Now that people can use cannabis in Canada and 33 of the US states legally for medicinal and recreational purposes, the number of retail stores and dispensaries has skyrocketed. After all, someone needs to keep up with the demand for quality marijuana products. So, for some individuals, this opens the door to run a successful business and help customers.
Operating a cannabis business is quite involved. For starters, these companies are strictly regulated. Although most states aren’t quite as tough, marijuana remains illegal under the federal government. So, business owners must take extreme care to follow all laws and regulations to a tee.
As part of running a shop or dispensary are many different roles. Most customers only deal with clerks who sell the product. However, a lot goes on behind the scenes. This allows companies to offer a broad range of types and blends of pot, flavoured cannabis, concentrated oils, accessories, and much more.
Experts who run these businesses have a tremendous amount of knowledge. They’ve spent years learning all about CBD so they can pass on vital information to their customers. Dosing is just one of the many areas they assist with. While not medical doctors, these professionals help consumers buy the right product according to need and offer advice as to how much to use for any given application.
If you want to know how to dose cannabis like the professionals, the information provided will help. This is especially valuable if you’re relatively new to using marijuana. At the same time, it’s useful for people who’ve been enjoying weed for a long time.
Information About Dosing CBD for Beginners
The biggest myth about dosing cannabis is that the therapeutic effects it produces are achievable at lower doses than what’s needed to achieve euphoria. To properly manage your cannabis use, you need to manage its intoxicating properties. The other thing is that every person has a unique response to THC. This is why dosing cannabis, especially as a beginner, can feel somewhat overwhelming.
Overall, there are three types of resin-rich cannabis and associated products. These include:
- Type 1 – In this case, marijuana has a high level of THC yet is low in CBD. This is the type of pot that people generally use to get high.
- Type 2 – For this, the product is a mixture of both THC and CBD. While it too can create a euphoric effect, it’s much milder compared to Type 1.
- Type 3 – This type of marijuana has CBD dominant, meaning it’s primarily CBD with a very low level of THC. Many people refer to this as hemp or non-euphoric pot.
Dose like a Pro
Whether you’re more interested in achieving a euphoric experience, or you use cannabis to reduce pain, alleviate inflammation, or correct a skin condition, you want to learn as much as you can about proper dosing. The steps listed below will turn you into an at-home pro.
1. Determine the Strength of the Cannabis
If you’re going to dose safely and effectively, you first need to know the strength of the marijuana. While this might seem like a daunting task, it’s actually easier than you might expect. When buying pot, you can get the information from the retail shop or dispensary.
Regardless if you want to know the potency of dried bud, edibles, or CBD oil, the owner or a qualified employee of a reputable shop or dispensary can provide you with that information. Remember, every type or blend of cannabis is different. Overall, the goal is to determine the percentage of THC in the weed.
After all, more than 100 types of cannabinoids and terpenes exist. Of these, THC is the best known and the one that produces a high or euphoric effect on the body. Others don’t have the same psychoactive compounds. These are the types of cannabis that people rely on for medicinal purposes.
2. Start Slow and Low
When you first start dosing cannabis, don’t get ahead of yourself. The best rule of thumb is to start slow and use a low potency of CBD. For example, if you’ve decided to vape or smoke weed, take one hit and inhale. Then, wait about 15 minutes to take another hit and inhale.
Usually, most people feel the effects of marijuana within a minute or two. By starting slow and low, you can better judge how your body responds. You should do this not only as a new cannabis user but also whenever you switch to a different type or blend of pot.
Another example has to do with using cannabis capsules and edibles. For these, the body typically doesn’t respond for anywhere between 60 and 90 minutes. When getting started using marijuana, go with 1.25 to 2.5 mg of THC shortly before retiring for the night. Follow the same guidelines over the next two days.
If you don’t have any bad side effects, on the fourth evening, take an additional 1.25 to 2.5 mg of CBD. You can continue to increase the dose each day in the same increments until you get the results you want.
3. Dose by Type 1, Type 2, or Type 3
When using cannabis for medicinal purposes such as pain relief, don’t use more than 2.5 mg of Type 1 CBD. Then on days three and four, use 2.5 mg twice a day. If you tolerate it well, you can gradually increase the dose until you reach 15 mg per day. Keep in mind that you need to break the doses up so you’re not taking the full 15 mg at one time.
What you don’t want to do is take too much Type 1 CBD within a day. That could lead to several issues, including diarrhea, spasms, profuse sweating, nausea, anxiety, panic attacks, and vomiting, among others. So, if you want to dose CBD like a pro, don’t rush into anything. Go slow and start with a slow dose of Type 1 CBD.
