no sweat! or...yes sweat? can cbd oil cause sweating? there are lots of claims out there about cbd’s benefits and side effects, but this was one that seemed interesting to us. read on and see what we found. 

to date, there is no medical proof that cbd oil can cause sweating. however, no physiological process can be isolated: if cbd consumption results in excessive sweating, the reaction could be due to a variety of reasons with one or more of the body’s systems interacting to create the response.

with that being said, cbd (and cannabis as a whole) can still absolutely play a role in the secretion of sweat. anxiety, hot flashes, auto-immune diseases, and thc withdrawals are just a few of the ways in which cannabis may be linked to the human body and sweating.

what does the science say?

unfortunately, cannabis research is woefully behind the curve of other scientific research and advancements. massachusetts got the ball rolling in 1911 when they became the first state to outlaw cannabis, and by 1927 10 states had claimed it illegal. our “lord and savior” the us government then passed the marihuana tax act of 1937 (yeah, they spelled it like that lol) and began a federal indictment of the cannabis plant that is still being battled today. 

we won’t get into further details on all of that in this article, but “marijuana’s” schedule 1 classification in 1970 meant that it has a high potential for abuse with no currently accepted medical treatment. baloney, we say, and many states over the past 30 years have begun to pass laws for medical, and later recreational cannabis use. 

the 2014 farm bill set aside some resources for researching hemp, and the 2018 farm bill not only built upon that, but it also made the broad cultivation of hemp legal under federal law. as a result, any byproduct of legally-grown hemp was also made legal. (hemp and “marijuana” are both cannabis, with the difference being that hemp contains less than 0.3% thc, which is why it won’t get you high like “smoking some weed” will.)

of course, one such byproduct is cbd, and strains of cannabis can be bred and grown to yield high levels of cbd much the same as they can thc. research is only beginning on a lot of fronts related to cannabis and cbd, with the us government allocating $3M for research on cbd and pain in september, 2019. keep in mind, that is only one area being studied. with all of the potential benefits of cbd, we expect only to learn more as time goes on, especially as the list of cannabis’ potential benefits continues to grow. 

but what about cbd causing sweating?

if you find yourself sweating excessively after consuming cbd, you are not alone. excessive sweating not related to heat or exercise (also known as hyperhidrosis) occurs as a bodily reaction to perceived stress. this sweating can occur on the palms, underarms, soles of your feet, and even your face. you might not even be physically stressed for these reactions to occur, which means they can become even more pronounced in stressful situations.

cbd is helpful for regulating the endocannabinoid system (ecs), and the ecs in turn helps maintain homeostasis between all other systems in the body. excessive sweating from cbd consumption could potentially be explained by this, as sweat could be a side effect of the body’s attempt to maintain normalcy within its functioning systems by means of detoxification. the body can also sweat as a way of cooling oneself, but cbd has been shown to have no effect on body temperature or activity when administered in the absence of thc.

lastly, it is always important to mention that the reason for any adverse reaction to cbd oil could be due to impurities in the cbd drops. do your homework, and make sure to hold your cbd company to the same standards as you would other sources of nutrition and supplements. buy organic cbd online from a reputable source that tells you where your hemp comes from and can provide third-party lab test results to prove it is as advertised. 

thc consumption and sweating

while there is no scientific link between cbd and sweating, studies have shown that thc does have an effect on body temperature. it also has an effect on female hormones, which is evidenced by its widely-recognized ability to help with menstrual pain. thc consumption also brings with it side effects of potential anxiety and increased heart rate, and all of these could also contribute to sweating if your relationship with cannabis goes beyond just that of cbd. 

it goes both ways, though. people also report that thc consumption helps get rid of symptoms of hyperhidrosis. much like the fact that multiple systems could be at play to cause sweating, the same could be said for why cannabis may interact with a body’s sweat inhibition. thc may make people feel calm, physically looser, or more mentally aware (to name a few examples), and any of these may result in the body experiencing enough stimuli that it no longer finds itself in a state where it needs to produce sweat. it could also be from thc’s direct effects on the body with relation to body temperature. 

even if you don’t smoke “marijuana” or knowingly consume thc in some other fashion, you should still be in the know on these topics. the journal of the american medical association (jama) published findings in 2017 on 84 cbd products, with only 26 of them being accurately labeled for proper cbd content. that’s only a 31% accuracy rate! (again, we can’t drive the point home clearly enough as to how important it is to choose a cbd company that you can trust, since you are going to be physically consuming the product you buy)

looking further into this, 43% of products contained less cbd than were advertised, while 26% were over-labeled in terms of cbd content. of the tested “cbd samples,” 21% of them, or 18 of 84 samples also tested positive for thc! this is another reason why it is so important to have third-party lab results that prove there is no thc in your tinctures – you could be consuming thc without even knowing it. and if you live in a state where thc is illegal, you could also be unknowingly putting yourself at legal risk. 

cbd as a cure for sweating

just as there could be plenty of reasons to explain why cbd causes sweating, the same could be said for cbd helping to curb excessive sweating. cbd interacts with both the cb1 and cb2 receptors in the brain, which can play a role in pain sensation, mood, sleep, inflammation, and much more. it can lower blood pressure, and displays anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory  properties, all of which could lead to providing conditions for the body to curb overactive sweat glands. 

cbd's efficacy towards anxiety could be another way in which it plays a secondary role in sweat control. if you find yourself sweating as a result of becoming anxious, cbd may help with the anxiety, and therefore also solve the issue of sweating. it also may help with night sweats, and same goes for symptoms associated with hot flashes. 

however, just like with every other topic discussed here, there is individual variation amongst all of these. despite reports of cbd oil being effective in these instances, some people have also experienced increased frequency of night sweats and/or hot flashes from using cbd, and individual body chemistry and/or dosage size are only a couple of the potential variables within the overall equation. 

furthermore, people with crohn’s disease also may find relief from cbd. sweating is just one of the side effects that cbd oil may help relieve. other crohn’s-related benefits include improved digestion, increased appetite, reduction of pain and inflammation, and prevention of diarrhea. 

final thoughts about cbd and sweat

to sum it all up, we still have a lot to learn about cannabis as a whole, and its relation to sweat is no exception. the legality of cannabis is becoming increasingly favorable, and we have the technology available in this day and age to make significant advancements on everything within the realm of cannabis. 

as of now, there is no conclusive evidence on cbd’s relationship towards causing or preventing sweat – individuals experience all types of possible outcomes and it is likely that multiple systems are at play in an interconnected fashion to cause the variation in those individual results. we cannot guarantee any claims of individual efficacy, for sweat or anything else, but cbd oil is 100% safe and nontoxic, and you will not overdose from it as long as you are sure the product you are consuming is pure cbd.