Some people have a difficult time with travel. Whether it is nausea or anxiety related to the switching of planes, the crowds at airports, the waiting to get through security, or the worry of catching your plane on time, you are not the only person who has issues with travel.
Sometimes traveling isn’t the problem, it is the fear of flying, or the reason for the trip. If all you can think about is the argument waiting, the funeral you are on your way to, or the high stakes business meeting you are headed toward, you might benefit from using CBD oil before and during your trip. Travel stress is extremely difficult and causes some people to feel completely overwhelmed to the point of total panic attacks in airports.
Bus travel, train travel, and airplanes all cause anxiety because you are cramped into small spaces with total strangers. Sometimes there are crying children, sometimes there are belligerent adults who have had too much to drink. Either way, you are trapped with these people for the duration of your travel and it is highly stressful, even if you are normally a very cool cucumber your temper may flare.
Ways That CBD Can Be Used During Travel
There are a lot of options for when and how to use CBD to give you the most benefit while traveling. If you are traveling by car, you can use virtually any of the options for CBD use. Oil that can be used orally, be it alone or with food/drink, is an option that you can use if you are in the car, stopped for food, in coffee before you hit the road, etc.
CBD capsules are now available. You can take them as you would aspirin for a headache. They take a bit longer to affect your symptoms when you administer CBD doses in this way. You can expect it to take as long as two hours to hit your system fully, if you’ve recently eaten. If you have an empty stomach, you might see results in half an hour.
Let’s suppose that you are prone to anxiety and panic attacks. Sometimes these come over you very quickly. You need relief that acts just as quickly. The absolute fastest way for CBD to work in your system is to inhale it directly into the lungs. For this, you’ll need oils made specifically for this purpose. Vaping CBD oils are created specifically for use in vaping pens. You can even purchase disposable pens that are flavored. The cost is very minimal, less than $20 in most cases, for these disposable vaping pens. These are reminiscent of the e-cigs that were the predecessors of the vaping pens made today.
When you are in flight, or on a bus or train, you can’t use these vaping pens because they are banned in most cramped public spaces. You can step outside and use them quickly if you are at a bus depot, or near doors at the airport. You aren’t likely to get in any trouble just outside of doors because they are not cigarettes or tobacco products. They are sometimes okay in public buildings, but you will not be able to use them in transport, on a bus, plane, or train.
When you are in your own vehicle, you obviously don’t have these restrictions. If in a cab, ask. Uber drivers may allow the use of vaping, but it is up to each individual driver because it is their car the are using. Use courtesy and ask, and when you can use them, you’ll receive results within five minutes most of the time.
The reason that they work so well is because the lungs are full of veins and arteries. This is where the blood is brought to be oxygenated. That means that if the CBD is in your lungs, it is introduced to your bloodstream immediately and circulates all the way through your body in moments. Stress is relieved almost instantly. Also, you’ll find that there are many flavors that can be used to create CBD vaping juices and some of them are quite tasty.
Taking topical CBD can be done and it will enter your system slowly, as it is absorbed. This is the least effective method for someone to get fast results, but if it is applied a few hours before you arrive at the airport, it can be beneficial.
Flavored CBD coffee creamers can be added to your coffee and this method works well no matter what form of transportation you are taking. CBD is infused in some coffees as well. Combining the coffee with the creamer may give you a potent dose that gets you through any extreme transportation anxieties that may arise.
If you take Dramamine to help reduce motion sickness, taking CBD oil also will not harm you. CBD can also work well as an anti-nausea remedy that will ensure that you don’t get sick enough to vomit while enroute to your destination. Some people choose to only use CBD, but it will not interact with the Dramamine or cause side-effects with it.
Regardless of the way you get the CBD in your system, it will help but the next question to answer is about laws and packing CBD to take with you.
Is It Legal to Pack CBD Oil When I Travel?
Thanks to laws that took effect in the United States in 2017, CBD is legal nationwide but there are a few local laws, at the county and city levels. You will want to be sure that CBD is legal in the jurisdiction in which you will be in when you land and begin your trip. Be sure to only travel with it in the original containers with the labels clearly visible. It is probably best to travel with unopened containers of CBD, so that it has clearly not been tampered with in any way and cause suspicions. CBD oil does smell much like marijuana and could cause questions. Use your due diligence and ask the airline before you pack it what their rules and regulations are for bringing it along on your trip.
If you are traveling outside of the United States, it is highly encouraged for you to do some homework regarding the country or countries that you’ll be visiting on your trip.
CBD products are marked as okay in the following countries (listed alphabetically after the United States):
- United States (check individual state regulations before travelling)
- Argentina
- Austria
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Netherlands Antilles
- Northern Ireland
- Norway
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Romania
- Russia
- Scotland
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- United Kingdom
- Uruguay
- Wales
If you are visiting a country that is not on this list, it is highly advisable that you investigate thoroughly with that consulate or the airline to find out what the local regulations in that country are. CBD products do not contain any THC (tetrahydrocannabidiol) or only trace amounts. This will not count as possession of marijuana. Marijuana is Illegal in most places in the United States and around the world, due to the high amounts of THC in it. THC is a psychoactive ingredient that affects the brain, rendering the user incapable of most of their cognitive function and fine motor skills. It generally appears that the person is inebriated as if they had been drinking alcohol.
