Can you smoke CBD?

Q: Can CBD flowers and/or resins be mixed with tobacco for smoking?

While it’s possible to mix CBD-laced hemp buds or resin with tobacco and smoke the mixture, either in a cigarette or a pipe , we don’t recommend doing so. While smoking is not risk-free under any circumstances, smoking tobacco is particularly harmful. In addition, CBD can help control the cravings caused by nicotine withdrawal, so it can help you smoke less , which is another reason not to mix it with tobacco.

Can you smoke CBD? The current legal framework in Europe is uneven. Some countries only allow CBD flowers to be used for decorative, aromatic, and/or collection purposes. In other countries such as Switzerland and Luxembourg, the sale of hemp buds for smoking is permitted. Nevertheless, e-liquids with CBD are legal in all of Europe, so they’re the closest thing to smoking CBD in countries where this isn’t possible.

Can you smoke CBD?

CBD occurs naturally in the inflorescences of non-psychotropic cannabis plants. In other words, it’s a substance that’s found in relatively high quantities in the hemp flower.

Properly treated and dried, hemp flowers or hemp buds can be smoked. In order for you to do so, they need to be shredded and rolled up in rolling paper. Something to serve as a filter is usually also placed in the paper.

Hemp is a type of cannabis that, unlike marijuana, produces very little THC. This substance is the cannabinoid responsible for marijuana’s psychotropic effects. Both in Europe and in most European countries, products derived from hemp that contain more than 0.2% of this compound are prohibited.

Marijuana, as well as CBD buds, are cannabis flowers, which means visually and in terms of their organoleptic characteristics they’re virtually indistinguishable. In other words, CBD flowers are the same as marijuana and you can’t tell them apart without a cannabinoid content analysis to see if they’re rich in THC or CBD, and whether they exceed permitted THC levels.

Is it legal to smoke CBD?

This really depends on the legislation in each country. In Switzerland, for example, you can even find hemp cigarettes in supermarkets. But in Europe, it’s forbidden to sell hemp flowers for purposes other than ornamental or collection purposes.

In short, the legal status of hemp flowers varies depending on where you are, even though the product is the same everywhere.

Although the product is always the same as in Switzerland, European legislation prohibits the sale of CBD for smoking. So users who decide to smoke CBD buds would be misusing the product, losing all rights to file a claim for any incidents according to European legislation.

What are the advantages of smoking CBD?

Consuming CBD in this way has the same advantages as consuming it by any other means. However, inhaling is the quickest way to feel the effects of CBD.

It’s worth mentioning that smoking is one of the least healthy forms of CBD consumption, as smoking is never without risk.

Admittedly, inhaling CBD does take effect very quickly, almost immediately, but there are healthier alternatives to smoking. Vaping or vaporising CBD would be less harmful and with it being the same route of administration, the effects take the same time to be felt.

How do you smoke CBD-infused buds?

As stated above, in Europe, hemp flowers can only be sold for use as an ornament or collector’s item. In other words, smoking CBD buds isn’t regulated in Europe. Although there’s no law explicitly prohibiting it, it’s understood that, from a legal point of view, users who smoke CBD buds would be misusing the product.

Therefore, here we explain how to smoke CBD buds in countries where this form of consumption is allowed, such as in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, and elsewhere.

First of all, as with all routes of administration, you need to know the right CBD dosage. Also, since the CBD concentration of flowers varies depending on the strain and how they’ve been grown, it’s also necessary to know the CBD percentage of the flowers to be consumed in order to be able to measure the dosage.

We recommend starting with low doses of buds with a high CBD level. In other words, you should take two or three puffs of fairly strong CBD buds. After that, the best thing would be to wait about ten minutes to see if the desired effect has been achieved or if you need to repeat the process.

Using flowers with a high CBD content would require fewer inhalations, meaning you’d be less exposed to smoke. Although this form of consumption can be a bit tricky at first, with time and practice you’ll determine how much of the flower and how many puffs you need.

As for the actual smoking method, you can roll a cigarette with CBD flowers, use a traditional pipe, or a water pipe, such as a bong, for example.

How do you smoke CBD resins?

