There are two types of CBD users. Some are those who take CBD occasionally. However, some people take CBD regularly, and it’s very much part of their daily regimen. Over time, as you develop a habit for it, thoughts over its tolerance also cross your mind. “Can I build up a tolerance to CBD?”. That’s the question most frequent CBD users struggle with these days. Some people also fear CBD tolerance because THC, which is like its cousin from the marijuana plant, is known to cause tolerance among users. Though generally, there’s no specific way to judge tolerance, it’s been proved that there’s no such thing as “CBD tolerance”. So how should a normal CBD user, who’s consuming the cannabinoid for a long time, view this in the context of tolerance? This article will elaborate on everything that has anything to do with “tolerance” about CBD.
Let’s break it down for you!
First, let’s understand how CBD works
Before understanding what CBD tolerance is, let’s understand what exactly CBD or cannabidiol is. CBD or cannabidiol is a chemical compound that’s derived from cannabis or hemp plants, known as marijuana in popular culture. Despite coming from a marijuana family plant, CBD does not cause high or intoxication and rather produces incredible results against a range of bodily issues like stress, insomnia, indigestion, inflammation, chronic pain, among others. The therapeutic qualities of CBD, coupled with its ability to provide relief without causing intoxication, has encouraged a host of companies to venture into making different products. Many companies are coming up with innovative CBD products that can potentially cure key health problems without any side-effects. Research has shown that CBD can effectively cure numerous health issues.
Health problems curable with CBD
CBD works well against both psychological and physical health complications. People use it to cure many health problems. Research has shown that CBD can effectively cure stress and anxiety-related issues, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and insomnia. It also works pretty well against seizures. The US FDA has even approved a CBD-based medication for epilepsy. CBD can also help people suffering from a neurodegenerative disorder, which causes our brain to dysfunctional with time. Cannabidiol is also known as an effective pain reliever. From arthritis to chronic pain, muscle, MS, and spinal cord pains — it helps you manage all types of pains. It has also worked well against acne problems. Medical experts are now also investigating its role in preventing cancer cell growth. So far, it has been found that CBD use among cancer patients going through chemotherapy can help avoid vomiting.
How does tolerance occur?
Tolerance occurs when our body becomes so habitual of a drug that its effects start decreasing with time but our body seeks more of it. This fuels the need to increase your intake of the drug to ensure the specific amount of benefit continues to reach your body. This is true for THC-based products, which are psychoactive. However, there’s no such effect if you use CBD-based products. As research has proved, CBD produces an effect called ‘reverse tolerance’. This means that your intake with time can reduce but the effect will remain the same. This also means that your CBD dosage can continue to decrease over time, but it’ll keep on producing the same effect.
Why is tolerance high in case of THC?
THC can result in low tolerance over time. The reason: its ability to manipulate cannabinoid receptors in our body. THC is an intoxicating chemical compound, which binds with the endocannabinoid system in our body. The endocannabinoid receptors control all major bodily functions — stress, mood, nervous system, immune system, and appetite. Among all the receptors in our body, THC binds very strongly with CB1 receptors that are present in our mind. As you gain experience with THC usage, cannabinoid receptors in our body continue to decrease in number, thereby requiring the need for more THC from outside to fill the gap. This phenomenon causes tolerance for THC. The more you consume it, the less effect you’ll feel with time, thereby creating a vicious cycle.
Why does CBD not cause tolerance with time?
Like THC, tolerance does not work when it comes to CBD even though they both are extracted from the same cannabis plant. Both CBD and THC bind with receptors in our endocannabinoid system but differently. As you continue with your CBD intake, rather than creating tolerance, it creates reverse intolerance by promoting receptor activity. While THC usage reduces receptor activity in our body, CBD usage increases it, thereby reducing your need to enhance your intake with time. This makes CBD a more popular choice among users looking for health benefits rather than intoxication.
How much CBD use is good enough?
There’s no hard and fast way to measure your CBD intake. Though there are certain guidelines about CBD use by new users, experienced users can increase or decrease their CBD dosage depending upon how much they crave for. One must ensure that their CBD products are genuine. You can also consult your health expert to know about the correct dosage as per your needs. In essence, one must understand tolerance and reverse tolerance to make one wellness journey a wonderful one. Having all the necessary knowledge at hand will make you understand your body’s needs in a much better way. More knowledge about the pros and cons will not only improve CBD’s effect but also make you aware enough to understand myths related to it.
The Bottom Line
CBD products are highly sought after due to their magical effects on our bodies. People don’t encounter any side-effects due to consistent CBD use and they get relief from major health complications without worrying about highly expensive contemporary medications. Those worrying about tolerance because of CBD use should not bother at all. The idea is to keep the dosage the same for a longer period if you are a newbie. Knowing about all these details will put you on the power seat to physical wellbeing, thereby giving you the ultimate peace of mind.
