How is the CBD dose calculated?

07. 07. 2024

In this article, you will learn more about the dosage of CBD oil. We will explain how much the dosage can vary depending on various factors such as body weight, age, ailments you suffer from, the effectiveness of the oil you are using. You will learn how to determine the optimal dose for your body and what to do if you experience side effects .


What is the usual CBD dosage?

Most people take 20-40 mg of CBD per dose. Some people take much smaller doses (up to 1 mg), while others need much more (up to 100 mg).

Depending on the effectiveness of the product in question, this can be a few drops, but also a few milliliters of oil . Or it can be 1 to 5 capsules or gummies per dose. It is true that the optimal CBD dosage is different for different people.

It is quite common for two people with the same body weight to react very differently to the same CBD dose. For one person, the ideal dose may be 30 mg of CBD, while another may respond better to a mere 10 mg.


The ideal CBD dosage depends on a variety of factors, including:

- Your height and weight
- The severity of your condition
- Your tolerance to CBD
- Your body's individual chemical makeup
- The potency of the CBD oil, capsules, gummies, or other CBD products you're taking


The best way to find the right dosage is to start with a very small dose (for example, 2 mg) and gradually increase it by 2-5 mg until you find the dose that works best for you.


Determining CBD Dosage Based on Your Body Weight

While CBD dosage varies from person to person, a general rule can be used to determine an estimated dose based on your body weight and the intensity of effects you're trying to achieve (small, medium, and large potency).





You can find instructions on determining your dose below. These are estimated doses only and should not be used as a substitute for medical advice on dosage.

When you first start taking CBD, it is advisable to start with a small dose and then increase it slowly over time. Once you have found the dose that is effective, it is a dose that is right for your body. If you experience side effects, you have reached the upper limit.Reduce the dose to the amount where no side effects were observed.


Determining the CBD dosage according to body weight and potency of the product in question:

Low potency → 2 mg CBD per 10 kg
Medium potency → 7 mg CBD per 10 kg
High potency → 13 mg CBD per 10 kg


It is important to note that this measurement is made with pure CBD, not CBD oil. Later we will show you how to calculate the amount of CBD oil for this dose. Once you have determined how much CBD you should take, determine the appropriate amount of CBD oil depending on the potency of the oil you are using.



Table - CBD dosage according to body weight and potency (in mg)
 

 

What potency is right for me?

The more CBD you take, the more intense its effects. To treat some complaints, relatively high doses of CBD are needed to achieve the desired effects, while for other complaints only products with a low potency are sufficient - and you can still expect remarkable results.


Ask yourself the following question: "Why do I use CBD oil?"


It is a very important question to answer, because only then can you determine what the optimal dose is for you.



Recommended potency by condition

Anxiety → medium to high potency
Arthritis → medium to high potency
Cancer → high potency or pharmaceutical alternative
Chronic pain → medium to high potency
Colitis and inflammatory bowel disease → medium to high potency
Epilepsy → high potency or pharmaceutical alternative
General health → low potency
Hypertension → medium to high potency
Migraine-type headaches → low to high potency
Muscle recovery → low to medium potency
Nausea → low to medium potency
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) → low to medium potency
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) → low to high potency
Insomnia → medium to high potency
Weight loss → low to medium potency




CBD dosage: 4 steps to the ideal CBD oil dose

The easiest way to determine the optimal dose of CBD is to refer to the CBD dosage table above and use the table to determine the 'small potency' that corresponds to your body weight.

From this point on, you can slowly increase the dose each day until your symptoms are relieved or until side effects occur (usually fatigue or drowsiness). If you experience any side effects, reduce the dose to the last dose you took that did not cause any negative side effects.

Never start with a high potency if you have not taken CBD oil before.

For an even more precise dosage, follow the four steps below.

Step 1: Determine your optimal CBD dose

First, you should determine the ideal starting dose of CBD that can be taken. This depends on your body weight.





Below you will find a general rule for CBD dosage according to body weight and potency of the respective product:

 

 

How to calculate the dose based on your body weight

[YOUR BODY WEIGHT IN KG] x [REQUIRED STRENGTH (0.2 or 0.7 or 1.3 mg)] = [YOUR CBD DOSE IN MG]


A practical example:

Let's say you are a man who weighs 80 kilograms, and you are looking for a dose with medium potency.

Now you need to multiply the total weight (80 kilograms) by the desired dose equivalent (0.7 mg per kilogram for medium potency).

[80] x [0.7 mg] = 56 mg CBD

The appropriate starting dose, in this case, would be approximately 56 mg of CBD per day. Now, you need to determine how much CBD oil you need to reach this dose. You can measure it by drops or by the amount of oil in milliliters.



Step 2: Determine the potency of the CBD oil

The potency of the CBD oil you use directly impacts the amount needed to achieve the optimal dose.

For example, very strong CBD oil with 200 mg of CBD per milliliter will require ten times less oil to achieve the respective CBD dose than low-potency oils (only 20 mg per milliliter).

You also need to know how much CBD a milliliter of oil contains.

Sometimes it's easy, as there are manufacturers who state the CBD concentration in a milliliter of oil directly on the bottle. Sometimes, this information is missing, but fortunately, the formula used to calculate the oil concentration is very simple.


What to consider:

- Bottle size (in ml)
- Amount of CBD stated on the bottle (300 mg, 600 mg, 1,000 mg, etc.)


