Leafreport: Majority Of CBD Users Are 'Guessing' At Dosage, Is This A Problem?

Who determines your CBD dosage? 

If you are one of the many CBD users in the U.S., then the answer is most likely you!

At least according to the newly released Leafreport survey, which examined CBD-related habits of 721 consumers in the U.S. aged 21 to 80. 

As CBD products become more widespread, consumers seem to get more relaxed about them...as in not really interested in learning more. The problem also lies in the fact that there’s still no standardized dosing scheme for 

CBD and dosage guidelines seem to differ from brand to brand. What’s more, there are notable variations between clinical studies and the doses researchers used, the report noted.

This leaves plenty of room for users to experiment, which, apparently, they're

doing.

Key Takeaways From The Survey 

Dosage: 

• 71% are deciding the dosage for themselves, without consulting a professional; More precisely, 42% of the respondents admitted that they determining dosage themselves, based on trial and error. 21% followed dosage guidelines supplied on the product and some 8% researched online or used a dosage calculator.

Out of the remaining 29%, 18% consulted a doctor while 11% asked their budtender. 

There was significant variation in dosing decisions with 26% of respondents taking 5-10 mg. and 22% saying they didn’t check any dosage recommendations before taking the CBD, while approximately 17% of respondents took 10-20 mg. Around 13% took less than 5 mg., 11% said they

took 20-40 mg and a further 4% took from 40-70 milligrams. Only 3% took 70-100 mg and 4% took a hefty dose of more than 100 mg each time.

Purpose For Using CBD:

• 31% use CBD for pain;
• 26.5% are using CBD to treat anxiety and stress; 
• 18% to deal with insomnia and/or improve sleep; 
• 12.5% took CBD to help with depression; 
• 10% used CBD to help maintain general health and wellbeing, while the remaining 2% of respondents used CBD to treat other unspecified conditions.

Types of CBD:

35% of respondents favored CBD-infused gummies, edibles and beverages;

• 26% reporting that they preferred CBD oils and tinctures;
• 14% mostly chose topical and creams;
• 12% often picked CBD capsules;
• Vapes were the least popular delivery method, with only 10% of users inhaling CBD.

Result Satisfaction:

• The majority of survey participants found CBD helpful to some degree, with 34% claiming it to be very helpful, giving it a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5;
• 32% found it helpful, ranking it a 4;
• 23% were indifferent about its effects and ranked it a 3;
• 8% found it unhelpful and ranked it a 2;
• 4% found it very unhelpful and ranked it a 1.

Leafreport highlighted that ‘guesstimating’ CBD dosage can be problematic, and even harmful in some cases. For example, a low dose can help with anxiety but a much higher dose can actually elevate it.

The Best Approach To Determining The Right Dosage 

Another problem CBD consumers should be aware of is mislabeling, which has been known to happen across the industry.

David Anthony Schroeder, CBD advocate and author of “7 Ways to Manage Pain With CBD” says that dosage guidelines on labels should be taken only as a generic starting point.

“There is not an average size dose, as CBD is not a one-size-fits-all,”

Schroeder said. “There are a number of factors affecting the dosage amount that will affect an individual battling illness or chronic pain.”

According to Schroeder, the best approach is to start with a small dosage and give it at least a week for your body to react and then increase if you feel it’s necessary. He added that adjusting dosage should be done by body weight, just like with standard prescribed medications.

Photo: Courtesy of Timothy Dykes on Unsplash