Dosing CBD Oils with Standard Droppers
How do you take CBD dropper doses? Understanding the liquid volume in the CBD bottle and dropper gives you control over how much CBD, other cannabinoids and healthy ingredients like terpenes and cannabinoids you take. This is especially important when taking a CBD dose that addresses a specific need, like improving sleep. The standard 1-ml dropper makes for effortless dosing, but you still need to learn how to figure out the volume of a single CBD drop for cases where the CBD company does not state the volume.
TLDR: Buying CBD oil or tincture with a 1-ml dropper makes it easy to determine the amount of CBD you are taking. A high-quality CBD product will often tell you how much CBD is in a 1ml dropper of CBD when 1ml is the suggested dosage. You can determine the amount even if the per-drop volume is not provided. A simple calculation lets you control the amount of CBD consumed.
Table of Contents
What is a 1-ml Dropper?
A dropper is composed of a short tube with a rubber bulb that fills the tube with CBD oil and then dispenses the CBD oil in your mouth, under the tongue, or on the skin. Many companies calculate their recommended per-serving amount of CBD oil for their customers. They adhere to the standard pharmaceutical measurements for a dropper, so you know how many drops in a dropper you are taking when consuming a full dropper amount of CBD oil.
The standard measure for a dropper is 1 ml, equivalent to 20 drops. A reputable CBD company will state the recommended serving size of CBD oil and how much CBD is in one serving. A typical serving size is 1 ml or 2 ml of oil, meaning you would take one or two full dropper amounts of CBD oil or 20 or 40 drops of CBD oil.
The measuring dropper that holds 1 ml of CBD oil makes it easy to control how much CBD you take. You do not have to take the full dropper amount if you want to start with less than one serving. For example, you might start with half a serving to take half of a dropper amount. Some CBD brands like Lazarus Naturals and Joy Organics mark their droppers, making it simple to fill the dropper with the desired amount of CBD oil for dosing.
Learning to Calculate a Single Drop
CBD oil or tincture volume is stated in metric measurements. The FDA does not regulate CBD, so not all CBD companies tell you how much CBD is in a 1ml drop of CBD oil. Instead, they tell you the total CBD milligrams in a bottle and the total milligrams of CBD oil.
If the bottle says the total CBD content is 3000 mg, and the total volume of product in the bottle is 60 ml, you can calculate 1 ml of CBD by doing the following calculation.
- 3000 mg of CBD divided by 60 ml of oil equals 50 mg of CBD per ml
- 50mg per ml times .05 ml per drop equals 2.5mg of CBD per drop
Now, you can determine how many CBD drops to take based on the preferred CBD dosage. For example, you want to take 25 mg of CBD per dose.
- 25 mg dose divided by 2.5 mg per drop equals 10 drops
- 10 drops times 2.5mg of CBD per drop equals 0.5ml (one-half of the 1ml dropper)
Many U.S. consumers are unfamiliar with the metric system, but the calculations are easy.
CBD Oil Dosing Chart
| Strength per 1 mL | 1/4 dropper | 1/2 dropper | 3/4 dropper | A full dropper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mg CBD | 5 mg | 10 mg | 15 mg | 20 mg |
| 40 mg CBD | 10 mg | 20 mg | 30 mg | 40 mg |
| 60 mg CBD | 15 mg | 30 mg | 45 mg | 60 mg |
| 100 mg CBD | 25 mg | 50 mg | 75 mg | 100 mg |
| 200 mg CBD | 50 mg | 100 mg | 150 mg | 200 mg |
How to Use a Dropper?
How do you take CBD dropper oil? Learning how to take CBD dropper amounts is easy. First, remove the dropper from the bottle, press the rubber bulb at the top of the tube to push the air out, place the tube in the bottle of CBD oil, and release the bulb.
The tube will fill up with CBD oil. Be sure to check the markings on the dropper to ascertain that you have not overfilled the dropper. Fill the dropper to the half or 1-ml marker, or another marker if present, as desired.
If taking a CBD tincture, place the end of the dropper’s tube under the tongue. Squeeze the dropper bulb to empty the tube. You can follow the same procedure for any CBD oil with a dropper. You do not have to place the CBD liquid under the tongue. You can place the CBD oil anywhere in the mouth but sublingually is preferred for a good reason. The CBD reaches the bloodstream much quicker because the glands located under the tongue are directly connected to the bloodstream.
The Convenience of the CBD Dropper
People buy CBD oil for many reasons. CBD drops can be taken sublingually, placed on the tongue, added to food or drinks or placed on the skin. The CBD measuring dropper simplifies the dosing process, making the administration of the oil convenient and non-messy and enables avoiding over-dosing of CBD. You also never waste any oil by using a dropper. An added benefit is that taking CBD oil sublingually means more CBD makes it directly to your bloodstream since the digestive system is bypassed.
Wilber Murry
Is it necessary to take CBD oil with food? I do intermittent fasting and may not eat my first meal until 12 or 1pm and I don’t eat after 8pm, so I wouldn’t be eating at 11pm if I want to take CBD oil before going to bed for better sleep.
Michael Levin
Hi Wilber,
Thank you for your question. Taking CBD oil with food before bed is not strictly necessary, and some people find taking CBD oil on an empty stomach doesn’t affect their sleep. We suggest to experiment and see what works best for you. We also recommend checking out these two posts on our blog: Should You Take CBD Oil Before or After Meals? and Should You Drink Water After Taking CBD Oil?