Use this formula to determine potency:
[CBD IN MG] ÷ [BOTTLE SIZE IN ML] = [CBD IN MG / ML]


For example,

A CBD manufacturer produces hemp oil that lists 600 mg of CBD per bottle. The volume of the bottle is 30 ml.


Let's plug that into our formula:

[600 MG] ÷ [30 ML] = [20 MG CBD / ML].

Our answer: 20 mg of CBD per 1 ml of liquid.

Now, if you know how strong the oil is, you can determine how much you need to get that dose.

For example, if you need a 20 mg dose of CBD, use 1 milliliter of oil—that's a full dropper. If you only need 10 mg, then use half a pipette. For 30 mg, use one and a half pipettes, etc.



Reference table - potency of CBD oil:
 

 

Step 3: Convert the dose to drops (optional)

To make dosing easier, you can convert your dose to drops. The number of drops needed to achieve each dose depends on how strong the oil is.

This information is quite useful when dealing with high-potency CBD oils. It can also be useful if you are using CBD oil to treat four-legged friends or children - in these cases, even small changes in dosage can make a big difference.

Most pipettes dose 30 drops per 1 ml of oil - the dose per one drop is obtained by dividing the dose per milliliter by thirty.


The formula is as follows:

[CBD PER ML] ÷ [30 DROPS] = [MG / DROPS]


Let's demonstrate it using the example above - i.e. 600 mg of CBD oil in a 30 ml bottle. The potency of this oil was 20 mg per 1 milliliter, so the CBD dose can be calculated by dividing this number by 30 (30 drops in 1 ml):

[20 MG PER ML] ÷ [30 DROPS] = 0.7 MG CBD PER DROP


Conventional doses of CBD oil in drops (assuming the pipette doses 30 drops per milliliter)
 

How to determine the desired number of drops of CBD oil based on your target dose:

You can use all of this information to determine the number of drops needed to reach the target dose.

To determine the exact number of dropsneeded to maintain a specific CBD dose, all you need to do is divide the total dose by the potency of one drop of CBD oil.

[TARGET CBD DOSE (example: 51 mg)] ÷ [POTENCY OF CBD OIL PER DROP (example: 0.7 mg)] = DOSE OF CBD OIL IN DROPS


Our example would look like this in practice:

[51 mg] ÷ [0.7 MG/DROP] = 73 drops of CBD oil



Reference table for determining the number of drops per dose for conventional CBD oil potencies
 

 

Step 4: Adjust the dose to your body

Using the steps above, you can determine the ideal target dose of pure CBD and how much CBD oil is needed to achieve that dose.

The next step is to take that dose daily and adjust the amount a little each day until you find the amount that suits you best. This is one of the most important steps.

As mentioned above, reactions to CBD oil can vary quite a bit. This means you need to look at how CBD oil affects you personally - other people's experiences are irrelevant here.

Your friend may take 20 mg, while you need a much higher or smaller dose.


The only way to get the right dose is clear - start with the dose determined above and then gradually adjust it.


Maybe you took 20 mg and your symptoms were still not relieved - now is a good time to increase the dose, followed by further evaluation.

Or you took 20 mg and experienced significant relief - but in the end you were too tired, so the dose needs to be reduced a little.

This process is never-ending – you need to constantly pay attention to how CBD affects you and adjust the dosage accordingly to meet your needs.


Whenever you try a new brand of CBD product, you may need to make adjustments to your dosage – the following factors come into play:

- Cannabinoid ratio in oil
- Terpene ratio in oil
- Full spectrum oil or CBD isolate?
- Overall potency of oil


A pro tip: Compare oil potency to estimated target dose


CBD oils are available in many potencies. It is advisable to match the potency of oil to the most likely dose you are supposed to take.

There is probably no point in taking high-potency CBD oil if you only want to take 5 mg per dose. Each drop of oil can contain more active ingredient than your desired dose, then it is difficult to avoid taking too much active ingredient.

And accordingly, if you want to use high-potency CBD , then buying low-potency CBD oil (300 mg or less) makes little sense because you'll need to use a quarter of the bottle per dose.


Here are some general recommendations for the potency of CBD oil depending on your target dose:

Dose CBD 5 mg — CBD oil 250 mg or weaker
Dose CBD 10 mg — CBD oil 250 mg or weaker
Dose CBD 15 mg — CBD oil 250 – 500 mg
Dose CBD 20 mg — CBD oil 250 – 500 mg
Dose CBD 25 mg — CBD oil 500 – 1,000 mg
Dose CBD 30 mg — CBD oil 500 – 1,000 mg
Dose CBD 35 mg — CBD oil 500 – 1,000 mg
Dose CBD 40 mg — CBD oil 500 – 1,000 mg
Dose CBD 45 mg — CBD oil 500 – 1,000 mg
Dose CBD 50 mg — CBD oil 1,000 mg or stronger
Dose CBD 55 mg — CBD oil 1,000 mg or stronger
Dose CBD 60 mg or more — CBD oil 1,000 mg or stronger






Conclusion: How much CBD should I take?

CBD has quite different effects, so it is advisable to start with a small dose when taking CBD for the first time and then slowly increase it day by day.

The usual dosage range for CBD products is between 20 and 40 mg per dose. Some people take one dose per day - but two or even three doses per day are not uncommon.

The key factor here is the potency of the CBD oil, capsules or other CBD products you take. Compared to low-potency CBD oil, you need a much smaller dose of high-potency CBD oil.