5 Ways Our Body Absorbs Cannabis

22. 12. 2025

Hemp has a significant impact on our body, but it doesn't have to be just through direct consumption. The human body absorbs substances in different ways, and the effectiveness depends to some extent on how you take hemp.

What is absorption?

The concept of absorption is used in many fields, but most often in chemistry and medicine. If we were to define it, it's about absorbing a substance in a liquid or solid. In the context of today's article, we'll focus on how our organism can accept, or absorb hemp and cannabinoids from it.

1.) Intravenous and Extravascular Absorption

Any CBD hemp product you consume must first enter the digestive tract and then the bloodstream to feel its effect. Absorption through classic consumption or external use of hemp is the most common. It's called extravascular and can involve smoking hemp, consuming hemp foods, or applying CBD cosmetics. In contrast, intravenous absorption occurs directly in the veins. A classic example is a cannabinoid injection. This method immediately introduces substances into the blood, with an instant effect.

Hemp Absorption

Oral Absorption of Hemp

2.) Absorption by Inhalation

By inhaling or vaping CBD or THC, the effect occurs within 10 minutes. Substances are absorbed through the lungs and go directly into the blood. Inhalation absorption can be divided into smoking and vaporizing.

3.) Oral Absorption

This refers to consumption by mouth, where the CBD product reaches the liver and then the blood. The effect occurs at least 2 hours later. The biological availability of cannabinoids is lower, usually around 10-20%.

4.) Oral and Sublingual Absorption

Hemp is also absorbed in our organism by the tongue or gum skin. This is not the same as oral administration, as absorption occurs in the small intestine.

5.) Skin Absorption

This includes transdermal and local absorption. In the first case, it's an easier method for those who have problems with classic consumption or smoking hemp. The skin contains several small receptors through which cannabinoids penetrate directly into the blood without first being processed by an organ. However, there's a big risk that cannabinoids will dissolve in fats during skin absorption.

The second case of skin absorption is called local or actual, but with the difference that cannabinoids do not penetrate deep enough to enter the blood. Their biological availability is around 13%. They focus on a specific area of your body where they act.

Hemp Skin Absorption

Hemp Absorption through Skin Can Also Occur via CBD Cosmetics

What are Interindividual and Intraindividual Variability?

Above, we outlined 5 ways our body absorbs hemp. However, the effect you'll experience depends largely on other factors that affect absorption. Scientifically, this is interindividual and intraindividual variability. They describe different factors to which each person reacts differently.

Interindividual Variability

The prefix "inter" speaks of differences between individuals. It means that the same dose of a product can be toxic for one person and have beneficial effects for another. It depends on:

Aging
Gender
Chemical exposure
Weight

Intraindividual Variability

This type of variability is similar to the first, but specifies different effects a person experiences with the same dose of the same product. It's more about the range of effect diversity. These circumstances impact it:

Whether you consumed hemp with food or not
At what time of day
Your current mood
If you performed physical activity

We see that any substance (not just hemp) enters our body through various absorptions. What we should always consider is not only the path through which we want hemp to be absorbed, but especially the quality of hemp products. You can rely on the quality of our products, as we have been in this field for over 12 years. You can find a wide range of products on our website.