LOW & SLOW

By Jacqueline Higgins RN, MSN, MS, MCT, CNP

Everyone has a unique Endocannabinoid System (ECS) - from unborn babies to the very old. This means your friend’s experience with cannabis might be very different from yours. Before consuming, know the results you want.

Dosing (how much you consume) might focus on a specific cannabinoid like delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD). A low dose of THC starts at 0.01mg/kg/day (Sulak, 2021).

For example, a person who weighs 120 pounds (54.5kg) would start their consumption of THC at 0.5mg/day. People with sensitive health conditions might start CBD at 5mg/day (Costa et al., 2022).

In addition to milligrams - carts, grams, percentages, or hits are terms used to communicate the quantity you are consuming during each dose or the quantity of cannabis that is in the container (e.g. a 1-gram pre-roll joint or a .5 mg concentrate cart).

The route of administration impacts the onset of the effect (how quickly you feel an impact after consuming), the length of the effect, and sometimes the dose (e.g. one hit off a concentrate cart vs three hits from a whole flower vaporizer).
Inhaling has a fast onset but short duration of effect. An inhaled dose is affected by “how long you pull “ and “hold the pull” in your lungs.

An edible has a delayed onset and a long duration of effect. Wait 180 minutes for your liver to fully process the predetermined dose. Following use, tissues with a low blood supply get the dose in three days, and it takes ten days to fully enter the fat in our bodies (de Melo Reis et al., 2021). Once it arrives in the fat, blood levels will balance.

Cannabinoids offer different effects at different doses, also known as a biphasic effect. A low dose of THC might calm worry, while a high dose might cause worry. A low dose of CBD might be stimulating, while a high dose might relax you. Like Goldie Locks, effects can be “too cold,” “too hot,” or “just right.”

Beginning your consumption journey at the lowest possible dose is always the best place to start. Increasing in small, measured intervals and tracking your consumption experience will help you dial in the minimum effective dose to achieve your desired results and provide you with a good reminder of where to begin the next time you choose to consume.

References

Costa, A. C., Joaquim, H. P. G., Pedrazzi, J. F. C., Pain, A. D. O., Duque, G., & Aprahaminan, I. (2022). Cannabinoids in late life Parkinson’s disease and dementia: Biological pathways and clinical challenges. Brain Sciences, 12(12), 1596. DOI 10.3390/briansci1212596

de Melo Reis, R. A., Isaac, A. R., Freitas, H. R., de Almeida, M. M., Schuck, P. F., Ferreira, G. C., Andrade-da-COsta, B. L., d., S., & Trevenzoli, I. H. (2021). Quality of life and a surveillant endocannabinoid system. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12, 747229. DOI 10.3389/fnins.2021.747229

Sulak, D. (2021). Handbook of Cannabis for Clinicians Principles and Practice. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 978-0393-71418-0