Does CBD Get You High? What It Feels Like and When It Can

Why CBD doesn’t get you high

Your body has its own signalling network called the endocannabinoid system. One of its main receptors, CB1, sits in large numbers in the brain. THC fits into CB1 like a key in a lock and turns it on, and that is what produces the cannabis high: the euphoria, the altered sense of time, the munchies.

If you’re looking at CBD for aches and stiffness, our guide to CBD oil for pain relief in the UK covers the evidence and what to check on the label.

If you want CBD without THC, look for a broad spectrum oil whose batch lab report shows THC not detected. Our guide to the best CBD oil in the UK shows what to check, with drops per 10mg for each oil.

Planning ahead? Our CBD Black Friday deals run from 27 to 30 November.

CBD works differently. It doesn’t switch CB1 on. Lab studies in cells have found it sits on a different part of the receptor and, if anything, turns down the signal from compounds that do activate it. Scientists call this a “negative allosteric modulator”, which in plain words means it changes how the receptor responds rather than firing it.

What the human studies show

In a 2018 trial, recreational drug users took single doses of prescription-grade CBD (750mg, 1,500mg and 4,500mg), a sedative (alprazolam), dronabinol (a form of THC) or placebo, without knowing which. At 750mg, “drug liking” for CBD was no different to placebo. At the two very high doses there was a small difference, under 10 points on the rating scale, against more than 18 points for THC and the sedative. For context, those doses are 75 to 450 times the FSA’s advised 10mg a day.

A 2022 Australian trial gave healthy adults 15mg, 300mg or 1,500mg of CBD by mouth. No dose made people feel intoxicated or affected their thinking skills.

Psychoactive or intoxicating?

You may read that CBD is “non-psychoactive”. Strictly, anything that acts on the brain is psychoactive, and CBD does reach the brain. The more accurate word is non-intoxicating: it doesn’t impair you or produce a high. For the bigger picture, see CBD vs THC and is CBD addictive?

CBD vs THC: the high and UK law

Both come from the cannabis plant, which is why people assume they act alike. In UK law they are treated very differently.

• CBD: the Home Office says CBD in its pure form isn’t a controlled drug.
• THC: is controlled. Because it is very hard to separate CBD from every trace of THC, a CBD product is only legal if it meets the “exempt product” rules, which include no more than 1mg of THC (or other controlled cannabinoids) in the whole container, not per dose.
• Food rules: CBD food supplements also fall under the Food Standards Agency’s novel food rules, and the FSA sets a safe upper limit of 70 micrograms of THC a day from these products.

Full details are in is CBD legal in the UK? The type of extract decides how much THC is likely to be in your bottle:

Our full comparison is in full spectrum vs broad spectrum vs isolate.

What CBD actually feels like

Most people feel little at everyday amounts. Some describe feeling a bit more settled or sleepy, especially when they take it in the evening. There is no euphoria, no altered perception and no “munchies”. That isn’t the same as treating sleep problems or anxiety, and CBD isn’t a treatment for either.

If evening use is what interests you, our guide to the best CBD oil for sleep in the UK covers night-time oils, strengths and timing.

The best evidence on what CBD does to people comes from clinical trials. A 2020 review pooled 12 placebo-controlled trials with 803 participants. Compared with placebo, CBD was linked with:

• Sleepiness and sedation: but these were seen mainly in childhood epilepsy trials, where very high prescription doses were taken alongside other medicines.
• Diarrhoea: the only side effect still linked to CBD once the epilepsy trials were taken out.
• Lower appetite, again not seen once the epilepsy trials were taken out.

Other effects people mention include tiredness, dry mouth and, at high doses, an upset stomach. None of these is a high. More on this in what does CBD feel like? and CBD side effects.

Why some people feel “something”

If a CBD product makes you feel spaced out, giggly, anxious or “stoned”, the cause is usually what else is in the bottle, not the CBD.

• It contains THC it shouldn’t: when researchers tested 29 widely available CBD oils in the UK, 55% had measurable levels of controlled cannabinoids (THC or CBN). Only 11 of the 29 (38%) were within 10% of the CBD amount on the label. Usually the THC levels were small, but a product with more THC than it claims can produce THC effects and can fail a drug test.
• It’s a disguised synthetic: Public Health Wales’s WEDINOS drug-testing service found synthetic cannabinoids (“spice”) in 43% of the THC, CBD or cannabinoid vape products sent to it between April 2025 and March 2026. These samples were sent in voluntarily, so they don’t represent every vape on sale, but spice can cause severe anxiety, psychosis and seizures.
• It’s a “legal high” cannabinoid: products marketed with delta-8 THC, HHC or similar are intoxicating. See delta-8 THC in the UK.
• It’s from abroad: full spectrum products legal in some countries contain more THC than UK rules allow.
• It’s the dose or the mix: large amounts of CBD can make some people drowsy, and that is more likely alongside alcohol or medicines that also cause sleepiness.

