People use cannabis for many different reasons. Whether you’re looking to manage pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, cancer symptoms, or a chronic condition, the plant may provide you with the relief you seek. The thing is, dosing can be a bit of a challenge. That’s because what works for one person might not necessarily provide similar results for another. Finding your dose takes a bit of time and trial. Here, we’ll define dose escalation and how to find what works best for you. We’ll also go over what to do if you notice your original dose isn’t working quite like it used to.
What Affects Your Dose
Various factors play a role in how the cannabinoids in cannabis affect you and the results you feel when you use it. These factors include:
- Your weight
- Your experience (whether you’re a current user or you’re brand-new)
- The method of consumption (smoking vs. tinctures vs. edibles)
- Your metabolism
What Is Dose Escalation?
Dose escalation refers to the process of gradually increasing your dose until you find what works for you. Some people naturally need more than others. For instance, you and your friend could take the same amount of the same strain and experience dramatically different results. They might not feel anything at all, while it could be too strong for you. You might notice increased anxiety, paranoia, and other symptoms of ingesting too much THC. Dose escalation allows you to safely find the amount that provides you with the results you’re looking for without having to worry about any unwanted side effects.
Using Dose Escalation to Define Dose
So, how does dose-escalation work? First, start with a small amount of your chosen product. That could be one hit of a joint or vape pen, a serving of an edible, or a few drops of a tincture. The general recommendation is to begin with 5mg of THC. Methods like edibles and tinctures do make it easier to monitor exactly how much you’re consuming at a single time. If you’re concerned that 5mg may be too much, you can drop your initial dose to 2.5mg.
Try your dose a couple of times a day for a few days and keep track of how you feel. A notebook that details the product, strain, and dosage, along with the effects you feel, can be beneficial. Increase your dose in small increments every few days until you start feeling the effects you’re seeking.
What About Tolerance?
After a while, you may notice that a dose that provided you with relief isn’t working as well as it used to. Over time, you may build up a tolerance, meaning you may need to increase your dose to reap the same benefits.
If you’re not looking to increase your dose periodically, you can actually reset your tolerance. The process involves stopping any cannabis consumption for a few days to a few weeks. You would then start the dose escalation process all over again.
Everyone is different. One person’s cannabis dose could be too much (or too little) for you. Rather than trying something that could be too much for your system, you should start low and work your way up. By defining dose-escalation, you can safely find the amount of cannabis that provides you with the results you want.
