Oral Dosage - A Guideline
Medical cannabis can be effectively ingested and can produce a wide variety of potential medical benefits.
Current scientific research and anecdotal evidence has shown that the medical efficacy of cannabis can increase substantially when an oral consumption method is used.
Figuring out the effective oral dosage can be challenging, especially for beginners.
Many of us have heard stories about people who have orally consumed too much cannabis and then experienced many negative adverse effects as a result. This is the type of outcome that we do not want you to experience when ingesting cannabis.
With the right “oral dosage plan” you can significantly reduce the chances of this situation happening to you, so you can instead focus on your cannabis therapy.
In this article we will walk you through how oral cannabis dosages work and where you may “fit” on the oral dosage spectrum.
Finding Your Effective Oral Dosage
Everyone reacts differently to medical cannabis, specific strains, products and consumption methods, so finding your effective dosage is an important part of your cannabis therapy program.
The biochemistry is different when you ingest cannabis, when compared to other methods of consumption, which make the effects and experience different.
The effects typically begin around 30 to 60 minutes after ingesting cannabis, while the effects of inhalation typically begin within minutes.
As a general rule, the effects of orally consuming cannabis last two to three times as long as smoking or vaporizing cannabis.
This is why many patients swear by the ingestion method because the effects can last over 8 hours.
Typically, cannabis markets offer a wide variety of oral cannabis products that range from chocolates and candies to cannabis infused teas and gel capsules. Due to the sheer amount of choices between products, it can be difficult for many medical cannabis patients to know exactly what type of cannabis product they need and what oral dosage will be most effective to achieve the desired results.
To learn more about edibles, we invite you to read our Kanteeva article, “Edibles - Understanding the Basics.”
Fortunately, we have created an easy and helpful guideline for the oral administration of cannabis.
Please keep in mind that this is just a guideline and that you should speak with your healthcare practitioner before using cannabis for medical purposes.
Oral Dosage Guideline |
||
Experience Level |
Description |
Dosage in Milligrams of THC |
|
New |
Starting to experiment with medical cannabis and oral consumption |
2 - 5 mg |
|
Novice |
You have ingested medical cannabis a handful of times in the last few weeks but are still a beginner. You can easily take too much if you are not careful. You are starting to understand how smaller and larger doses make you feel and are building up a tolerance. You can orally take around double or triple of what you first started with. |
5 – 10 mg |
|
Intermediate |
You have ingested medical cannabis multiple times per week and sometimes on a daily basis. You can function productively (work, socialize etc.) when you take 20 mg or less. You are beginning to understand the best times of the day for you to ingest cannabis and you are more confident on what dosages you want to be taking. You are starting to understand the differences between specific strains and their effects. The idea that cannabis is all the same seems ridiculous to you now. |
10 – 25 mg |
|
Experienced |
You have had experience ingesting medical cannabis on a daily or almost daily basis for over one month. You can easily function with a dosage of 25 mg and you may even function better. You are starting to notice the benefits of consistently consuming your cannabis orally. You can easily help someone with their dosages or discuss the basics of ingestion. You are confident in this subject matter. |
25 – 50 mg |
|
Advanced |
You ingest medical cannabis on a daily or almost daily basis. You can function in your day to day life when taking a 50 mg dosage. |
50 – 100 mg |
|
Veteran |
You orally ingest high daily doses (you can easily tolerate 100 mg per dose) and have been doing so for over one month. You can function in your day to day life when taking 100 mg. |
More than 100 mg |
Speak with your Healthcare Practitioner & Learn More
We encourage you to speak with your healthcare practitioner(s) about your minimum effective dose when you are ingesting cannabis. You should be able to find a dosage level that produces the desired effects without overmedicating. More is not always better.
Dosage depends on your unique situation.
The symptoms of a “cannabis overdose” include: intense confusion, vertigo, sweating, paranoia, vomiting, inability to move, speak and function normally and temporary psychosis.
This is not something you want to experience so be careful and exact with your dosages so you will realize the benefits of orally ingesting this incredible medicine.
Some patients who are in dire conditions quickly build up their oral cannabis tolerance. It is possible for someone to be “new” to ingestion and be able to go from tolerating 10 mgs to 1000 mgs of RSO within 30 days. See more on this subject by clicking on our article “What is RSO?.”
Other Variables that may Affect Dosage
Sex- Weight
- Metabolism
- Your individual and unique “Endocannabinoid System”
- How full your digestive system is and what you are currently digesting. Cannabinoids love fat (lipophilic) and they hate water (hydrophobic).
- The consistency of the product (strain type, quality, product type & cannabinoid profile) is essential when experimenting with ingestion so you can create a benchmark for consistent doses of each specific product and know what the effects will be.
- The frequency of dosage
- You will quickly build up a strong tolerance (usually within 30 days) if you are ingesting frequently (daily or multiple times a day).
- Some patients can handle over 1000 mgs per dose because they have built up a high tolerance through taking frequent and consistent dosages! If a “New” patient tried this (1000 mg dose) they would have a horrible experience and may not want to ever try cannabis again.
- The medium for ingestion
- Is there a fat or carrier oil involved in the composition of the edible? If yes, great. If no, you may want to add fat to help increase absorption. Remember that cannabinoids are lipophilic, they love fat!
- Many edibles are made with plant and animal fats or carrier oils. Be sure to know if they do because these mediums can change the rate of absorption of cannabinoids.
Please remember every person has a different endocannabinoid system, therefore every person will need to find out “what works best for them” through primary research (trial and error) and secondary research (i.e. exploring kanteeva.com and by connecting with people in the Kanteeva community).
The Disadvantages of Oral Consumption
Ingesting cannabis has many advantages over smoking or vaporizing cannabis, although there are disadvantages as well. Below are the disadvantages of oral administration:
- Dosage is difficult to manage because there are different biological stages involved in oral ingestion than inhalation, which can cause inconsistency of the effects when using the same dose
- It is easy to over consume oral cannabis products
- Often oral cannabis products are not strain specific and some do not even tell you the strain variety (i.e. Indica or Sativa) or other important information
- It can be difficult to know if the cannabis product is made from full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, or a single-molecule concentrate/extract
- Effects from the same product can be inconsistent for individual patients due to the biological pathways involved, varying absorption rates and other factors which were mentioned in the above section
Ultimately, it is up to you and your healthcare practitioner(s) to figure out if orally consuming cannabis is right for you and to design your own medical cannabis therapy program. Many patients swear by oral consumption and many use it in combination with inhalation, sublingual and transdermal applications.
What have your experiences been with oral dosages and ingestion of cannabis?
Please share your results with us by commenting below the article. We also invite you to join our growing medical cannabis community by following this link.
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