Quick Summary
(We know, you don’t have a lot of time.)
- Start with a low CBD dose, build up
- Determine your CBD strength = (mg/ml or mg/piece on packaging)
- Standard droppers are roughly 1 ml, or 35 drops. Your mg/ml calculation, then, will tell you how many mg in a dropper or per drop
- 5 to 50 mg is normal range for general use and chronic pain
- See chart below for weight vs. condition CBD dosages
Where do I start?!
After learning about CBD and deciding to try it, the first question that usually presents itself is “what is the proper CBD dosage (serving size) to get the effects I’m looking for?” The maddening but honest answer is … it depends. The rapid growth and widespread use of CBD products is pretty recent, so the collective knowledge is limited. In addition, the proper size for a given individual or condition can be affected by many things, including:
- Manufacturer
- Concentration/potency
- Extraction method
- Your weight/size
- Your reason for using CBD
- And so on…you get the idea
How do I sort it out?
Typically, we are left to rely upon the manufacturer’s thoughts, other users’ experiences, and our own trial and error. But, that’s where we’re going to try and step in and help. There are some shortcuts to getting to an answer faster (see our summary above).
The main thought that will serve you well as you begin your CBD regimen is to start at a low level/dosage and build as you learn how you are affected at various levels. Also, look for specific thoughts from others who are taking CBD for the same reason as you are – whether that be for anti-anxiety and calming effects or for a serious illness/disease.
What follows are our thoughts for a good dosage to relieve stress and minor pain or to fight anxiety, sleeplessness, etc. We’ve also highlighted published thoughts from others on CBD for serious illnesses.
First, figure out how you can measure your CBD
The first step is to read the bottle, packaging, or website of the CBD you’ve purchased, or plan to purchase. Find any dosage/serving size recommendations that they might already provide. You still might have to do a little math to know what you are taking. For example, if you are using CBD oil, “take two droppers full” does not tell you how many milligrams of CBD you are ingesting (which is pretty important). To determine this, look at the CBD concentration written on the product (given in milligrams, mg) and the volume (given in milliliters, ml).
Pro tip: divide the number of milligrams (mg) in a bottle by the number of milliliters (ml) to get the mg/ml. One dropper is roughly equal to 1ml, or 35 drops, so you know how many milligrams per dropper or per drop.
In our experience, a dropper is the most common delivery method. As referenced in the pro tip, those droppers appear to be standardized at one (1) ml, though you should verify this. A quick calculation tells you that one dropper equals the number of milligrams in the bottle divided by the number of milliliters in the bottle.
Another way to look at it is that there are about 35 drops of CBD oil in a full dropper (1 ml). With that, we can assume drop strength for common bottle sizes. For example, a 1000mg product (15ml) equals approximately 2mg per drop, a 500mg product (15ml) 1 mg per drop, .5mg for a 15ml bottle of 250mg oil, etc.
Disclaimer on Terminology:
We are using the terms “dosage” and “serving size” interchangeably in this post. Technically, CBD is a supplement, which makes “serving size” the proper term, but we know that the question usually comes to us as “dosage”, so we are using both terms to be sure you find what you’re looking for. Also, we remind you that we are not medical professionals, and the FDA does not yet verify the medicinal properties of CBD.
The nitty-gritty:
With that in mind, here are some thoughts we collected from our own experience and from studying the experiences and reports of other users, manufacturers, and health proponents:
- General Use: 5 to 25 mg/day (vary based on your weight and/or experience)
- Chronic pain: 5 to 50 mg/day
- Epilepsy: 200-300 mg/day (caution! this is a VERY large serving size)
- Sleep disorders: 40-160 mg/day (caution! over 75mg is a large serving size)
- Glaucoma: 20-40 mg/day
And here is an interesting chart we found on how-much-cbd-should-i-take.com:
Wrapping it up:
As you can see, there are wide ranges in CBD dosages that people have found effective. We remind you of our earlier comment: start low and build. Preferably, split the servings into two or three times per day and increase until you find what works for you. Ask your doctor or health care provider. Ask CBD manufacturers. Ask other CBD users what their experiences have been. We will return to this topic as we find more information that we feel you can benefit from. Meanwhile, check out some of our other posts to learn about CBD, CBD benefits, and all things cannabidiol.
