There’s no such thing as one size fits all!
Start low and go slow is the industry standard for dosage. Why? Because there are so many factors that impact the effect CBD has on your body. Starting low (low dose) and slow allows you to make small adjustments over time, increasing your ability to find the right amount of CBD your body needs. Let’s go over some of the factors that impact effectiveness.
- The severity of the condition you are treating; is your pain/condition a 1 or a 10?
- Your weight; the more you weigh, the more you will need.
- Your metabolism and genetic makeup.
- Your overall biochemistry that makes you up.
- Your Endocannabinoid System (ECS) sensitivity.
- How it’s being delivered (oral, ingestion, topical, transdermal).
CBD is generally safe to consume (as long as it’s clean and has zero toxins), which is another factor, effectiveness also depends on the quality of the product, but let’s leave that for another discussion. Moving on to the dosage guidelines.
Step 1. Ask yourself the following questions.
- What condition am I trying to treat?
- How severe is my condition?
Step 2. Based on the condition and severity decide if you will be moderate or more aggressive with supplementation. Below are examples
- I want an overall wellness supplement and will use CBD as a preventative (Moderate)
- I’m treating a severe case of fibromyalgia and my pain level is at a 10 (Standard)
- I don’t have pain however I have a lot of stress and a high level of anxiety (Standard)
Step 3. Based on Step 2, decide which dosing table to use below.
- Table 1. Moderate Dosage Recommendation
- Table 2. Standard Dosage Recommendation
Steps 4. Click on the table below to access the recommended daily dose based on your weight.
To use the tables, find your weight and then follow the suggested dose for each day. Start Low and increase the dose every 2-4 days until you reach the target dose per day. You can take the recommend dose all at once or break it up twice a day (morning/evening). The goal is to find the “Target” dose that works for you. This may be less or more than what we have listed in the “Target Dose” column. In addition, we’ve provided the suggested Product Strengths we offer.
Step 5: Listen to your body and document what it’s telling you! It took me several months to find the right dosage regimen for my body. And one last key point, higher doses could produce diminishing returns because of CBD’s “two phase” properties, which means as dose increases, the effects do not necessarily improve. If a specific dose stops working, try lowering the dose, rather than increasing….LESS is MORE!!!!
Leonard Leinow & Juliana Birnbaum. CBD A Patient’s Guide to Medical Cannabis, Healing without the high. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2017.
Mindell, Earl. HEALING WITH HEMP CB OIL. New York: Square One Publishers, 2018