Most marijuana smokers are familiar with the term ‘creeper’ that is lent to certain types of weed. It means that the strain has an ability to ‘creep’ up on you, and that means it may render you a little TOO high in some cases. For most people, that’s an undesirable effect. This is particularly so for anyone looking to take the edge off but still be relatively productive and able to focus on tasks at hand. Microdosing is an excellent way to make sure the potency of your marijuana doesn’t overwhelm you.
Mircrodoses are amounts of any substance that come in just under the threshold dose for a psychedelic. The threshold dose is the smallest amount required to achieve a perceptible effect.
The appeal of microdosing is that by ingesting levels under the threshold dose, the user experiences many of the beneficial effects of cannabis without any overbearing sensations. There is the absence of intense psycho activity, and you can enjoy the calming, relaxing, often focusing effects that microdosing weed provides for the mind and body.
Proven Benefits of Microdosing
Anxiety and lethargy are two of the most common complaints for people smoking or ingesting weed, and this can be very typical when users have gone past their threshold dose. But, once you have established your threshold dose and learn to stay under it, you may find it’s an excellent way to treat many medical conditions. Some of the common conditions that cannabis is good to treat include relieving anxiety, irritability, chronic pain, stress, ADHD, emotional detachment, inflammation, lack of appetite, indigestion, and much more.
Some very preliminary research also indicates the promise that microdosing cannabis may counteract age-related memory loss. No matter how you discover cannabis to be beneficial for you, the benefit is very dependent on discovering your threshold dose.
In most cases, a low dose will give you one effect, while a high dose will give you an entirely opposite effect. This makes cannabis unique in comparison to most other drugs categorized as narcotics, and the low dose effect is often vastly preferably to the one at the other end of the spectrum.
Further, how you experience the high of the THC in your cannabis will depend on your endocannabinoid system. The best way to find out how marijuana will effect you is to experience with different strains. If you’re unsure of what strain to try, start with microdosing and see how your body reacts before you take a full dose.
Ways of Microdosing Weed
There are 3 primary ways you can try this alternative way of smoking weed. Combusting (smoking), vaporizing, and edibles.
Many people insist that edibles provide the longest-lasting peak effect (peak effect period for combusting generally tends to be an hour at most) and more genuinely therapeutic dose. They are the easiest and most discreet way of consuming cannabis without any lingering odours. You should always eat edibles on a full or near-full stomach.
Combusting is the least efficient and thus most expensive way of microdosing cannabis, and it’s important to understand that with many stronger strains even one take will take most people past their threshold dose.
Vaporizing is a good choice as it offers real microdosing accuracy and you’re able to identify and experience the terpene and cannabinoid profiles more vividly. Many experts assert that vaporizing is the best method for microdosing weed.
No matter which method you find to be most to your liking, you can benefit from understanding that THC levels vary from 3 to 30% per dose on average, and most will be in the 10% range. Equipped with this information, you can calculate the strength of your weed by dividing the THC percentage into 1000 to obtain the per/mg amount (1 g = 1000 mg)
To find your ideal microdose, follow this testing protocol:
- Abstain for cannabis for 2 days
- Day 3 – first answer these questions on a scale of 1 to 10: How easy is it to breathe, how comfortable and calm does your body feel, how easy is it for you to smile naturally, how easy is it for you to feel at peace, content and grateful for your ability to experience the world around you?
- Next, consume 1mg of THC and 1mg of CBD. Wait 45 minutes and answer the above questions again
- If there’s no change in scores, increase you dose by 1mg for each the next day
Repeat until you find there’s no further benefit from a higher dose, and at this point you’ve determined your threshold dose as discussed above.
Microdosing Guidelines
5 milligrams is a good ballpark amount for those new to microdosing weed. Women are known to follow lower microdosing guidelines than men. It is also important to be aware of the inherent characteristics of your strains. Indicas are naturally more sedative, while sativas are more energizing.
It is also recommended to have at least a basic understanding of your own physiology and your environmental factors and responses; body type, the day, mood, appetite, tolerance, and sleep habits are all considerations here.
CBD in any form can work to mediate the response for anyone who has microdosed beyond their threshold dose and is experiencing any unpleasant or debilitating symptoms. People who are looking for more physiological ailment reliefs are advised to choose a product that is much higher in CBD rather than THC, particularly those seeking relief from chronic tension or muscle pain or discomfort.
Combustibles are better smoked in a small glass pipe (‘1-hitter’ pipes are ideal) because taking a single draw on a joint may deliver up to 10mg of THC based on the strain and strength of your inhale. With a glass pipe you can cleanly and effectively burn the entirety of a measured amount of cannabis and it’s much easier to align this method of ingestion with what you’ve defined as your threshold dose.
Pay attention to temperature settings when vaporizing, as this can effect the thoroughness with which the THC is vaporized from the flower and may play a role in your staying under or exceeding what you’ve defined as your threshold dose.
