Microdosing Cannabis

For the cannabis consumer of the future, gone are the days of rolling massive blunts filled with 3 grams or more. This type of consumption will likely never completely go away, and we certainly would never tell people to enjoy that responsibly.

However, micro-dosing is a great way to get all of the amazing benefits cannabinoids have to offer without the zoned-out, couch-locked buzz. Because the cannabis industry is still growing, proper consumption can be a guessing game. Here’s why microdosing can help.

Why Microdosing is Perfect for the Canna-Curious

Many former consumers moved away from cannabis because they ended up overdoing it. The psychoactive effects of cannabis can be overwhelming for some. One of the reasons for this is that the legal industry has opened up the possibility for all the recent innovations that weren’t available 10-15 years or so ago. These include concentrates, edibles, and drinkables of all kinds, vapes, and of course – flower that is becoming ever-increasingly potent.

Prohibitionists might tell you that this is a downside to cannabis legalization. However, the reason why flower is always going to become more potent is that breeding and growing methods and technology are always improving. And the main reason for this is legalization. What had to be hidden in the shadows of the gray market in years past is in the open now.

The Potential Benefits of Microdosing

From a health standpoint, microdosing cannabis is a great choice. The word attrition is the best way to describe micro-dosing, meaning the process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of something. The health benefits of microdosing include avoiding the dreaded full day on the couch, the reduction of binge eating munchies, as well as decreasing the amount of smoke you inhale into your lungs. This is, of course, if you’re consuming flower.

There are several studies on the benefits of low doses of cannabis medicine. One study was conducted by researchers at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. In the study of the dose-related effects, participants were administered 7.5 milligrams of THC as well as 12.5 mg at separate times.

The majority of participants indicated that the smaller dose provided them with greater stress relief and the higher doses tended to hurt their mood. Another study published in the Journal of Pain in 2012 involved cancer patients who weren’t responding to pharmaceutical painkillers. The results of the study concluded that the lower doses tended to cause a higher pain-relieving effect than the higher doses.

Micro-Dosing Can Save You Money

From a financial standpoint, you’ll save money with micro-dosing. As much as we love the benefits of cannabis, it’s not cheap. And that’s for a reason. Artisan craft cannabis breeders pour their immense amount of knowledge and love into their plants - and there is a ton of work involved for that final product to show up on dispensary shelves.

It’s not just for our fellow millennials working from home! Older medical cannabis patients are also drawn to the benefits of microdosing, because they understand the healing power of the plant medicine, but are turned off by the high. Micro-dosing is a great choice for them! The jury is still out as to how beneficial hemp-derived CBD is.

Perhaps the best way to get the full benefits of cannabis medicine is to ingest the whole plant with the full range of cannabinoids. There is a sticky substance called resin which is where the cannabinoids in cannabis come from. Whole plant cannabis medicine produces significantly greater amounts of cannabinoids than hemp does.

How to Microdose Cannabis

Just like with any other medicine, there are several factors to consider before starting microdosing. These include your physiology and tolerance. If you’re a medical patient, your condition is also an important factor. A dose that works well for one person might be ineffective for you. A good starting point, especially as a new consumer, is to start at a milligram or two of a product containing THC.

Concentrates will be much stronger. It’s also a great strategy to consume a ratio of 1:1 THC to CBD if you can. Start at as low of a vape or smoking dose as possible, and then increase that daily to see how well you respond.

It can be hard to consistently microdose with vaping and smoking cannabis flower or oil concentrates. For this reason, you might want to simply ingest a small number of edibles, tinctures, or topicals to get the medicated benefits without the overwhelming buzz. Edibles found in most dispensaries must have mg content printed on them, making dosing with edibles easier to control.

It’s naturally easier to purchase products that remove the guesswork and do the micro-dosing for you. One highly innovative company developing such products is called Dosist. They produce products that contain targeted formulas at precise doses. There are several product options available that allow cultivar-specific bursts at a measurable dose down to the milligram. We hope to see more companies like Dosist in the future and the increased availability of these important products in more states.

If you’ve got questions about cannabis, we’ll keep the answers coming. HashDash is at the forefront of the future of cannabis consumption because we use data-driven consumer results. We leverage this data to become your one-stop guide for educated, healthy consumption that doesn’t get in the way of your productivity while increasing your happiness and well-being.

What We Learned: Microdosing Cannabis

Microdosing cannabis is a hot-button topic right now, and for good reason. Here's what we learned about microdosing cannabis in this chapter:

• Microdosing could be the future of cannabis consumption.
• Microdosing can save cannabis consumers money and could be a better option health-wise since there's less smoke inhaled into the lungs.
• There are several studies on the benefits of low doses of cannabis medicine. We covered only a few examples of the many.
• Innovative cannabis companies are developing cultivar-specific at a measurable dose down to the milligram. These products are ideal for microdoses.
• A good starting point, especially as a new consumer, is to start at a milligram or two of an edible containing THC.

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