Microdosing CBD: What You Need To Know

There are many different ways to enjoy CBD, from vaporizing to taking capsules, oils, and even edibles such as gummies. Although the route of administration can change the way you experience the effects of CBD, so can the amount that you take.

What Is Microdosing?

Microdosing emerged from the science and culture of the psychedelics movement. Psychonauts regard Dr Albert Hofmann—the Swiss chemist who first synthesised LSD and isolated psilocybin—as the father of microdosing.

As well as creating the powerful psychedelic, he became the first human to ingest the molecule and discover its hallucinogenic effects. During at least the last two decades of his life (he lived to the extraordinary age of 102) Hofmann started to microdose LSD.

More recently, microdosing psychedelics has started to penetrate mainstream culture. The work of Dr James Fadiman, author of The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide, helped to popularise the practice.

Now, people are taking microdoses of LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and other psychedelics to gain a mental edge. Entrepreneurs and engineers use them to increase cognitive performance, artists use them for inspiration, and others consume microdoses for health-related purposes^[1].

The act of microdosing has now entered the world of cannabis. Millions of herb lovers have found that taking smaller doses of high-THC weed throughout the day helps them stay more productive and minimises side effects.

The same applies to CBD. Although it’s non-psychotropic, taking multiple small doses of CBD throughout the day appears to offer quite a few advantages.

What Are the Benefits of Microdosing CBD?

So, why space out your CBD intake across the day? Why not just gulp it all in one go? As you’ll see below, dividing up your cannabidiol into microdoses can help to sustain the effect. It also allows you to “mix and match” products, and may even reduce side effects in those who are prone.

How To Calculate a CBD Microdose?

Calculating a microdose that suits you depends on your current daily dose of CBD. Once you’ve established how much CBD you need to feel a satisfying effect, you can divide that up evenly throughout the day.

If you’ve never taken CBD before, a 10% CBD oil serves as a great place to start. We recommend taking 5mg per day (one drop) to start out. Increase by one drop the next day and maintain that dose for around one week. If you find your body handles that well, increase to three drops (15mg) each day. You can also use our CBD Dosage Calculator to determine your ideal dose according to the strength of your CBD oil and your body weight.

CBD Dosage Calculator

Effect

Mild range

Medium range

Severe range

Weight

40 - 70 Kg

70 - 110 Kg

+110 Kg

Dosage:

0 mg

CBD Dosage Calculator

Effect

Mild

Medium

Severe

Weight

40 - 70 Kg

70 - 110 Kg

+110 Kg

Dosage:

0 mg

How To Microdose CBD

Now that you’ve discovered your ideal dose, you need to decide how to take your CBD. First, decide on a schedule. Then, choose from a wide range of ways to administer the cannabinoid.

• CBD Microdosing Schedule

Once you have your perfect dose dialled in, you can simply divide that up evenly throughout the day. For example, say you’re feeling comfortable with a daily dose of 25mg using a 10% CBD oil. You could break that down into the following routine:

Of course, you can feel free to switch this around any way you like. Perhaps you'd rather take a dose just before bed? Or maybe you want to combine your afternoon doses for a more tangible effect right after lunch?

• CBD Oil Capsules

Capsules are a super-easy way to take CBD oil, and they fit perfectly into an existing CBD regimen. However, capsules are limited in the sense that they contain a set dose. If you decide to microdose with capsules, we recommend choosing a lower CBD concentration. Try and take your capsules alongside a small snack to improve digestion and enhance how your body absorbs the CBD.

• Sublingual CBD Oil

CBD oil offers one of the most flexible ways to microdose CBD. You have almost complete control over the amount you take at any one time. Sublingual administration delivers CBD directly into the bloodstream through the capillary bed under the tongue. You won't have to wait long to feel the effects. You can also take CBD oil almost anywhere and at any time, whether you’re commuting to work or sitting in the office.

• Smoking CBD Flower

Smoking CBD flower works to quickly introduce CBD into the bloodstream through the lungs. You’ll receive a dose of the cannabinoid alongside numerous terpenes, and many users find the action of rolling and smoking to be ritualistic and enjoyable.

However, it’s slightly harder to administer a controlled microdose when smoking. Every variable, from the potency of your flowers to how deeply you inhale, will change the amount of CBD entering your body.

You have two choices: you can either roll a large joint and take a hit here and there throughout the day, or you can get precise with your dose. Using a milligram scale, you can weigh out a tiny portion of flower and work out your dose. Around 0.5g of high-CBD flower contains approximately 70mg of CBD. You can weigh up small portions relative to your ideal dose and add them to a pipe or bong bowl for a more accurate hit.

• Vaping CBD Flower

Vaping offers significant benefits over smoking cannabis. For one, you won’t expose your lungs to high levels of carcinogens, as vaporization takes place at lower temperatures.

Vaping also helps to preserve those tasty terpenes and generally offers better flavours. Plus, you won’t rock up to work stinking of cannabis smoke. You can use the same calculations mentioned above to work out how much weed to pack into your vape with each microdose.

Should You Microdose CBD?

Fortunately, CBD won’t get you high in the process of finding your sweet spot. If you’re looking for a way to take CBD all day long while reducing the chances of experiencing side effects, you should give microdosing a try.