How Long Does CBD Stay In Your System?

CBD is pretty great for those who want to improve their fitness, sleep, or general wellness, sure. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have any questions! 

In fact, you probably do have some questions. And one of the most frequently asked questions has to do with how long CBD stays in your system. 

If you’re wondering how long CBD stays active within your body, wonder no more — because in this article we’ll be diving deep into every aspect of how long CBD lasts.  Here’s an outline. 

• CBD pharmacology 101
• 4 factors that affect how long CBD stays in your system
• CBD oil: how long does it stay in your system?
• CBD oil and your body: other things to know
• How long do other hemp products stay in your system?

CBD pharmacology 101

You might think that the word pharmacology refers to concepts on par with rocket science and quantum physics…but think again. CBD’s pharmacology actually refers to something fairly simple: how long the compound stays in your system, and what it does while it’s there. 

CBD generally stays active within your system for 3-5 days. This duration varies from one person to the next, though; some users report that CBD stays in their system for a week or more! A variety of factors influence how long CBD stays active for. Some factors to consider include:

• How much CBD you took
• The type of CBD product you took
• How often you’re taking CBD products
• If you took CBD alongside known absorption-boosters

Next let’s take a look at these factors one by one. 

4 factors that affect how long CBD stays in your system

Factor 1: how much CBD you took

The easiest way to alter CBD’s pharmacological duration is by altering your dose. Larger doses of CBD stay in your system for longer amounts of time, while smaller doses of CBD stay in your system for shorter amounts of time. Simple enough, right?

A growing body of research shows that CBD ‘megadoses’ (think doses over 100 milligrams) can stay in your system 2-3 times longer than more reserved doses. [1] CBD microdoses, on the other hand, may only stay in your system for a few hours. 

Factor 2: the type of CBD product you took

Different CBD products absorb differently, which means that product selection also plays a role in how long CBD stays in your system. As a general rule of thumb, fast-absorbing products are also fast to leave your system, while slow-absorbing substances stick around a little longer. Here are some specifics:

• Vape pens kick in fast and leave your system fast, too
• Oils/tinctures kick in fast and leave your system moderately fast
• Edibles kick in slowly, digest slowly, and leave your system equally slowly
• Topicals kick in fast; despite not reaching the bloodstream, they still last for awhile

Factor 3: how often you’re taking CBD products

The more often you take CBD products, the more accustomed your body’s specialized enzymes get to breaking them down. 

Do you take CBD often? Then any given dose of CBD you take might not stay in your system for very long. Your body’s endocannabinoid breakdown enzymes will probably metabolize that CBD fast! [2]

Do you take CBD infrequently? Then any given dose of CBD you take might linger in your system for awhile. Your body’s endocannabinoid breakdown enzymes will probably be slow to metabolize that CBD. [3]

Putting two and two together, CBD will likely stay in your system the longest when you take large doses of it infrequently. 

Factor 4: if you took CBD alongside known absorption-boosters

CBD is a fat-soluble molecule. And that means taking it alongside other fat-soluble compounds — or healthy fat sources — can enable it to stay in your system for longer amounts of time. Even the simple act of eating CBD alongside a fatty meal can simultaneously boost its absorption rates and keep it in your system for longer. [4] 

CBD’s bioavailability can also be improved by taking it with terpenes, permeability enhancers like piperine, and other cannabinoids, though it’s unclear if these substances have an effect on how long it stays in your system for. 

One more thing: any substance or activity that raises your basal metabolic rate (i.e. how much energy you burn each day) is likely to speed CBD’s excretion from your system. 

CBD oil: how long does it stay in your system?

CBD oil usually stays in your system for 3-5 days — perhaps a little longer if you take larger doses than your body is used to.  

Counterintuitively enough, low-quality CBD oil might stay in your system for the longest. Why’s that? Because this low-grade CBD often contains additives and semi-synthetic cannabinoids that are hard for your body to get rid of. Some of these additives may become bound by your body’s fat tissue or stored in your liver, thereby sticking around for much longer than you’d think. [5] 

CBD oil and your body: other things to know

The research world hasn’t yet uncovered every factor that contributes to how long CBD will stay in your system. 

That being said, we can be fairly certain of the following: 

• Large doses of CBD stay in your system longer than small doses
• Products that kick in fast tend to leave your system just as quickly
• Infrequent doses may stay in your system longer than frequent doses
• Dietary fat helps CBD work better, last longer, and leave your body more slowly
• Metabolic boosters may help your body excrete unneeded CBD faster

It’s also possible that full spectrum CBD products last longer than products that contain CBD isolate.  Researchers have already found that these full spectrum products are up to four times stronger than alternatives; if you graphed out the effects of these two types of CBD, it’s likely that full spectrum CBD’s benefit curve would be both higher and wider. Researchers suspect that the terpenes present in full spectrum CBD work via the entourage effect and help CBD stay active in the long run. [6] 

How long do other hemp products stay in your system?

CBD oil isn’t the only awesome CBD product available on the market today, of course! So let’s shift gears and look at how long other hemp-derived products may stay in your system for. 

How long do CBD gummies stay in your system?

five’s CBD Gummies likely stay in your system for longer than CBD oils/tinctures do. What’s the reason for that? It’s all thanks to the second factor we mentioned above — CBD gummies last longer than most products for the same reason that they take a while to kick in. The cannabinoids present in CBD gummies move slowly through your digestive tract after you eat them. Some of these molecules may remain active in the gut for days. 

How long do CBD chocolates stay in your system?

five's CBD Chocolates stay in your system for roughly as long as CBD gummies do. Actually, they might stay in your system for slightly longer. Why? Because chocolate naturally contains endocannabinoid-like substances, of course! [7] It’s possible that these endocannabinoid mimetics might have a CBD-sparing effect, as your body can’t process both them and CBD at the same time. 

Summing things up

Well, there you have it! CBD products usually stay in your system for 3-5 days. Larger doses of CBD and/or edible products may stay in your system for even longer than that. 

But the story doesn’t actually end there. Research shows that just a single large dose of cannabidiol can cause lasting changes to one’s brain chemistry, metabolic health, and mood, even after the CBD itself has worn off.

As great as that may be, things get even better when you take five ’s CBD consistently enough that it stays in your system. 

What are you waiting for? Check out five's most powerful and popular CBD + THC gummy, the Daily Buzz gummy, today!