The fix for the first four is the same: buy from a brand that publishes a batch lab report showing THC “not detected”. Our guide to reading a CBD lab report shows what to look for.

Vapes, gummies and other formats

The format doesn’t change whether CBD is intoxicating. What changes is how easy it is to know what you are actually getting.

• Oils and capsules: the easiest to dose and the easiest to check, because reputable brands publish a lab report for each batch.
• Gummies and other edibles: CBD gummies don’t get you high, but cannabis edibles containing THC are illegal in the UK and are sometimes sold online looking very similar. If the packaging promises a “buzz”, walk away.
• Vapes: vaped CBD still doesn’t produce a high. The risk is the illicit vape market, where products sold as CBD have turned out to contain THC or spice. See can you vape CBD oil? before you try one.
• Balms and creams: applied to the skin, they aren’t intoxicating.

CBD and driving

In the 2022 trial above, volunteers drove a simulator about 45 to 75 minutes and 210 to 240 minutes after taking up to 1,500mg of CBD. CBD didn’t affect lane control by more than the margin set by the researchers on most measures, though a few results were inconclusive. Their conclusion was that oral CBD is unlikely to impair driving.

The legal risk is THC, not CBD. The drug-driving limit for THC in England and Wales is just 2 micrograms per litre of blood, and you can be prosecuted if you are unfit to drive even below the limit. So use a product with no detectable THC, and don’t drive if CBD makes you drowsy. Our guide to CBD and driving in the UK covers roadside tests in detail.

Will CBD show up on a drug test?

Standard drug tests look for THC and its breakdown products, not CBD. A product with no detectable THC shouldn’t cause a positive result, but products containing traces of THC, especially full spectrum or mislabelled ones, have caused positives.

If you are tested at work, for sport or for driving, read does CBD show up on a drug test? and how long CBD stays in your system.

How much CBD? The FSA’s 10mg advice

The FSA advises healthy adults to take no more than 10mg of CBD a day. It doesn’t recommend CBD for under-18s, people taking any medication, or anyone trying to conceive, pregnant or breastfeeding, unless under medical direction.

The FSA’s 10mg a day figure is precautionary advice rather than a legal limit, set while longer-term safety research continues. At Evopure we think it is a very cautious figure, and many adults use more. If you go above it, increase slowly, and check with your GP or pharmacist first if you take any medication.

Our products are for adults (18+) only. We don’t recommend our products during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

How to choose a CBD that won’t get you high

• Broad spectrum or isolate, not full spectrum.
• A batch lab report from an independent lab showing THC “not detected”.
• A brand on the FSA public list of CBD products linked to novel food applications.
• Avoid unlabelled vapes and edibles, and anything marketed as giving a “buzz”.

Our Broad Spectrum CBD Oil and CBD capsules are broad spectrum with 0% THC, made in the UK and tested by independent ISO 17025 labs. Lab reports are on our lab testing page, and our CBD products are on the FSA public list.

Related guides

• New to CBD? Start with what is CBD? A UK beginner’s guide.
• If CBD doesn’t get you high, what does it do? Our guide to CBD benefits and side effects sums up the research honestly.
• Hemp is bred to contain very little THC, which is why hemp can’t get you high the way marijuana can.
• For how CBD and THC differ when it comes to anxiety, read CBD oil and anxiety: what the research shows.
• Because CBD doesn’t intoxicate, many scholars treat THC-free CBD differently from cannabis: see is CBD halal?
• Homemade CBD butter made with a 0% THC broad spectrum oil won’t get you high, unlike cannabutter.
• The same goes for a cup of CBD tea made with a THC-free oil, though teas steeped from hemp flower are a different matter.
• For the type with nothing but CBD in it, read CBD isolate: what it is, pros and cons.
• A higher strength oil won’t get you high; it just puts more CBD in each drop, as our CBD oil strength chart shows.
• Our guide to full spectrum CBD oil explains why UK-legal levels of THC are far too low to cause a high.