Categories: CBD oil

CBD doesn’t work for me

CBD Doesn’t Work For Me

A couple years ago when CBD was being hyped, I joined in to see if CBD could help with some of my common issues, pain, insomnia, and depression. I tried tinctures, edibles, and vaping and it did nothing to help my pain, mood, and insomnia. I even let it build up over a month in my system, like they recommended.

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. While many CBD users report significant benefits from their CBD oil, a lot do not, and this could be for a number of reasons.

If CBD is not working, it is time to try the CBDA alternative.

Highlights for why CBD is not working

Some CBD products are not good quality and dont contain less CBD than listed
The amount needed to see a change may be more that what is recommended
Not a miracle drug, your condition may not be helped by hemp extracts
Try a more bioavailable and effective CBD alternative, CBDA

Reasons why CBD oils may not be working for you

Did you know that 60 people have to take statins for 5 years to prevent 1 person from getting a heart attack? Statins decrease cholesterol, which is associated with heart disease, but there seems to be a lot more going on in our bodies.

What does this have to do with CBD oil (cannabidiol) and whether it works?

Everyone has slightly different biochemistry, even though we all have an endocannabinoid system. Our symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, pain, and insomnia can arise from changes in many different areas of the body, even though they present as similar to someone else.

Lets explore some of the most common reasons why CBD Oil products may not work for you.

Poor absorption of CBD

CBD oils are not well absorbed, and many clinical trials have to use much higher doses to reach clinically relevant endpoints than what is marketed. New acidic cannabinoids from hemp extracts are on the market, such as CBDA, that have between 450-1000% better absorption than CBD, and provide a viable alternative for medicinal benefits.

Product quality

Since hemp derived CBD products became federally legal in the 2018 Farm Bill, a lot of companies sprung up with poor product quality. We have seen in the 4 years since legalization a good improvement in the overall quality of CBD oil products. However, a lot of people who tried early on were turned off, and for good reason.

A good screening method for high quality CBD and CBDA products is to look for a CoA (certificate of analysis) of the final product. This should be from a third party lab testing cannabinoid potency, and contamination of heavy metals, solvents, pesticides, and microbials.

See our CoA guide on how to interpret and understand the testing results.

Finding a reputable company and trying a different brand with proper CoAs will help narrow the search for quality hemp extract products.

Delivery method

There are many different delivery methods for CBD oil, and they are not all the same at getting into your body. How well a compound can get into the blood and exert a medicinal benefit is called bioavailability.

Here are some of the more common routes of CBD oils, ranked from highest to lowest absorption:

CBD vapes or flower – The lung is very good at absorbing compounds in smoke, but the drawback is potentially harmful compounds created during the heating process.
CBD oil tinctures – Tinctures made with coconut MCT oil or hemp seed oil have are a good delivery method if placed under the tongue for maximum absorption.
CBD oil edibles – Ingestion can be a good method for CBD oil absorption, but you may want to consider a higher dose to start out since not all of it will be absorbed.
CBD oil capsules – Capsules can have similar bioavailability as edibles.
CBD oil topical creams – Topical creams may or may not be a good method depending what you are trying to do. The CBD amount that gets into the blood will be less than other methods, but often, it is used for only topical results. The efficacy will depend on the carrier formulation, which means that certain compounds are needed to bring the CBD across the skin into the dermis where the skin and vasculature cells are located.
CBD oil bath bombs – This is mostly a placebo, hopefully there are significant quantities of Epsom salts or potent terpene oils like lavender that can provide relaxing benefits.

Insufficient dose

We have seen so many CBD products that have 10mg to 40mg of CBD per serving, which, when taken once a day, are not going to do anything. Most clinical trials with measurable study outcomes have to use 100mg or more per dose in a single day. If you are taking CBD multiple times a day, then a lower dose is fine, but you are unlikely to see much health benefits if you use a CBD product in that range.

How long you are taking CBD oil

Sometimes the cannabis plant can have an immediate effect, like smoking, but when taking for for medicinal purposes it may take some time for the effects to be noticed. Similar to blood pressure or cholesterol medications, which takes weeks to months for changes to be seen. We typically recommend 1-4 weeks to see any differences.

Type of CBD oil

If CBD isn’t working, it may be due to the type of CBD oil that is in the product. Generally, there are three types of CBD products that can be bought:

Full spectrum CBD oil – This contains all the decarboxylated cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant, including small amounts of THC. Having all the cannabinoids in the CBD oil creates a synergistic benefit termed the entourage effect.
Broad spectrum CBD oil – Broad spectrum contains all the same cannabinoids as full spectrum CBD, but does not have THC.
CBD Isolate – This form of CBD oil is produced by crystallizing the CBD molecule to produce a high purity CBD isolate with no other cannabinoids. Popular with many manufacturers for its ease of dosing and mixing, but does not contain other cannabinoids that are synergistic with CBD.

Body chemistry

People may have an endocannabinoid system that is more receptive to CBD or less receptive to CBD. This may be due to differences in the amount of cannabinoid receptors found on the cell surface. Additionally, some people may find benefit from low dose CBD, while others my need more CBD.

There is ongoing research on how much CBD oil is needed to get a benefit, and what the differences are in individuals endocannabinoid system. While the endocannabinoid system plays a critical role in many physiological processes like mood, inflammation, pain, and anxiety, that does not necessarily mean it does in your case.

Not a miracle drug

We are not selling a miracle drug.

If the abnormal underlying biochemistry that is responsible for your symptoms does not involve the endocannabinoid system, it is unlikely that hemp extracts with cannabinoids will be able to provide relief.

The CBDA Alternative

New health benefits of the cannabis plant are being reported in many research journals, and the new acidic cannabinoid class is gaining traction. All cannabinoids found in the hemp flower are in the acidic form, such as CBDA (cannabidiolic acid), THCA, or CBGA, and their medicinal benefits are only now being unlocked. Most cannabidiol extracts sold online are in the decarboxylated form due to conventional processing that converts CBDA to CBD.

Cannabinoids do not need to be decarboxylated into active compounds to get a health benefit, and are often more potent in their natural form. Many of the effects of CBD are also seen with CBDA. CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system somewhat similar to CBDA.

CBDA anti inflammation

Many of the CBD effects are also found with CBDA since they both can target cannabinoid receptors. However, new studies show that CBDA has potent anti inflammatory properties through its regulation and inhibition of COX 2 (cyclooxygenase 2). COX 2 is a well known enzyme that promotes inflammation, and is a target of ibuprofen, aspirin and many other non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs.

CBDA absorption

Recent studies are now showing that all acidic cannabinoids have much better absorption than their decarboxylated forms. CBDA was firs reported to have an increase in absorption that was around 450% better than CBD, and now it appears that it can over 1000% more if other cannabinoids are present.

The acidic cannbinoids, and especially CBDA, are receiving more research as they reveal a better alternative to CBD, and may provide a superior approach to managing health problems.