Will CBD Make Me Feel High?

We get this question often.

It's funny...people are usually asking to get quite opposite responses.

There are some people who want to see if they can get high with CBD.

However, most people want to get the health benefits of CBD WITHOUT the high feeling.

Someone's gotta drive the kids to school!

So let's dive into what the CBD feeling is for most people.

We'll also explain why we feel this and how THC is very different in the body.

Here are the questions we'll look at:

• Will CBD make me feel high?
• What will CBD feel like?
• How does the body process CBD
• What's the difference between CBD and THC

Let's get to the heart of the question.

Will CBD make me feel high?

No.

That's the short answer.

CBD is not psychoactive in that respect.

We'll get into why you don't feel high with CBD below.

That isn't to say that there isn't any feeling.

This partially depends on what state you're in at the time.

Let's look at what you might feel.

What will CBD feel like?

For most people, the feeling of CBD is slight.

In fact, they're usually expecting something much more intense.

There are three different feelings that are typical of CBD:

• Calm
• Drowsiness
• Less pain

Interestingly, the three most popular reasons for people to take CBD are:

• Anxiety
• Sleep
• Pain

It's a match!

Calm is the most reported feeling from CBD.

There's lots of research on Anxiety, Sleep, and Pain separately.

This research gets into the nitty-gritty of why CBD makes us feel these things.

Why does it feel that way?

How does the body process CBD?

A little bit of anatomy 101 (the missing chapter on the endocannabinoid system).

You have a system that runs through your entire body.

It interacts with other key systems:

• Endocrine - hormones for sleep, appetite, mood, and more
• Immune - fights infections and repairs tissue
• Nervous - controls how we feel, what we feel, and more

Research is showing that the endocannabinoid works to balance these key systems.

It does so through receptors located throughout the body.

Almost everywhere researchers have looked, they found CB receptors.

Only red blood cells appear to lack them.

Muscles. Neurons. Bone. Skin. You name it!

CB receptors!

There appear to be two key types of receptors:

• CB1 receptors are primarily in the brain and the central nervous system.
• CB2 receptors are found mainly throughout the rest of the body with a prominence in the immune system.

We naturally have cannabinoids made in the body that use our endocannabinoid system to do their thing:

• Anandamide is the most prominent in terms of getting benefits.
• 2-AG is also a big player.

Check out the connection with Chocolate and CBD to see how cool Anandamide is.

Anyway, our body makes these naturally.

There are also cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant (hence the name).

CBD and THC are the two most prominent.

THC is the substance that gives marijuana the "high" feeling.

It is psychoactive and can alter perception, mood, and mental states (both for the good and bad).

CBD does not have this effect in the body primarily because of where it interacts in the endocannabinoid system.

CBD primarily interacts with CB2 receptors found throughout the body.

It really goes to work in the immune and endocrine system.

THC on the other hand actually interacts with the CB1 receptors in the brain and nervous system.

This is why it creates a high feeling.

In fact, CBD can offset the high feeling of THC.

You can learn all about THC versus CBD here or why CBD is a must if you use weed.

CBD to counter the high of THC

THC itself is not what makes a person feel high.

The liver has to break it down and the leftover "metabolite" is what then interacts with CB1 receptors and affects a person's perception and mood.

Interestingly, CBD blocks this metabolism in the liver and prevents the high feeling.

Through this mechanism, CBD actually offsets many possible negatives of THC:

• CBD reduces anxiety, paranoia, and other negatives reactions from THC
• CBD may help with the addiction of THC (see CBD and addiction here)
• CBD can also help with THC overdose by blocking the metabolism

Check out CBD for greening out to understand why.

Where THC can rattle the apple cart, CBD helps to settle it down.

CBD is also neuroprotective in that research shows that it can reduce inflammation in the brain and nervous system!

There are even studies showing that CBD can balance brain systems for people in a psychotic or schizophrenic state (see CBD and psychosis).

It's the opposite of feeling high.

It's feeling grounded and present!

This dispels the whole question of whether you need THC to activate CBD.

Wrap on CBD and the "high" feeling

Many people new to CBD are apprehensive because they associate it with marijuana.

They expect the feeling to be the same but it's not!

Calm, focus (during wake cycles), drowsiness (during sleep cycles), and groundedness are the most commonly reported "feelings" we see from CBD.

Make sure to use CBD isolate only since a histamine response to "full-spectrum" may have all kinds of other (unwanted) feelings.

This is a big deal for 40-60% of the population (especially women).

That's why we focus on just pure CBD isolate which is backed by research.

Just don't expect to get high from it!

Always work with a doctor or naturopath with any supplement!

The information provided here is not intended to treat an illness or substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified healthcare provider.