CBD Side Effects

Know the Side Effects: Understanding CBD Interactions in the Body

I can’t take CBD oil before work. 

I’ll laugh at nothing and start singing along to the elevator music!

I’ll make a fool out of myself and eat all the donuts in the break room!

Are you sure about that?

Even though most people have seen the stereotype of the hopeless stoner, they know almost nothing about CBD.

Products made from CBD oil don’t have the same effect as smoking a bowl of pot. In fact, CBD oil isn’t even derived from the same part of the marijuana plant.

Let’s take a minute to clarify the difference between CBD and THC.

To learn about CBD interactions with other medications, side effects, and more, keep reading.

CBD Does NOT Get You High or Stoned

This is one of the most common misconceptions about anything derived from hemp.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the compound in marijuana flower that gets you high. “High” or “stoned” in this case means euphoric and giggly with impaired cognitive function. Although honestly, how a marijuana high feels like depends on the person.

Cannabidiol (CBD) products derived from hemp, or the stems of marijuana plants, are not psychoactive. They’re carefully refined to contain 0.3 percent THC at the most. Any more than that, and you can’t legally call it CBD oil.

Both THC and CBD activate the endocannabinoid system in your brain. But unlike THC, cannabidiol interacts with the CB2 receptors that affect the nervous system.

This means CBD has a direct impact on your pain receptors and other non-psychoactive parts of your brain. Most people are able to continue about their day after taking CBD — with no cognitive impairment.

CBD is an Amazing Organic Pain Killer

In a survey of doctors and their patients, 42% percent of respondents said they stopped using prescriptions like Vicodin and Tylenol in favor of CBD. 

Whether they chose to replace traditional pain killers with their CBD oil or not, 80 percent of patients said that CBD was “very” to “extremely” effective.

Besides same-day relief for mild pain, cannabidiol is often used to help the following:

• Chronic pain
• Migraines
• Auto-immune related pain
• Insomnia
• Irregular sleep patterns
• Nausea
• Lack of appetite
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Depression

Your endocannabinoid system helps most other systems in your body stay balanced. That’s why CBD can have such an impact on appetite, sleep, mood, immune response, and pain all at once.

Negative Side Effects Are Mild (If Any)

In 2006, a group of researchers found no significant toxic effects of CBD in humans, regardless of dosage. 

They tested daily doses of CBD ranging from 10 to 400 milligrams. It didn’t matter whether the CBD was taken orally, inhaled, or given intravenously. They concluded:

“[CBD] failed to induce any significant alteration in neurological, psychiatric or clinical exams… confirming results from animal studies, the available clinical data suggest that CBD can be safely administered over a wide dose range.”

Since then, other studies have shown a few mild negative side effects that can make some people uncomfortable. These include:

• A slight drop in blood pressure
• Dry mouth
• Lightheadedness
• Slowed thoughts or motor skills
• Mild sedation or drowsiness

Some people report getting some digestive problems from their CBD, such as diarrhea. The purity and freshness of your CBD oil will impact how likely you are to feel these symptoms. Exact results and side effects will vary greatly per person.

You’ll also want to be careful about combining the use of CBD products with other medications. 

CBD Interactions with Other Medications

Complex laws and the ugly stigma surrounding cannabis makes CBD oil difficult to study.

Even in states where weed is legal, most scientists find it hard to get funding or support for marijuana-related research.

For example, scientists have been trying to find ways to help manage severe PTSD symptoms in war veterans for more than a century. This challenging mental disability is otherwise impossible to treat. But the first-ever study into cannabis for veterans only just started in 2017. 

Researchers today have to fight through miles of red tape and put their reputations on the line to get approval for this kind of work. So until regulations change, we have no idea how CBD oil interacts with most other medications.

A Farm Bill passed in 2014 allowing for legal agricultural hemp farms. This legalized CBD oil and opened up some doors for cannabis research. Growing, selling, or researching cannabis flower is still a federal crime.

But we do know a few things for sure.

If You’re Still Nervous, Consult Your Doctor

You should always talk to your doctor before starting any new supplements, even if they’re organic.

We don’t know much about CBD interactions with other medications. And like man-made prescriptions, CBD oil can sometimes worsen the symptoms it’s supposed to improve.

In one study, children taking CBD for a specific form of epilepsy had more seizures than before.

Another study shows that even short term exposure to CBD weakens the placental barrier in pregnant mothers. This means pregnant moms taking CBD could make their baby more vulnerable.

In general, being exact with CBD dosages is hard. Even though you can’t overdose on CBD oil, it’s easy to take more than you intended to. Make sure you’re reading all the labels carefully.

Always start with small dosages and wait several hours to feel the results. And no matter what, make sure you’re getting this product from trusted manufacturers.

Learn More about CBD Oil

For all the awesomeness it brings to the world, CBD gets a bad rap.

But with any luck, researchers will be allowed to tell us even more about all the ways we can use this oil in our everyday lives.

If you’re interested in trying out CBD products for yourself, check out this post where we bust even more myths about CBD.

Remember, the purity of your CBD matters. That’s why we work so hard to test it for you.