How long does it take to feel the effects of taking CBD? The question is understandable, but the answer is complex. While CBD won’t make a person feel “high,” users can generally feel it begin to work. But lengths of time are always expressed as ranges; there is no one-size-fits-all rule, which is understandable. After all, the cannabis plant contains more than 500 separate chemical compounds.

There are several methods for consuming CBD, and each one has a different impact on how much and how quickly the product is absorbed into the bloodstream — a phenomenon called bioavailability.

CBD users usually start to feel the effects in about 15 minutes after vaping or taking it sublingually. Edible and topical products typically take as much as an hour or two to be felt. Generally accepted wisdom holds that allowing CBD to be absorbed beneath the tongue instead of routing it through one’s digestive tract preserves more of the product, which leads to faster relief.

Those who take CBD because they are seeking to ease their stress, anxiety or depression — or to improve the quality of their sleep — may do best with oils or capsules, in which case relief may be only a half-hour away.

Medical authorities are in agreement that CBD can remain in a person’s system from several hours to as long as a month, depending on the dosage, the individual (age, body weight, metabolism) and the method used to deliver it. CBD’s half-life — that is, the length of time taken by the body to eliminate 50% of it — runs from an hour to five days. Most often, a substance will be eliminated in four to five half-lives. Potential side effects include sleepiness, irritability and diminished appetite.

CBD sprays and drops reportedly boast a half-life of 1.4 to 10.9 hours, according to medical sources. At the same time, chronic oral consumption can expand the half-life to as long as five days. If smoked, it usually has a half-life of approximately 30 hours.