The Best Time to Take Marijuana

A frequent question is "when is the best time to take marijuana, what dose of medical marijuana is good for me, and how often should I take it?" Once you obtain your Florida medical marijuana card, you are legally empowered to purchase medical marijuana from any licensed dispensary in the state of Florida. Medical marijuana can be used to treat any of the numerous approved conditions and a lot of patients have testified to its effectiveness. Often, we receive inquiries from users who want to know the best dose of medical marijuana and how often they can take it. This guide hopes to shed light on all you need to know about the best time to take medical cannabis and how often you should take it.

There is No Short Answer

The first thing you need to know that the answer to the question is dependent on a myriad of factors. The best dosage regimen for you may not be the ideal regimen for your neighbor. Often, the process of finding the best dose and dosing schedule involves some trial and error. Below is a summary of the major factors that could affect your medical marijuana dosage regimen:

Disease Condition:

The amount of medical marijuana you’ll take would depend on what you are treating. An individual trying to manage a seizure disorder, for example, may need a higher dose than some other individual that’s taking cannabis for glaucoma. The disease condition would also affect the frequency of dosing. When you’re taking cannabis to manage chronic pain, you may need to take it frequently, depending on the severity of your pain.

The Strain of Cannabis:

Certain types of medical marijuana plants different strains of cannabis have varying CBD to THC ratio. The strain of cannabis you’re taking would influence your dosage regimen. If you’re taking cannabis with a high THC content, you should know that the psychoactive effects you would feel could be more intense than a strain with low THC content. Thus, you might want to limit your dosing frequency so you can function at a top-level throughout your day.

Route of Administration:

The route of administration is another factor that would greatly influence your cannabis dosing regimen and there are 'do's and don'ts' related to smoking CBD flower. Inhaled cannabis has a short duration of action. Therefore, it follows that you’ll need to vape cannabis more frequently if the inhalation route is your preferred method of taking cannabis. Edibles, on the other hand, are known to last for a longer time in the body. A daily or twice daily dosing regimen may be enough to take care of your disease condition.

Dosage Form:

Even while using similar routes of administration, the dose of medical marijuana could influence the amount of cannabis you’re taking, and how often you’ll take it. A drop of cannabis concentrate could contain the same dose of cannabis as a full serving of the edible. Some edibles by nature release cannabis in them slowly. You would not need to consume such edible frequently.

Your Level of Experience:

People who already have a high level of experience with cannabis may require higher doses of medical marijuana. A novice, on the other hand, could be just fine with lower doses, even when they are treating the same disease condition.

Individual Differences:

The medical world is placing more emphasis on individualized dosage regimen and this is perfectly exemplified in medical marijuana dosing. The amount you’ll take and how frequently you’ll take it will depend on what your body can tolerate. This is why it could be hard to recommend a particular dose for everyone.

The Important Recommendation

When talking about medical cannabis dosing, the only universal rule is that you should ‘start low and go slow’. As mentioned earlier, finding the appropriate medical marijuana dosing regimen for you would most likely involve trial and error. You might have to test a number of products, test varying doses, and test different dosing schedules. The start low and go slow rule is one you cannot afford to neglect and helps you use cannabis safely.

Low and Slow

When starting out, start with the least possible dose, based on the recommendation of your physician or the qualified attendant at your local dispensary. If you do not feel the desired effects after a few days, you might increase the dose slightly or increase the frequency of dosing. If after some days, the effects are still not kicking in, you may consider increasing the dose again. Alternatively, you could opt for another dosage form or some other variety of your current dosage form. Should you experience any undesired or intolerable side effects, you should not hesitate to stop the therapy and inform your doctor or the dispensary attendant. You may be asked to reduce your dose or switch to another product or dosage form.

Many people have discovered the perfect formula through this method and you shouldn’t be an exception. Importantly, you should involve your doctor every time you’re about to make changes to how you use your medical marijuana. Some dosage forms might be contraindicated for you due to some other medical condition. Your doctor would be able to educate you better on what you can and can’t take.

Suggested Dosing for Different Dosage Forms

Vaping

More research is needed if cannabis dosing is to be standardized. The available evidence suggests that the average dose of medical marijuana for most conditions is 1-3 g daily when vaporized. A recent study in Canada revealed that patients achieved effective patient management when they vaped 25 mg of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis (THC content = 9%) thrice daily for 5 days.

Edible Oils

Edible oils are usually cannabis concentrates that may be taken sublingually or orally. Because they are concentrates, you only need to take a little quantity before achieving the desired effects. The concentration of an active ingredient in the oil may vary from preparation to preparation. As a general rule, patients are advised to start with a dose of less than 0.5 ml. Before taking another dose, you should wait for at least four hours. This is because ingested cannabis has a slow onset of action. If you’re a first-timer, you could even wait for a whole day so you can be sure you need more of the drug.

Other Edibles

The diversity of cannabis edibles makes it even more complex to suggest an appropriate dose. You may come across cannabis cake, cookie, tea, dressings, and other snacks or beverages. You should talk to your dispensary attendant about the right dose for you. Remember you can never go wrong by starting low and going slow.

Topical Cannabis

Dosing topical cannabis s fairly simple. Simply rub gently on the affected part. When you apply cannabis topically, there is limited absorption into the systemic circulation. As long as you do not use it excessively, you should be just fine.

The Best Time to Take Medical Marijuana

Just like the original question in the article, there is no short answer for the best time to take your medical marijuana. The time you’ll take it would depend on a number of factors such as your disease condition and your personal preferences.

Because medical marijuana is capable of creating a feeling of euphoria and impairing your judgment, it is advised that you shouldn’t take the drug just before a demanding activity. A demanding activity in this context could mean exercise, driving, operating moving machinery, etc. for most purposes, taking medical marijuana early in the morning or just before bed produces the desired effects.

A Summary of the Important Recommendations

What’s good for the goose: Medical marijuana dosing does not follow this idiom. The best dose and dosing frequency for your neighbor may not be the best for you even if you’re treating the same condition.
Be open to experiment: Discovering the best medical marijuana for you is a trial and error process. Keep an open mind and try different dosage forms and strains. You’ll surely hit your jackpot along the line.
Start low and go slow: There is no overemphasizing this point. Whatever you’re trying, start slow and move up the ladder, gradually. This is the safest way to dose medical marijuana.
Your healthcare practitioner’s advice is supreme

This guide is not designed to serve as a substitute for your healthcare practitioner’s advice. You should always trust the clinical judgment of your doctors and follow their recommendations at all times. If you read anything here that is contrary to the advice given by your healthcare practitioners, you should contact them before making any decision.