Full CBD Vaping Guide
What is CBD?
With the increasing legalisation of marijuana in many countries globally, manufacturers have been experimenting with interesting methods of consuming cannabis-related products.
One such practice has found its way into the e-cigarettes industry through vaping CBD (cannabidiol). This isn’t a new thing but certainly not as popular as regular vape juice. Nonetheless, several research reports suggest the CBD industry will be worth between $40 billion and $50 billion by 2028.
So, what is CBD? CBD is one of the most prominently identified compounds (up to 40% of the composition) in cannabis plants.
As we know, cannabis or weed has, for decades, been regarded as a herbal drug with numerous medicinal and therapeutic applications. You can ingest CBD by smoking, by mouth, using an aerosol spray on the cheek and, most recently, vaping.
Of course, this article will focus on all the aspects of the latter in more detail.
CBD benefits - what are they?
The health uses of CBD are quite well-documented by experts. Although side effects do exist, reception for this compound is predominantly positive.
Let’s look at the most cited advantages:
- Pain ease: Medical practitioners have used pot to treat soreness even as far back as the B.C times. Without being too ‘sciency,’ the human nervous system produces certain transmitters that scientists say bind to CBD receptors.
More specifically, they have found that CBD can treat several types of pain related to muscle spasms, rheumatic diseases, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, etc.
- Mental relief: Clinicians have also noted CBD’s benefits in treating numerous psychiatric disorders like anxiety, panic, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression.
What’s more, medical experts found CBD to have fewer adverse reactions than ordinary pharmaceutical drugs and that patients experienced less dependence on it.
- Benefits for the heart: Many ongoing studies discovered CBD could lower high blood pressure, reduce the likelihood of strokes and cardiac arrest, and even improve the overall circulatory system.
The other good things that researchers found fruitful with CBD (albeit with more studies required) include helping psychotic effects, substance abuse, sleep improvement, and cancer-related symptoms.
What is CBD oil?
CBD oil is created by extracting the CBD compound from cannabis and then mixing it with, most commonly, coconut or hemp seed oil. You can find CBD oil in a variety of goods like skin care products, capsules, bath soaks, dietary supplements, and even food.
Needless to say, CBD has found its way into e-liquids. However, it’s important to discuss the context of CBD oil in vaping juice and clear some misconceptions.
What is CBD e-liquid?
CBD e-liquid (or CBD vape juice) contains the regular vaping fluid with extracted CBD. The term is often erroneously referred to as CBD vape oil but is not the same as CBD oil. CBD vaping liquid is not technically an oil.
CBD vaping juices were designed strictly for vaping. While they can be used for medical benefits, you should never vape the actual CBD oil. Therefore, in buying this product, you must verify its content and ensure it’s not an oil-based tincture.
The most common ingredients found in CBD e-liquids, as with regular juices, include propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), and flavouring.
Moreover, legitimate CBD juice shouldn’t contain nicotine, making it less addictive. CBD vaping allows for the stimulant to be delivered more quickly and efficiently than in tincture form.
Vaping CBD is as relatively safe as normal e-liquids. Yet, this doesn’t make it healthier because vaping generally does carry many risks. Fortunately, you can use many ordinary vaping devices to vape CBD with the right juice.
Still, several vapes like pod systems are better designed for vaping this crystalline substance. These tend to have interchangeable pods enabling you to swap between nicotine and CBD-based juices easily.
How does CBD vape make you feel? Will CBD vape juice get you high?
One of the typical questions asked about CBD vape juice is whether it makes you high, to which the answer is no. The content responsible for producing this effect in weed is called tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
This chemical should not be present in genuine CBD juice. As with any vaping e-liquids, there are illegal brands containing inadequate contents like THC that shouldn’t be vaped. Therefore, one must ensure that they’re acquiring their CBD juice from a trusted source.
Although CBD vape juice shouldn’t make you ‘spaced out,’ it still produces psychoactive results. The most noticeable sensations include feelings of calm and euphoria. When vaping CBD for long enough, you can feel your mood being elevated with less anxiety on your mind.
What about the taste? Not every person will initially like the tang of vape CBD, even with the additional flavouring. However, these e-liquids will have a slightly earthy or piney taste. The overall savour of vape CBD will also depend on how much of it is present in the juice.
How much CBD should I vape?
One of the disadvantages of this alternative juice is that it’s more expensive than conventional e-liquids. So, the natural question is how much CBD is enough? Understandably, there is no one-size-fits-all answer here, as each vaper’s perception of CBD will vary widely.
Individual factors include age, weight, existing symptoms, vaping frequency, metabolism, personal tolerance and so on. So, in the end, one can only experiment until they find the right combination.
Due to the higher cost, you want to feel real differences in the juice. But at the same time, you don’t want to be excessive. Firstly, the amount of CBD in the juice bottle is expressed in milligrams (mg), which should be noted on the bottle.
The calculations below are a general rule of thumb when it comes to CBD strength in vape juice:
- 50-200mg (low)
- 200-500mg (medium)
- 500-2000mg (high)
- 2000-4000mg (very high)
If you want to be mathematical about the dosage, here’s one way of calculating. Once you know the milligram content, note the bottle size (in ml). Next, you simply divide the mg amount with the ml size, which gives you the strength in milligram per millilitre.
For example, if the juice bottle is worth 50ml and contains 1000mg of CBD, the answer would be 20. This means each millilitre has 50mg of CBD in it. You should also know the size of your tank. Assuming the average of 2ml, this means you would be vaping 100mg of CBD for every filling.