As for Type 2, this is what people usually use for both medicinal and recreational purposes. The right dosing of this cannabis can help quite well to reduce or eliminate pain, and most individuals don’t experience unpleasant side effects.
As mentioned, start with 2.5 mg of CBD for a few days to make sure your body reacts positively. Then, you can slowly increase the amount again until achieving the desired results.
Finally, there’s dosing for Type 3 CBD. Since this type of marijuana is mostly CBD with very low THC potency, it’s used mainly for medicinal reasons. For the best results, use a full-spectrum type of pot as opposed to an isolate. The reason is this will deliver the therapeutic effects even while using a much smaller dose.
4. Dose Cannabis by Delivery Method
The way that CBD gets into your body is another factor to consider when dosing. Topicals are a perfect example. These include lotions, creams, salves, sprays, and gels. In other words, anything you would apply to your skin. This gets a little tricky since the recommended dose depends on the product.
When buying cannabis topicals, ask the retail store or dispensary about the dose and schedule for using whatever product you buy. Although there’s no real risk in going overboard, you should still get as much information as you can.
Now, if you use marijuana dab, the standard dose is 25 mg for each dab. Whether using this in a vaporizer or a dab rig, be sure to ask about the specific potency in the product you buy. It’s all about staying informed so that at home you can dose cannabis safely and effectively.
Then, there are edibles, which have become increasingly popular. For one thing, cannabis edibles taste good. For another, they’re fun, discreet, and convenient. To properly dost CBD edibles, here are a few easy guidelines:
- 1 to 2 mg THC – This is a microdose and a great place for someone new to marijuana use to start.
- 2 to 5 mg THC – Also a microdose, this has a little bit more of a kick yet is still a good option for beginners.
- 5 to 10 mg THC – For casual pot users, this is the standard dosing range.
- 10 to 50 mg THC – As a much stronger dose, only experienced cannabis users should go this high on a dose.
- 50 mg THC and Higher – Incredibly strong, this CBD dose is best for people who use pot daily and those who use it for medicinal purposes.
When it comes to edibles, it’s always best to start with 2 mg. Then, you can increase the dose by 1 mg every day going forward until you find what works best for you.
Compared to other ways of using weed, vaping is kind of in a different league. Unless using shatter, most people purchase vape pens with pre-filled cartridges. That means there’s no way to choose a specific dose at home. However, you can buy a pre-filled cartridge with a certain potency based on your experience, purpose of using it, and the outcome you want to achieve.
What It All Comes Down To
For each individual, correct cannabis dosing is unique. With so many factors involved, there’s not a sure-fire way to determine the ideal dose for every cannabis user. However, certain things will help you find the right dose. Some examples of these include your daily diet, the amount of exercise you get, your sleep pattern, level of stress, and even your genetics.
To learn to dose like a professional, consider some of the other variables involved.
- Time of Day – For the most part, experts recommend using a Type 1 cannabis product at night. In comparison, Type 3 is usually more effective during the day. You might need to play around with this a little bit. In general, that’s how it works.
- Experience as a Marijuana User – Even your experience using CBD will determine how much to dose. For instance, if you’ve smoked weed for years as a way to get high, you’d likely need to dose at a much higher level. The same goes if you’ve used cannabis for medicinal purposes for several years. Your body becomes accustomed to it, which means you’ll need a higher dose of CBD to continue getting the same results.
- Cannabinoid Acids – When in acid form, raw and unheated cannabis that contains THC and CBD isn’t super intoxicating. When used orally for a few months, cannabinoid acids are usually quite effective even in small doses. However, when dealing with raw cannabis, determining an exact dose is challenging.
- Dosing Cannabis for Preventative Reasons – If you use CBD to help manage the symptoms of a chronic illness or use it to prevent the symptoms of a disease from reoccurring, low-dose therapy over an extended period could prove beneficial.
Learn About Varieties
Now that Canada and multiple states consider marijuana legal, some people started to grow quality plants. However, much of the cannabis on the market comes from near Indicas or the equator. As mentioned, every variety of pot is unique in terms of cannabinoids and terpenes. So, to properly dose cannabis, take time to learn about the varieties available.
Also, if you try different plants or blends, keep a journal of any side effects, euphoria level, and benefits. If you’re looking to dose CBD to ease pain, inflammation, and symptoms of skin conditions, consider choosing a concentrate. If you go this route, experts recommend using a glass pipe made specifically for this type of cannabis.
Another thing to consider is that if you notice a specific strain of cannabis no longer works like it used to, rather than keep increasing the dose, try switching to something different. This is where the owner of a reputable CBD retail shop or dispensary can help. Since there’s no hard rule for dosing, you have to experiment to some degree. So, rely on the professionals for guidance.
