Most U.S. consumers are self-reliant when it comes to figuring out the dosages at which they take CBD rather than relying on professional or medical advice, a new consumer survey from Leafreport found.
 
Because CBD is not considered a dietary ingredient by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there is no national uniform standard in the U.S. when it comes to dosages – recommendations on dosages can vary significantly depending on which brand a consumer selects. Likewise, clinical studies investigating potential benefits of CBD use dosages that vary vastly.
 
Using an online platform, the hemp and CBD market researcher surveyed 721 respondents in the U.S. who are currently using CBD or have tried it in the past, in order to assess their attitudes and behaviors on how they chose the dosages at which they use or have used CBD.
 
Each respondent answered 11 questions particular to their CBD usage habits. Of note, 71% of consumers decided upon the dosage they use themselves, without consulting a professional. When it comes to self-determining dosages, 42% of consumers said that they determined the dosages themselves based on trial and error, while 21% followed dosage guidelines supplied on the product. 18% of consumers consulted a doctor to determine their dosage, while 11% of respondents said that they consulted with a CBD/cannabis industry professional, such as a budtender. 8% of consumers used either a dosage calculator or an article on the internet to determine which dosage to use.
 
Some consumers aren’t even aware of the dosages they are taking, Leafreport found. 26% of consumers said that they don’t check for CBD concentration when shopping for their products, and 22% of consumers don’t check the dose before taking CBD. However, many are consistent about the dosages they take, with 48% of consumers taking the same dosage every time they use CBD.
 
A majority of 57% of consumers indicated that they were happy with the dose, and still used it. 17% of consumers reported that they weren’t happy with the original dose they used, and increased it over time to enhance its effects. In total, 16% of consumers were still looking to achieve the right dosage to meet their needs, and 10% said that they had decreased the dosage because the effects were too strong. On whether it was helpful at all, the majority of participants said CBD was very helpful (34%), or just helpful (32%), while 23% were indifferent about its effects. 8% found it unhelpful, and 4% found it very unhelpful.
 
48% of the respondents shared that they took the same dosage of CBD irrespective of the time of day at which they took it, while 32% said they were more flexible and took more CBD if needed. 20% varied their dosage based on specific needs at morning or night.
 
When it came down to the dosages themselves, most respondents aren’t looking for super-high concentrations of CBD. 32% indicated that they sought out products containing 500-1,000 mg of CBD, with 28% looking for products with less than 500 mg. 9% looked for products in the 1,001-2500 mg range, and a further 5% sought CBD products with more than 2500 mg.
 
In order of descending prevalence, consumers used CBD for pain (31%), anxiety and stress (26.5%) sleep/insomnia (18%), depression (12.5%) and general health and wellbeing (10%), with the remaining 2% using it for unspecified reasons.
 
In the total survey population, 448 people were still using CBD products, while 273 people shared that they had taken CBD in the past but were not taking in presently. CBD-infused gummies, edibles, and beverages were the most popular methods of consuming it, with 35% of consumer favoring this delivery category, while oils and tinctures were favored by 26% of the population, followed by topicals and creams, capsules, and then vapes. Most respondents had used CBD for two to six months prior to taking part in the survey, with an relatively more even split among users whose history spanned from one month or less to over two years.
 
31% of respondents said that they used CBD every day, while a further 27% took CBD on a weekly basis. 21% of respondents said they used CBD once in a while for a specific reason. 14% reported taking the cannabinoid several times daily, while 7% said they take it monthly.
 
Aside from the 22% of consumers who don’t know the dosages they take or used to take, 17% of respondents took 10-20 mg dosages, while 13% took less than 5 mg. 11% of respondents took 20-40 mg, and a further 4% took 40-70 mg. 3% took 70-100 mg, and 4% take more than 100 mg each time.