Edibles Dosing

Microdosing to Control Your High

Photo Credit: The Cut

It happens to many of us when we start to consume cannabis by way of edibles. We consume way too much, way too little, and many times it’s the overindulging that gets to people because the activation time can be delayed by a couple of hours. Before legalization, dosage was questionable because we could tell people how many grams/ounces went into the recipe, but the mg determination wasn’t always available. But even still, knowing how 5 mg, 10 mg, and so on will impact you is questionable when new to this way of consumption.

The best way to learn your dose and control your high is to start slow, using a method called microdosing. Microdosing, like consumption of cannabis overall, looks a little different for everyone so, this piece will focus on microdosing, to learn and control your high, with insight into tapping into mindfulness and awareness of self.

Tapping into Mindfulness and Being Aware of Self

Many times, mindfulness is associated with religion and meditation. Mindfulness may be considered “weird thinking” to some but, mindfulness is being taught in law practice, management/ leadership training, used to treat anxiety and bias, and a multitude of other areas. Mindfulness is not a religion; rather, it is a state of active and open attention to the right now, this very moment, seeing and feeling thoughts and emotions, accepting that they are there.

It is the practice of observing your thoughts (looking at/seeing your thoughts), just observation, no judgment. Oftentimes, our minds are so active thinking about the past and the future, that we let right now pass us by. Mindfulness is the practice of not letting life pass you by, it’s about living in the moment with no judgment, just awareness of what’s happening.

When it comes to associating mindfulness and awareness with the consumption of edibles, it means that one knows their system, their limits, and their general tolerance. Here’s what I mean; if you are a person that is generally sensitive to things like pain meds and/or someone that has a low tolerance for wine, you have to be mindful and accepting of this and go in slow. Being aware of self is the best way to ensure a great experience.

Microdosing Cannabis Edibles

As stated above, it’s not a great idea to consume a normal dose of an edible, if you are someone with general low tolerance. For someone with general low tolerance, microdosing is highly recommended. Important to note, microdosing isn’t restricted to beginners. People with years of experience and high tolerance utilize this approach for various reasons.

For the new to edibles cannabis consumer, microdosing is a sure way to learn and control a high. Below is a little guidance, examples and tips for microdosing with cannabis:

Smoking and Vaping: when dosing flower and/or vape cart, using the “1 puff at a time” logic is best. One puff/inhale every 4-6 minutes to see how you feel before consuming more is recommended. Smoking cannabis means the impact is felt very close to immediately. With vaping- it’s a little delayed in impact so- 1 inhale every 10-12 minutes is a nice start. It may take 1 inhale, it may take 4 inhales, but dosing in this way allows you to see how much is actually needed for the reason you are consuming.

Tinctures: this gets a little tricky because depending on the body, oil can take up to 2 hours to feel. Using a 1000 MG tincture as the example- means that each full serving is 33.33 mg of Cannabis oil. When microdosing cannabis tincture oil serving, start with 5-7 drops under the tongue. Because oil generally has a longer waiting period to feel the impact, 5-7 drops every hour- hour and half is recommended.

Edibles: like tinctures, edibles are a bit tricky because of the impact time. Generally, the impact starts to release into the body between 30 minutes to an hour. However, an edible can take up to 2 hours to feel. Generally, when buying an edible from a dispensary, the maximum milligrams allowed by law is 100 mg. That one edible will be divided into pieces and/or marked by sections in 10 mg dosages. For someone that is microdosing, 5 mg is a good place to start. Then increasing by 2.5 mg each hour.

Even high tolerance consumers shouldn’t start with more than 10 mg. Because edibles are received by the body differently, those with a lot of cannabis consumption experience, may still be sensitive to edibles. The same recommendations go for CBD because although CBD doesn’t give the same type of high, it can still create a heaviness in the body that the consumer wasn’t ready for.

Set and Setting Applies to Cannabis Too

We are hearing a lot about psychedelics, with magic mushrooms being the star of the conversation. Set and setting are a huge focus point when journeying with psychedelics, but the same attention to set and setting should be given on the topic of cannabis edibles.

Set= mindset and being in a happy place will ensure a better experience. Setting= where the journey takes place- the environment- the people around. Even without cannabis, set and setting should focus points in all of life, but when under the influence of a cannabis edible, the experience will be better if the mindset is in a happy place, and the person is in a safe energetically pretty setting (environment).

In Closing

The best way to consume is to start slowly with mindfulness and awareness being the focal point. Cannabis edibles should provide a pleasurable experience. If it’s a bad one, it’s likely that too much was consumed.