What are the Benefits of Vaping CBD?
Vaping is a quick and effective way to experience the benefits of CBD.
Vaping is the new smoking craze to hit the market, which allows you to inhale vapor rather than conventional smoke. Vaping is becoming increasingly popular among CBD users, so what are the benefits of vaping CBD, and what can you expect to experience?
What Is a Vape?
It’s easy to be confused by vapes; not quite cigarettes, these new-age devices seemingly popped up overnight.
Vaping instead heats a liquid until it is aerosolized, which is then able to be inhaled by the user. The liquid you choose to use in your vape determines the experience you will have. For example, some people simply add a non-addictive flavoring liquid to their vapes so they can enjoy flavored vapor. Different cannabinoids can also be added to your vape pen for vaporized inhalation, with CBD being an especially popular choice.
The possibilities for how you consume CBD are as varied as its health benefits, so why should you vape CBD?
One of the main benefits of vaping CBD is that it is an incredibly efficient way to consume cannabinoids. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of a substance consumed that is able to enter your bloodstream, essentially the amount you are actually receiving. Any medication administered intravenously has 100% bioavailability, for example.
Studies tell us that vaping CBD can deliver an impressive bioavailability of 70% (14). 70% bioavailability is far higher than smoking, typically around 30% and only 6-20% if CBD is orally consumed (15, 16).
Vaping CBD is an effective way to feel the results of CBD, fast.
So what are the benefits of vaping CBD? The answer lies in its various health and wellness benefits.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of the main cannabinoids found in cannabis and hemp plants. This active compound has been found to induce some significant health effects and so has gained a reputation as a therapeutic treatment.
While CBD is one of the main active compounds in cannabis, you don’t have to worry about getting high. CBD doesn’t induce an intoxicating effect, and instead, another cannabinoid called THC is responsible for the infamous high of cannabis.
With its lack of intoxicating effects but impressive therapeutic potential, CBD is especially popular amongst those who just want to treat their symptoms.
The potential health benefits of CBD include: reduction of pain, anxiety and depression and it may also help with smoking cessation.
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Pain Reduction
One of the benefits of vaping CBD is CBD’s ability to reduce pain. We know that CBD is able to activate serotonin receptors, which then leads to an increase in the neurotransmitter serotonin that can induce feelings of happiness and a reduction in pain sensation (1).
It seems that people are starting to believe in CBD’s pain-relieving potential. A 2018 review investigated studies involving CBD and pain. The review found that patients treated with cannabinoids (including CBD) experienced a 30% reduction in their pain levels (2). While this study did involve cannabinoids other than CBD, it certainly highlights the pain-relieving potential of CBD.
Reduces Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety
Mental health conditions like anxiety and depression can be debilitating and hard to manage. The good news for sufferers of anxiety and depression is that another benefit of vaping CBD is the anti-depressive and anxiety-anxiety like effects of CBD.
Studies have shown that CBD has the ability to reduce anxiety levels in humans (5, 6), and CBD may even cause antidepressant effects that are on par with conventional medication. One mouse model trial found that mice treated with CBD saw antidepressant results comparable to the prescribed antidepressant imipramine (7).
CBD’s antidepressant and anxiolytic benefits likely lie in CBD’s ability to target (by either increasing or decreasing) serotonin and cortisol levels (8, 9). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that significantly impacts mood and is even used to treat conditions like anxiety and depression, while cortisol is a stress hormone that is often found in higher levels in patients with mood disorders (10, 11).
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May Help with Smoking Cessation
One of the benefits of vaping CBD is that it may help you to quit smoking. Research tells us that CBD may give you a helping hand if you’re trying to give up tobacco.
A 2013 study found that CBD inhalation helped reduce cigarette consumption by around 40% (12). Another study published in 2018 also found that CBD treatment reduced the pleasant feeling associated with cigarettes, helping smokers quit more easily (13).
The Bottom Line
There are many benefits of vaping CBD, largely health benefits. CBD has demonstrated an ability to act therapeutically in many studies, with the potential to reduce pain, depressive symptoms, and help with cigarette smoking cessation.
Vaping is one of the best ways to experience CBD's health benefits because of its high bioavailability and the practically instantaneous onset. If you're looking to experience the therapeutic benefits of high strength CBD, then vaping is one of your best options.
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This article was written by Philip Ghezelbash and edited by the Blissed Team
Published September 23, 2020