Is it safe to eat CBD and will it get me high?

Cannabidiol, or as it’s better known CBD, is a legal cannabinoid (chemicals found in cannabis) and can be sold in the UK.

It's not the psychoactive cannabinoid that gets you high, called THC. Instead it's a product believed by its high-street users to have medicinal properties, such as helping with relaxation and providing relief from pain, nausea and anxiety, although studies are not conclusive.

So why is to common to find CBD-labelled coffees, cakes and croissants in shops, cafes and restaurants throughout the UK?

And if it’s safe, why have the Food Standard’s Agency recently lowered the recommended safe daily dose of CBD from 70 milligrams a day down to 10 milligrams?

CBD is normally sold in combination with a base oil, such as olive or coconut, as a supplement, vape, gel to be applied to the skin and in recent years, in food and drink.

“Businesses have picked up on growing public awareness and have been promoting their products online, in high-street retailers and increasingly in food and drink,” says Professor in Substance Use, Harry Sumnall, Liverpool John Moores University.We spoke to chefs at two restaurants who have used CBD on their menus in completely different ways.

“CBD is actually hard to cook with. It has a disgusting taste", says Greg Hanger, previously head chef at Kalifornia Kitchen in London, who created an entire CBD afternoon tea. Greg paid attention to the type of oil that the CBD is mixed with, saying "coconut oil CBD is great in Thai cooking balanced with coriander, ginger and lime. Olive oil CBD is great for Middle Eastern foods like hummus or you could even mask the flavour with rosemary and put it in cheesy sauce or mashed potatoes."

“CBD tends to work well in foods with a stronger, earthy taste, such as chocolate and coffee”, says Meg Greenacre, former head chef at Erpingham House in Norwich.

“I was inspired by menus in London to create a delicious CBD brownie for our customers at the restaurant. I was surprised that during taste tests, no one could tell which brownie the CBD was in and actually, most people thought it was the batch that did not contain it.

“When you cook with CBD, you have to be careful not to heat the mixture at too high a temperature”, advises Meg. A search on CBD websites brings up details of CBD evaporating and losing its 'health' properties past 160–180C, though "there is also little understanding of what happens to CBD when you cook it or add it to a drink," says Professor Sumnall.

“There is a greater public awareness of the potential therapeutic uses of medical cannabis and cannabinoids such as CBD, particularly in light of the UK government decision to permit some cannabis prescriptions iin response to high-profile campaigns by the families of children affected by severe epilepsy," says Professor Sumnall.

“The emerging UK CBD industry, inspired by the successes of the legal cannabis industry in the USA, has adopted a similar marketing strategy, and whilst the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency rules mean products can’t make direct health claims without going through formal licensing, the language of ‘wellbeing’ allows them to bypass regulation.

“But there is no good scientific evidence that these consumer products have any real benefits.

“Many of the CBD products available on the high street contain so little CBD that you would need to consume vast quantities to even approach some of the doses that are administered in clinical trials of medicines," concludes Sumnall.

Coffees and cakes may contain between 5–10mg of CBD. But clinical trials administer doses of around 100–1,500mg per day, with medical supervision.

“I do worry that if people believe a small amount is good and it’s completely safe, they may believe a large amount is better, says Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and Clinical Director of Patient Info.”

On the contrary, the recommendation is to consume no more than 10mg of CBD a day, due to potential health risks from long-term usage. That’s a significant reduction from the advice in 2020 when the Food Standards Agency’s recommended safe daily dose was 70 milligrams.

Professor Robin May, chief scientific advisor at the FSA explains: “The more CBD you consume over your lifetime, the more likely you are to develop long-term adverse effects, like liver damage or thyroid issues. The level of risk is related to how much you take, in the same way it is with some other potentially harmful products such as alcoholic drinks.

“We encourage consumers to check the CBD content on the product label to monitor their overall daily consumption of CBD and consider if they wish to make changes to how much they take based on this updated advice.”

This can be tricky if you are buying foods like a homemade brownie that don’t specify the quantity of the CBD contained in them.

The FSA also explains there are ‘vulnerable groups’ who should avoid taking any CBD products ‘including children, people taking medication (who have not consulted a medical professional) and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and those trying to conceive.’

As for side-effects, Harvard University says people may experience ‘nausea, fatigue and irritability’.

In terms of addiction risks, according to a report from the World Health Organization, CBD “does not appear to have abuse potential” with the organisation pointing to both animal and human studies which highlight that ‘dependence on CBD has not been identified’.

“Many cannabis-based products are available to buy online, but their quality and content is not known. They may be illegal and potentially dangerous," says the NHS.

If you choose to buy CBD in any form, it is best to choose a reputable company.

Originally published August 2019, updated February 2023