CBD drinks and edibles claiming to reduce anxiety and pain are mostly ‘pointless,’ according to a cannabis researcher
Unless you accumulate CBD in your bloodstream over time, your liver filters out most of the pain reducing benefits, cannabis researcher Adie Rae said.
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- Taking CBD edibles inconsistently is "pointless," a cannabis researcher said on the podcast, "It's All Going to Pot."
- Adie Rae said the liver filters out CBD more than THC, so you need a larger dose to feel effects.
- Rae said you need to take CBD edibles daily to feel its benefits long-term.
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If you're looking to experience CBD's purported benefits, like reduced anxiety, pain, and nausea, taking it occasionally may not do the trick.
During an episode of the podcast "It's All Going to the Pot," neuroscientist and cannabis researcher Adie Rae explained why CBD edibles and beverages are "pointless" and a waste of money. Rae, a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded researcher at Legacy Research Institute, uses the name Adie Wilson-Poe to publish her work.
Humans digest THC and CBD, two of the main cannabinoids or chemical compounds found in cannabis, differently, said Rae. THC is the intoxicating cannabinoid and CBD does not have intoxicating effects that make you feel high.
As Rae told hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley, the liver breaks down CBD more than it does THC, leaving a smaller dose to enter your blood stream and elicit therapeutic effects.
"So if you're taking a 100 milligram CBD capsule or something, you might get five milligrams into your bloodstream. And that's a whopping dose, right?" Rae said on the podcast.
Since most edibles are dosed in 5, 10, and 20 milligram segments, eating or drinking edible CBD on a whim won't offer any benefits, said Rae.
As the adult use market expands in the United States with more states legalizing weed, and the unregulated CBD market grows in tandem, customers have become overwhelmed with cannabis options, which can make picking the best and most reliable product for your needs confusing.
To get benefits, you must take CBD edibles consistently
Only a small and inconclusive body of research exists on the benefits of CBD. Current research suggests the cannabinoid can help with anxiety and seizures, Insider's Gabby Landsverk previously reported.
If you're set on using edibles, the best way to reap CBD's potential benefits is to take it daily, according to Rae.
"If you take 35 to 50 milligrams of oral CBD every single day, it will accumulate in your blood," leading to potential benefits like less inflammation and anxiety, she said.
According to Rae, that's because the CBD content has time to accumulate in your blood stream despite your liver filtering some of it out.
You can also use CBD in lotions and tinctures
There are non-edible ways to use CBD that will skip your liver and go straight to your blood stream, host Twilley mentioned.
Tinctures come in bottles with droppers you can place under your tongue, and lotions and creams allow you to apply CBD to absorb through the skin. Lastly, you can smoke CBD in the form of hemp flower or vaporize it.