CBD resins are, as their name suggests, resins that contain high levels of CBD. They’re obtained from hemp flowers, so they can have a higher concentration of this cannabinoid than the buds themselves.

There are different types of CBD resins depending on how they’re extracted. Depending on how they’ve been separated from the flowers, these types include CBD hash pollen, water hash with CBD, or charas with CBD, among others.

There are also different ways of smoking these resins, the most common being a CBD flower cigarette with resin. This consists of adding the product, either crumbled into small pieces or in a joint shape, when rolling the CBD flower cigarette.

Another way to smoke resin is using a pipe. To do so, a small piece of resin is placed in the vaporiser or bowl (concave opening where the tobacco would be placed in a tobacco pipe) and inhaled while the resin burns.

Another much more basic way is to burn a piece of resin and cover it with a glass. In this way, the smoke from the burning resin remains in the glass and can be inhaled later.

As with flowers, you need to know the right CBD dosage, as well as the concentration of this cannabinoid in the resin. It’s best to start with very strong resins, taking only a few puffs. Little by little and through practice, you’ll find the right dose.

It’s worth mentioning that resin consumption should be carried out by experienced consumers who are familiar with CBD, as it usually contains very high levels of this cannabinoid.

As with hemp flowers, in Europe, resins containing CBD can only be sold for ornamental use or as a collector’s item. In other words, the smoking of CBD resin isn’t regulated in Europe. Although no law explicitly prohibits it, it’s understood that, from a legal point of view, users who smoke CBD resin would be misusing the product.

What factors should I take into account when smoking CBD?

The main factor to consider when smoking CBD is the quality of the flowers. Hemp has to be grown in a specific way for flower production, which is different from growing hemp to produce fibres or seeds.

Hemp buds, unlike other agricultural products such as fruits or vegetables, can’t be washed to remove insecticide or fertiliser residues. Therefore, the way it’s grown differs slightly from more traditional crops.

To avoid any kind of contamination from chemicals or heavy metals, it’s always best to opt for organically grown buds.

Are there healthier alternatives to smoking CBD?

Smoking CBD consists of administering it through inhalation and all types of smoke are more or less harmful to the body. Moreover, this form of consumption isn’t legal in Europe, so this is considered to be a misuse of CBD products.

Inhalation offers other healthier forms of administration, such as vaping using e-liquids with CBD or disposable vape pens with CBD. E-liquids require an electronic cigarette or a similar device for consumption and contain between 3 and 10% CBD. Disposable vape pens, however, come with everything you need, don’t need to be refilled, and contain between 50 and 85% CBD.

Moreover, vaping CBD is a form of consumption that’s permitted in Europe, so the use of these devices for this purpose is perfectly legal.

Frequently asked questions about smoking CBD

How is the quality of flowers assessed?

As with any kind of product, CBD buds have different quality levels. Some are therefore better than others. First of all, very good quality CBD flowers have a strong and pungent smell. This may be more or less pleasant for you personally, but if you can smell them from more than 30 cm away, they’re most likely to be of good quality. Their appearance should also be taken into account. Yellow or brownish flowers, with few resin glands, or those that are crumbly or misshapen, are almost certainly to be of poor quality. Lastly, you should also look at the texture. If the flowers, instead of being sticky, are too dry, they may have lost quality due to poor conservation.

Can smoking flowers or resins with CBD cause a positive drug test?

CBD flowers and resins are natural products that come from hemp. In most countries hemp and its derivatives contain 0.2% THC or slightly under this amount. Therefore, hemp resins and flowers contain THC, albeit in very low amounts. Although the percentage of this cannabinoid is very low and it doesn’t cause psychotropic effects, it could be detected in a drug test, leading to a positive result. Excessive consumption of CBD, either flowers and/or resins, increases the chances of this happening.

Can smoking flowers or resins with CBD cause a positive drug test?

Can CBD flowers and/or resins be mixed with tobacco for smoking?

While it’s possible to mix CBD-laced hemp buds or resin with tobacco and smoke the mixture, either in a cigarette or a pipe, we don’t recommend doing so. While smoking is not risk-free under any circumstances, smoking tobacco is particularly harmful. In addition, CBD can help control the cravings caused by nicotine withdrawal, so it can help you smoke less, which is another reason not to mix it with tobacco.