
One thing to keep in mind is that, if you’re being drug tested, CBD is typically not a drug that will be tested
for. On the other hand, even though all hemp products legally must contain less than .3% THC, even this
very small amount can trigger a THC test. Unfortunately, if you are subject to random drug testing, the only
CBD product you should use is CBD isolate. This is a broad spectrum CBD which contains no detectable
amounts of THC.
That being said, if you can ensure that the company manufacturing your CBD oil is a top-notch company that has very high-quality control, using a pure CBD product from them will likely not result in a positive test for THC. As far as how long CBD oil stays in your system, we would argue that quality is much more important than quantity. If you use a brand of CBD oil that focuses on purity it will likely remain in your body longer, give you better results but, at the same time, be less detectable (or undetectable completely) then other products that have impurities.
How You Ingest CBD Oil Determines How Long it Stays in Your System ?
We mentioned this already, above, but we wanted to go into a little bit more detail on how the way you use
or ingest CBD oil will determine how long it stays in your system. The truth is, there are several different
ways that you can use CBD and, if you’re worried about failing a drug test, it might simply be a matter of
changing the way you use it.
Topical CBD products like creams and lotions take more time to get into your body. Some say that, as we
mentioned, they don’t last in your system because they never get into the bloodstream. While that is true,
many believe these products stay in your system longer because it takes longer for them to get there.
Then there are edibles, CBD products that you can eat including cookies, gummy bears, and lollipops.
Because these need to go through your digestive system and your gut first, it takes that much longer for them
to enter the bloodstream. They also need to go through your liver to be metabolized and, after that, they get
into your bloodstream.
The entire process can take from 20 minutes to 60 minutes but will go faster if you eat your edibles on an
empty stomach. Because the process to get in is much longer, the process to get out of your system will be
much longer also. By the way, this also goes for the most popular form of CBD ingestion, CBD oil drops
placed directly on the tongue. (Although some say this is a bit faster.)
Lastly, there’s vaping and smoking. This is the fastest way, by far, to get the effects from your CBD oil and deliver it to the bloodstream. It’s also, as far as research shows, the fastest way for it to exit your system.
Some Final Thoughts
As we mentioned at the outset of this article, there’s no definite way to say how long CBD Oil stays in your
system. It depends on many factors including the amount of CBD you use, how you use it, and when. In our
opinion, the most important factor is the quality of the CBD oil that you use.
If you’re new to CBD oil, what we suggest is that you purchase a very high-quality product and use it slowly, noting how your body reacts as you go. Don’t rush and, more importantly, don’t get frustrated. It might take a few days for you to feel the effects and get relief. Give it time and, if you try one product and don’t like the results, try another. Best of luck!
