Is it safe to drive under the influence of CBD?

CBD use is one of the most interesting health trends to gain popularity in recent history. In the UK, easy access to CBD products wasn’t even possible until 2014, when the substance became legal. Since then, CBD has gone on to gain mainstream appeal. Hard data on CBD usage isn’t easy to find, but if the popularity of the substance is to be believed, then it’s safe to say that thousands of British citizens have already made CBD part of their daily routine.

This means that people are sleeping, exercising, and even driving under the influence of CBD. But is it safe to drive while under the effects of this substance? Or are CBD users placing themselves and others at risk when they get behind the wheel?

CBD: what is it?

Before we look into how CBD impacts your driving, it’s important to understand what the substance is and how it works. Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the most ambulant active agents found in plants of the cannabis family. It is a psychoactive mood suppressant that provides a variety of health benefits, including helping users deal with pain, inflammation, and get better sleep.

CBD was legalized back in 2014 as part of the EU’s push to legalize hemp and its byproducts. At the time the pharmaceutical application of hemp was one of the reasons why the plant was made legal, but it was not the main reason. CBD wasn’t as well-known, and most of the groups pushing for the legalization of hemp were interested in the plant’s application in the textile industry.

In the EU and the UK, “hemp” is defined as any strain of cannabis that contains less than 0.2% of THC. Since TCH is what gives cannabis its intoxicating properties, hemp and its byproducts — including CBD — can not make you feel high or intoxicated. CBD cannot be used for recreational purposes.

How CBD impacts your driving

There have been a few studies in the past looking into how CBD impacts your driving. And it was found that high doses of CBD can indeed slow down your reaction speed, and reduce your ability to perform simple driving tasks, such as following another vehicle’s driving line.

That said, all of those studies reported only a minor negative impact on the participant’s driving skills across the board. And some of those studies used doses of CBD far above what consumers typically get when buying CBD products in the market.

High doses of CBD can cause drowsiness, which is why the substance works as a sleeping aid. CBD products made for everyday stick to lower doses in order to avoid that undesired side effect.

So far, no studies have concluded that CBD impairs one’s ability to drive, as the variations in the driver’s ability to perform tasks were too minuscule to be a real problem. This means you’ll be fine using CBD during your daily commute. Just avoid the substance during long drives at night.

This Cibdol article has a lot more information about CBD, in case you want to learn more.