Is CBD Psychoactive? Yes, it is!

What is Psychoactive?

There are various definitions of what psychoactive substances are, but most commonly they are defined as chemicals that alter a person’s perception, mood, consciousness, or behaviour. Such substances can be found in natural or synthetic forms, and include substances such as alcohol, caffeine, and cannabis. These substances are often used recreationally, but they can also have therapeutic uses.

So, that cup of coffee you might be sipping on while reading this article… Contains a psychoactive substance – oh, the horror!

If you were to go by this definition alone, even a glass of water can potentially be psychoactive. As if you were to be dehydrated and have a nice refreshing glass of water; the substance (water) would most definitely changing both your mood and perception.

There are other definitions for psychoactivity of substances such as the ability cross the blood-brain barrier – but this would include the coconut-based MCT oil we use in our CBD Drops that turns into ketones to be psychoactive after being broken down by your body, as ketones are a great source of energy for your brain.

Psychoactive vs. Psychotropic?

What confuses things even further is the word psychotropic. Both word psychoactive and psychotropic are currently being used almost interchangeably, and depending on the source of information – they may or may not mean the same thing, or almost exactly the same thing.

For example, if you were to look for the definition in Collins dictionary, they are both defined as “Psychotropic/Psychoactive drugs are drugs that affect your mind.” However, in Merriam-Webster psychotropic is “acting on the mind” whereas psychoactive is “affecting the mind or behavior”.

The definition between the two, and the fact that it is commonplace for these terms to be used interchangeably, has completely eroded any differentiation between the two terms that there may have been in the beginning.

At Green Stem CBD we have chosen to refer to our CBD products non-psychotropic, as we feel the word is more well suited for this purpose.

The question you should be asking

Instead of wondering “Is CBD psychoactive”, we believe you should be asking “is CBD intoxicating?” – rather than wondering whether it is psychoactive or psychotropic since most sources can’t even seem to agree on the actual definition of these two. And no, CBD has no intoxicating properties.

Now that you know that CBD is psychoactive, and that it’s absolutely fine for CBD to be psychoactive – since it is not intoxicating like THC is – you can continue your journey to learning more about CBD on our website, or alternatively having a look at our psychoactive (but non-intoxicating) product selection that included CBD Drops, CBD Gummies, and a luxurious range of CBD skincare.