To play it safe, start with the lowest dosage and work your way up until the effects are tolerable and pleasurable.
Can you mix CBD oil with e-liquid?
The short answer is no because it is unsafe to inhale CBD oil. It goes back to the misnomer we mentioned previously; you don’t vape actual CBD oil in the e-juice. Firstly, oil and liquid don’t gel well together.
And even if dissolved, they will likely damage your coils. The atomiser would also burn the mixture instead of vaporising it. This results in inhaling something that is potentially very damaging to your lungs.
Ultimately, as previously mentioned, you should only buy specially-designed CBD vaping juice. However, with the right recipe, it doesn’t mean that you cannot make your own.
Full spectrum, broad spectrum, and isolate CBD, any differences?
We get CBD in three categories: full-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum CBD, and CBD isolate. Full-spectrum consists of CBD along with the many compounds found in cannabis like terpenes, flavonoids, and THC.
Yet, unlike regular ganja, the THC content is too low to make you feel ‘stoned.’ Legally, the CBD should generally have less than 0.3% of THC. Broad-spectrum is simply CBD without any traces of THC.
Lastly, CBD isolate, as the term suggests, consists of the purest form of cannabidiol achieved through several layers of distillation. Vape juices will contain any of the three CBD types. There is no particular kind that most manufacturers adhere to.
Wattage needed to vape CBD e-liquid
The consensus for the ideal power in vaping CBD is 10-30w. This will be a problem if your vaping device cannot adjust this setting or starts vaping at a higher heat by default. This could mean perhaps getting a separate e-cigarette to vape CBD.
There are a few reasons why higher wattage isn’t recommended with CBD e-liquid. CBD in vape juice, by its very nature, is slightly more concentrated or thicker than the other ingredients like VG, PG, and flavouring.
So, if you have more watts behind your atomiser, the compound will likely ‘burn’ due to the high output. Needless to say, the experience would be affected, meaning the user won’t get the expected gains of CBD.
As with many things in vaping, the best way is to start small. Assuming your appliance can adjust the wattage, most vapers begin vaping CBD at 10w.
After a few puffs, you can slowly work your way up and down until reaching the perfect level. We should also note that the wattage will also be affected by the quality of the CBD juice, the coil, vaping style, etc.
Is CBD legal in Switzerland?
Yes, CBD is fully permitted in Switzerland, having legalised CBD products since the early 2010s.
But like any substance, this is according to strict rules. The main one is that the CBD should not have THC above 1% (much higher than in other countries). Similarly, personal use and cultivation of weed are legal, provided the same rule applies.
Of course, you must also be above 18 to consume any CBD-based products. The CBD market is not often associated with the Swiss, but this country has proven to be one of the most progressive European nations for the substance.
Can you drive after vaping CBD?
Yes, CBD shouldn’t affect anyone’s driving ability when consumed moderately. Some research has even suggested that the stimulant can increase your overall alertness. Again, provided the THC content is below the legal requirement, vaping CBD won’t get you high.
However, too much CBD can cause some sedative effects that may impact how you operate the steering wheel. Still, virtually all countries allowing the personal use of any CBD product don’t prohibit vaping it at any stage of the driving process.
If I take CBD vape, will I fail a drug test?
In short, you shouldn’t fail if the CBD is THC-free. Drug tests, which are almost always conducted with a urine sample, generally only screen THC and not CBD in cannabis.
This is because CBD isn’t illegal (in most countries) nor an intoxicating substance like alcohol and cocaine. Yet, a test can show a ‘false-positive’ result (not directly caused by CBD vaping) if your body contains any other suspicious drugs.
Ultimately, vaping is the delivery of the substance and not the substance itself. So, provided you’re vaping the appropriate e-liquids, there is no need to worry about failing any drug test.
How long does CBD last in your blood?
Let’s first state that vaping this catalyst is the quickest absorption method for the body. Thus, users can feel the outcomes much faster.
This is different from using edibles or tinctures where the CBD is directed more to the liver first, where it’s slower at wearing off. Therefore, vaped CBD doesn’t stick around for long in the blood because you exhale it rather than digest or swallow it.
Much of the studies conducted suggest that, for occasional users, you should clear CBD out of your system after roughly 5-6 hours. But this is more of a blanket statement as it depends on many individual factors like your metabolism or chemistry, genetics, and frequency of consuming CBD.
Plus, not much conclusive research exists on this exact topic. Therefore, it is possible to have CBD in your blood for much longer if you vape it habitually.
Why CBD vape oil may crystalise
A strange yet interesting phenomenon with CBD vape juice is crystallisation. This happens when the substance begins to granulate and create a crystal or diamond-like, slushy look in the liquid.
This may occur right when you take the bottle out of the box or leave it untouched for a few days. Fortunately, this appearance signifies that the CBD is of the purest and highest quality.
Crystallisation happens because of CBD’s natural chemical properties.
However, light work is still required to get the juice back to liquid form. A common trick is using a waterproof bag, squeezing out air, and running it under hot water for roughly five minutes.
This process dissolves the crystals back into liquid form. Some even suggest placing a hairdryer next to the vaping device for a few minutes to achieve the same outcome.
Summary on CBD oil and vaping: should you try it?
For the curious e-cigarette puffer, CBD can provide a new vaping experience away from conventional juices. Consuming cannabis continues to be a recreational habit helping millions of people to relieve stress, relax and even increase their creativity levels.
For others with medical ailments, CBD can be effective in fending off many symptoms. The overarching negative public perception of cannabis still exists. However, this is slowly improving as more people appreciate the wide range of beneficial use cases for the chemical.