CBD and Caffeine: Are They Safe Together?

CBD-infused coffee? It’s a thing, and it’s becoming more popular. But is it safe to mix caffeine and CBD oil?

Read on to find out the effects of caffeine and CBD on your body, and what happens when you mix them.

Caffeine And CBD

Let’s start here. What exactly does each of these chemicals do to your body separately? 

The Effects of Caffeine On Your Body

Caffeine is a substance that occurs naturally in over 60 plants. These include coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts, and cacao pods. Synthetic caffeine is also added to various other foods and medicines to give an energy boost.

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, which makes you feel more awake and energized. It can also increase blood pressure and heart rate, and also acts as a mild diuretic.

If you consume too much caffeine, you may experience confusion, headaches, heartburn, nausea, rapid heartbeat or arrhythmias, increased blood pressure, jitters, diarrhea, and even fertility and pregnancy issues in women. Withdrawal from excessive caffeine consumption can include symptoms like irritability, muscle aches, and headaches.

Coffee is the most common vessel for caffeine consumption – and there is some good news. One study links coffee and caffeine consumption to a decreased risk of suicide due to its mood-enhancing qualities. And another concludes that drinking four or more cups of a caffeinated coffee beverage may lower your risk for oral cancers.

The Effects of CBD on Your Body

CBD, short for cannabidiol, is one of over 100 chemical compounds known as cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant. While marijuana-derived CBD may contain high delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels, hemp-derived CBD contains only trace amounts. Under U.S. law, a hemp plant can only comprise of .3% of THC or less. Therefore, it is generally legal in much of the United States because it is not psychoactive.

CBD can relieve pain by reacting with the endocannabinoid system (ECS). This system, which is naturally a part of the human body, regulates sleep, pain, and immune responses. Your body produces endocannabinoids, which are neurotransmitters that are molecularly similar to the cannabinoids found in marijuana. 

Your nervous system contains receptors that bind to endocannabinoids (and cannabinoids like CBD). By impacting these receptors, CBD may reduce inflammation and pain. It is also commonly used to help with anxiety and depression, alleviate cancer-related symptoms, and reduce acne.

Should You Mix CBD and Caffeine?

Some take CBD and you are wondering if it’s okay to drink your coffee immediately. Others are actually putting CBD directly into your coffee. Whichever way you do it, it’s mixing CBD with caffeine when consumed in the same time frame. 

Some claim the combination of the calming CBD with the energizing caffeine removes some of the anxious, wired feelings that make you jittery. Others report that it’s the perfect way to have your coffee because it balances out the adverse effects. But if you ask experts like those at High Times, they’ll tell you negating the coffee effects is just pointless.

But is it safe to mix Caffeine and CBD?

CBD is biphasic. Which means at a low dosage, you get a mild stimulant. At higher dosage, it becomes a sedative. One may assume combining a stimulant (caffeine) with somewhat of a sedative (CBD) could harm your body. While this may be the case in some concoctions, such as mixing alcohol with energy drinks, research on CBD and coffee hasn’t been widely performed, so whether it’s truly safe to mix remains up in the air. 

One study published in The Journal of Internal Medicine did find that coffee activates some of the same neurotransmitters in the brain that cannabinoids do, which could be why some attest that they blend perfectly.

Above all, it’s best to be cautious of amounts, as higher doses of either CBD or caffeine can each have their own adverse effects. It’s also important to note that CBD is a mild stimulant at low doses, and as you increase the dosage, it becomes a sedative.

Caffeine and THC

It’s important to note that marijuana-derived CBD (the kind that you can get with a medical marijuana card) has higher THC levels. While more research also needs to be done on the combination of these compounds, one study shows that caffeine combined with THC will actually give you an increased high. Another analysis performed in 2012 showed that a combination of caffeine and a THC in rats seemed to impair memory more than THC on its own.

While not enough studies have concluded that caffeine and CBD could react adversely with one another, CBD does have other drug interactions. CBD can change how your body processes certain medicines. The best way to be safe is to look for the “grapefruit warning” on your medication. The chemicals in grapefruit known as furanocoumarins inhibit CYP3A4, the same way CBD does. This reaction, in turn, results in slower metabolizing of your needed drugs.

Before running out to get your hemp-derived CBD to add to your morning brew, go here to make sure it’s legal where you are. If it is legal, keep in mind that the FDA does not regulate CBD production, so it’s essential to make sure you’re getting it from a reputable source.