Marijuana possession is an automatic arrest in many states. Do not get caught at an airport or bus station with marijuana because you will likely end-up not taking your trip after all. Even in states where marijuana has been legalized, you must have a medical card awarded to you by that state. It does not allow for interstate travel. In other words, if you have a medical marijuana card in Colorado but wish to drive to Wyoming, they can arrest you for possessing marijuana because it is not recognized as legal in their state. As you can see, this can get you into a lot of trouble very quickly.
Many people opt to use CBD products because they get the same help from CBD as they do from marijuana. Basically, the big difference is that the THC is removed from the CBD products. CBD is just another compound found in hemp. CBD comes from hemp, not the sativa plants grown for marijuana use. The plants are essentially cousins from the same family but used for different purposes. THC levels in hemp or lower to start with, and then it is extracted when CBD is taken from the plant during the extraction process. With the psychoactive ingredient removed, CBD alone won’t cause you to get high or even feel stoned. You will feel relaxed but that isn’t a psychoactive effect. That is the CBD working in the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in your body. It is shutting down the signals that are trying to get to the brain to cause it to overreact. That’s essentially what causes anxiety of any sort. Your see, your mind starts to worry and go through every worst-case scenario that you can imagine. These thoughts start to bombard your brain and constantly tell it that there is trouble it should be worrying over. The brain reacts to all these messages by raising the flags and causing anxiety. CBD helps to block these constant negative thoughts and worries and therefore the brain has nothing to react to. Anxiety decreases and you feel more relaxed.
This is, of course, a very simplified version of what is happening. The body is extremely complex. There are receptors located in the brain and around the body. THC mostly influences those that are in the brain. CBD, on the other hand, mostly interacts with the other ones that are located all over. They are like traffic signals on the neural pathways of your body. When those impulses (think of them like tiny cars) are trying to zoom toward the brain with negative thought patterns, or signals of pain, or messages to cause tremors, or headaches or a thousand other things, CBD helps to turn all the traffic lights to red in order to stop the traffic.
This helps stop pain, anxiety, cravings, headaches, and so many things that negatively impact our lives. The best part of all of this is that CBD is natural, and it is legal, at least in the United States. When you use it for travel anxiety, it will help you to enjoy a trip. If you are traveling by plane for your vacation, being able to do so without extreme anxiety would be a nice relief. CBD isn’t addictive and you can use it as necessary. You cannot overdose. You might give yourself a headache, diarrhea, or cramps if you were to use excessive amounts. A half a dropper is considered a normal dose for maintenance. You could repeat this a few times per day as necessary. If you do give yourself some diarrhea, simply stop taking that amount. Lower your dose and gradually build it back up more slowly. CBD is even safe for your pets or for children.
When Should You Start Your Doses?
Ideally, you don’t want to use CBD oil for the very first time on the day you travel. A great idea would be to start a few maintenance doses as early as a week prior to travel. The reason for this is simply so that you can get used to how your body will react to the CBD, ensuring that you have no headache or cramps, or worse, during your trip.
Give your body a chance to adjust to the CBD and you may find that your moods are enhanced with regular use. Many people find that CBD taken daily has drastically improved their overall quality of life. Whether you have some minor aches and pains related to age, or suffer with migraines, CBD products can help with most anything. They’re also a great source of omega fatty acids that dramatically reduce free-radicals in the body. Free-radicals are known to be a cancer-causing agent in the body and CBD oil helps to combat them. When you get a good daily dose of anti-oxidants, you can drastically reduce your chances of being diagnosed with cancer. Also, those who have been diagnosed with cancer have reportedly slowed their tumor growth down considerably, allowing time for treatment. CBD has also been able to help with the after-chemo nausea that is associated with treatment. CBD has played a major role in the treatment of many cancer patients for several years, as well as medical marijuana.
The best way to find the dose that works best for you is to simply start at a recommended dose and then go from there. There are many recommended doses for different situations and conditions. You don’t need a doctor to prescribe the CBD, nor will anyone try to tell you exactly how much you should use. There are recommendations based on the use of other people and their experiences. You are free to add to your dose, reduce your dose, repeat your dose as often as necessary, and buy your CBD in any form that you choose.
Since CBD is a new market, there is not a lot of regulation. While this is a positive thing for many reasons, it can also be an issue when there are retailers that might be marketing products that aren’t of the highest quality. Read recommendations and reviews. Make sure you are getting a pure product by reading as much about it as you can. You want a good quality, pure, CBD oil. Full spectrum is the best option because you’ll be getting an oil that was extracted from the entire plant, not just parts of the plant. This is excellent because the CBD quality is different depending on the part of the plant. Some CBD is stronger than other from another part of the plant. By getting full-spectrum CBD oil, you are getting the blend of the whole plant’s CBD.
Never be afraid to ask questions and look for further information. All reputable marketers of CBD oil should have third-party testing that is available to the public. These test results will show you the percentage of CBD, as well as the THC percentage. By law, the THC percentage must be under .03%. You’ll know how concentrated the oil is that you are thinking about buying for your travel anxiety. You won’t regret doing a little homework.
Sources:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079847/
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476