There are many ways to get CBD into your system, and they each have their advantages and disadvantages. Edibles and vaping are no different. These are two of the most popular ways to use CBD, and they differ in fundamental aspects. If you are looking to get started and don’t know which method to try first, here’s what you should know.
CBD consumption basics
Many parts of your CBD experience will be affected by how you consume the substance. CBD is a psychoactive substance with calming properties. It will not leave you high or intoxicated, but it does induce a feeling of calm, in the same way that caffeine induces alertness.
Different consumption methods will affect the action speed of CBD. In other words, how long it will take for the subjective feeling of calm to take over will depend on how you consume the substance. The duration of those effects is also affected by the consumption method. But perhaps the most important point of variation is the bioavailability of CBD
Bioavailability refers to how much of the CBD consumed also ends up affecting your system. Higher bioavailability means that more of the CBD gets utilized by your body. Lower bioavailability means that more of the CBD goes to waste.
In practical terms, it means that lower-bioavailability consumption methods are less efficient. If you use 100mg of CBD through a delivery method that has 80% bioavailability, you’ll need 200mg of CBD to achieve the same effect with a method that only has 40% of bioavailability. Given that products are usually more expensive the more CBD they contain, using inefficient consumption methods may well make your CBD use more costly in the long run.
How vaping and edibles stack up together
We mentioned three key points in which CBD absorption differs between consumption methods: speed of action, duration of effects, and CBD bioavailability. Now let’s look into how edibles and vaping stack against each other across those three categories.
1 - Which is the fastest?
Vaping CBD is one of the fastest ways to get the effects of the substance. Edibles, on the other hand, are one of the slowest methods in the market. Vaping often allows you to enjoy the effects of CBD right away, as inhaling the substance leads to an immediate peak in the amount of CBD in your bloodstream. Edibles, however, often take at least an hour to kick in, as the ingested CBD needs to be processed by the liver before it reaches your bloodstream.
2 - Which lasts longer?
Edibles take the crown when it comes to duration. Vaping CBD leads to a quick peak, but the decline is just as quick. Most of the effects will be gone within the hour, and the CBD will have cleared your system within three hours. Edibles, however, often last for six hours or more. The exact duration varies depending on various factors. Still, edibles always last longer than vaping, reducing the need for constant redosing.
3 - Which is more efficient?
When it comes to efficiency, vaping takes the crown in both overall efficiency and consistency. Scientific studies looking into the effects of THC and CBD often use vaporization as a delivery method on their test subjects. Through this method, around 40% of the CBD ends up being utilized by your body. Edibles have a bioavailability that ranges from 6% to 19%, depending on how long it has been since your last meal, the status of your liver, among many other conditions.
Conclusion