Understanding the right amount of THC to take is like having a marijuana passport. The enormous world of cannabis is yours to explore once you’ve determined the milligram range or THC percentage that works best for you. Finding your dose, though, takes time and work, just as planning a significant vacation does.
See how to determine the ideal dose for you based on the product type, how to gradually change the dose, and how various elements might influence a cannabis high. Find the right THC dosage for you for every cannabis product type in this post.
Dosing considerations for different product types
The amount of cannabis you need to consume to become high will depend significantly on the product you’re interested in using.
Flower Dosage
The effects of smoking cannabis flowers start to take effect right away. You can anticipate being high shortly after inhaling cannabis smoke, so you’ll be able to tell quite soon whether you took too much or not. After that, the high would peak about 30 minutes after inhalation and then gradually fade for about an hour.
Cannabis strains differ greatly in strength, THC content, and terpene content, all of which might influence how you feel when you use them. Fortunately, lab-tested goods purchased from authorized, legal dispensaries provide certificates of analysis that make precise and simple dosing possible. To find out how big of an effect you may anticipate from one joint or bong rip, look for the THC concentration on a cannabis flower packet.
- 10% THC or less: a flower in this range is considered mild
- 10–20% THC: strong for beginners and often just right for casual consumers
- 20% THC and above: some of the strongest weed you’ll find
Bottom line: Make note of the THC percentage before you consume, take one puff, and wait 15 minutes before consuming more to get a sense of how that potency affects you.
Vapes
Vapes can produce a strong cannabis high quickly, so exercise caution.
The majority of vape pens and cartridges include cannabis oil—a sort of cannabis concentrate—pre-filled in them. Cannabis users can inhale a strong vapor created when cannabis oil is heated to the point of vaporization. Similar to smoking cannabis, cannabis vaporization has a short-lived effect that peaks around 30 minutes later. Vaping can result in a potent cannabis high quickly, so it’s best to use caution while trying it for the first time.
Conclusion: When using a vaporizer, make a note of the THC content. After taking one drag, wait 15 minutes before using it again to gauge how potent it is for you.
Concentrates
Cannabis concentrates are quite potent and typically contain 60% to 99% THC. A dab rig can be used to consume more cannabis concentrates, which are sold in addition to pre-filled vapes. Dabbing concentrates is not recommended for first-time cannabis users because it is seen as an advanced ingestion method.
Cannabis concentrates are highly potent, containing an average of 60% to 99% THC.
The bottom line is that only experienced, extremely tolerant users should try dabbing cannabis concentrates. When dabbing for the first time, start with a scoop of concentrate a little larger than a grain of rice.
Edibles Dosing
When THC is ingested as opposed to inhaled, the body metabolizes it differently. After being digested, THC is changed by the liver into 11-hydroxy-THC, which has more sedative effects than THC and a longer half-life. The effects of an edible can start to take effect anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours after eating. The duration of the effects might range from a few hours to several days, depending on the dose and the consumer’s metabolism.
Exercise caution with edibles, as it can take two hours for the effects to kick in.
THC has been discussed thus far in terms of percentages, but the strength of cannabis edibles is expressed in milligrams. For instance, a tin of marijuana gummies from your neighborhood dispensary may contain 5 mg of THC per gummy and 100 mg of THC per package. Here is a brief explanation for newcomers seeking to understand what these numbers mean:
- 1–2 mg THC: a microdose and the ideal place to start for beginners
- 2–5 mg THC: could be considered a microdose or low dose depending on tolerance
- 5–10 mg THC: the most common range for casual consumers
- 10–50 mg THC: considered strong and for experienced consumers
- 50 mg THC and above: considered very strong and typically reserved for medical patients and daily consumers
Bottom line: If you’re trying edibles for the first time, start with a dose of 2 mg THC and gradually increase it by 1 mg at a time. Between each experiment, let 24 hours, till you have determined your personal best dose.
Tinctures
Cannabis is dissolved in an alcohol or oil solution to create cannabis tinctures. Tinctures can be ingested orally (under the tongue) or added to food or drinks. A tincture’s effects when taken sublingually begin to take action in 20 to 30 minutes and last for two to three hours. The experience is comparable to that of an edible when taken like one (i.e. blended into food or drink).
Exercise the same caution with tinctures as you would with edibles.
Tinctures are ideally designed to be absorbed through blood vessels in the mouth. To do this, the tincture must be placed beneath the tongue, allowed to sit there for two to three minutes, and even rubbed in to ensure absorption. The tincture will behave more like an edible if you take it before it’s completely absorbed, taking longer to take effect and lasting considerably longer as well.
Bottom line: Use the same caution when using tinctures as when using edibles. To determine your perfect THC dosage, start with 2 mg and progressively raise the dose by 1 mg every 24 hours.
Factors that may affect your experience
Specifically, your endocannabinoid system (ECS). The cannabinoid receptors, lipids, and enzymes that make up the endocannabinoid system play a significant role in preserving homeostasis, or the balance of our internal regulatory systems. The endocannabinoid system, which is present in all mammalian vertebrates, interacts with both the endocannabinoids that we generate and the cannabinoids found in cannabis (phytocannabinoids). How responsive someone is to THC and other cannabinoids depends on how many cannabinoid receptors they have and how their ECS functions. Also, this explains why some cannabis users experience effectiveness with 1 mg of THC while others need far higher dosages.
Every person has a unique endocannabinoid system.
How quickly you develop a tolerance. When you build a tolerance to the drug, your ideal THC dosage may alter over time. Since the ECS is a finely tuned instrument, it reacts to excessive stimulation by reducing the number of cannabinoid receptors, which means that over time, higher doses will be necessary to have the same effect. By taking pauses from your tolerance and being aware of how much you consume, you can keep your tolerance in check.
Why the lowest effective dose is the best dose
It’s frequent advice in clinical research to “start low and go gently.” According to a 2012 study in the Journal of Pain, using lower doses of cannabis spray provided advanced cancer patients with more effective pain management with fewer adverse effects. Another study that was published in the Journal of Pain indicated that smaller doses of vaporized cannabis were less likely to significantly affect daily cognitive performance and that they were just as efficient at treating nerve pain as bigger doses.
Although there is no known deadly amount of cannabis, consuming too much might cause unwelcome discomfort or paranoia. You can prevent unwanted repercussions by starting with the lowest quantity of THC possible and increasing it gradually until you find the right amount for you.
