How Long Does CBD Stay in Your System?

CBD (cannabidiol) and its cousin, THC, are naturally occuring compounds in the cannabis plant. Safe, routine use of CBD paired with other natural active ingredients can provide therapeutic benefits like calm, focus, rest, and even libido-boosting confidence. But how long does it stay in your body?

A naturally occurring compound in the cannabis plant, CBD doesn’t give you the high like its cousin THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) in marijuana. However, CBD and THC nevertheless come from the same plant. If you’re looking to utilize CBD to champion sleep, sex, and stress but unsure how long it will be in your system, we’ve got the scoop. 

The CBD (body) breakdown

CBD works in our body by interacting with our endocannabinoid system to provide a swiss-army-knife of therapeutic benefits (aka its star quality). 

The endocannabinoid system plays an influential role in major biological processes such as memory, mood, sleep, and appetite. CBD stimulates the production of cannabinoids in our bodies, helping our systems where we need the boost (e.g., calming effect for our nervous system).

How long does CBD stay in your body?

In general, CBD can stay for up to 30 days in our bodies. This is because CBD is a fat-soluble compound, making it capable of getting into and being stored in our fat cells for up to a month.

However, keep in mind that variations matter. Other factors affect the length of CBD’s stay in our body, like the type of CBD product and how you take it. So, let’s check each of these products and how they can affect the staying time of CBD in your body.

Ingested CBD oil (e.g., tinctures, gummies, capsules)

Edible CBD oil, such as in tinctures, capsules, gummies, and other edibles, has mostly the same digestive timeline, which is relatively lengthy.

CBD typically lasts from 1-2 weeks when you ingest CBD in your system orally. However, it may be less if you took it sublingually (tincture under your tongue). 

CBD topicals

CBD topicals come in different forms, from lotions and balms to transdermal patches and body butter. CBD topicals are mainly applied directly to a part of your body that needs treatment (like pain relief).

Some CBD topicals don’t enter your bloodstream at all, only penetrating your skin and muscle barrier. In the case of topicals such as transdermal patches, the CBD is designed to enter your bloodstream. For this one, CBD may stay in your body for around 2-5 days.

CBD flower and vaporizers

You can also take CBD by vaporizing or smoking it. As you smoke or vaporize it, it will enter your lungs within a few seconds, and you can expect to feel it immediately.

CBD vaporizers are used mainly because of their quick results. This form of consumption may be an excellent option for those who experience panic attacks, as the user will get the calming effects almost instantly.

Like CBD topicals, CBD flowers and vaporizers may stay around 2-5 days before they go out of your system entirely.

Three factors that influence CBD’s duration

Aside from the type of product, a few different factors influence how long CBD oil will stay in your body. The most notable of them are dosage, frequency of use, and metabolism.

1. Frequency

This seems like a “duh,” but the more frequently you use CBD, the longer it will stay in your system. A new dose will activate effects again, replacing the old (going out).

2. Dosage

The greater dosage you take, the longer CBD will remain in your body. It’s also important to know that the CBD compound itself is fat-soluble, which means it can hang out in our body’s fat cells for up to 30 days.

To clarify, you won’t feel the effects for 30 days — your body is waiting to excrete it, which is why we suggest taking CBD as part of your daily routine.

3. Your metabolism

Contrary to fit-tea influencers, we can’t always control our metabolism. Since CBD stays in our fat cells, a fast metabolism means less space for CBD to be stored in our body. In other words, if you have a quicker metabolism, CBD will flush itself faster than someone who has a slower metabolism.

The big Q: Will CBD show up on a drug test?

The big A: maybe. 

Most drug tests only look for THC and its metabolites (THCA and THC-COOH). However, it’s still possible for some drug testing to look for CBD traces. There can also be super-tiny traces of THC (<0.3%) in many full-spectrum CBD oils.

We believe in full transparency about our products and ingredients’ quality, which is why we publish our lab reports. You can see the amount of CBD, THC, and other active ingredients in these compliance summaries. 

CBD is your pal who hangs out for a while then crashes on your couch for a few weeks. It’s not going to bother you, but it’s there in your system. The best way to regular your CBD’s stay is with frequency and dosage. 

Shop House of Wise tinctures and gummies to use as a fun part of your sleep, stress, and sex routines. Play around with the frequency and dosage to see what works for you.