When people think of consuming cannabis, they’ll often think of the psychoactive high associated with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). In cannabis lingo, this usually refers to recreational consumption. On the flip side is the medical consumer. This type of consumer may or may not seek the psychoactive component of cannabis but is mostly seeking therapeutic benefits for whatever condition may be ailing them.
In theory, medical consumers will intake the smallest necessary dose—psychotropic or not—to bring about the desired therapeutic effect. This is where microdosing comes into play, but it’s also not strictly constrained to medical marijuana consumption as microdosing can have several positive mood-enhancing benefits, among other things.
When It Comes to Marijuana, What's Microdosing Good for?
Microdosing refers to the practice of ingesting small amounts of cannabis to create a specific effect. For a medical marijuana consumer, this may involve self-titrating small amounts of cannabis throughout the day to treat a condition without feeling the effect of being high.
For someone not seeking to treat a specific condition, microdosing may be used to create a sense of well-being, reduce anxiety, focus attention, spark creativity or uplift the spirits on a dreary day. Whatever the motivation may be, microdosing isn’t about achieving a stereotypical high.
For me, microdosing not only stopped my chronic migraines and fibromyalgia, it has increased my sense of overall well-being. And I’m not the only one.
Microdosing Cannabis Is Trending
Recent studies have indicated that microdosing cannabis may have a more positive effect on your health than "macrodosing" does. This is in large part due to what’s called the biphasic effect.
Essentially, the biphasic effect means that there’s a difference between low dosing and high dosing; a substance will induce a positive experience to a certain point, but past that point, it may turn into a negative experience or a “downer” when too much of a product is consumed. The biphasic effect is often referred to with both alcohol and cannabis. With cannabis microdosing, the aim is to always stay within the positive realm of experience.
Microdosed cannabis products constitute one of the biggest trends in the U.S. Why? Manufacturers are catching on to the fact that not everyone who consumes medical marijuana wants to get blown out of their minds.
As new consumers have come to the market, there’s a growing demand for smaller amounts of THC, which create smaller albeit noticeable effects. This has fortunately led to the emergence of the microdosing trend as well as new product development.
Personally, this makes me very happy as microdosing has been largely left up to the consumer. Of course, you can work at controlling your dose when smoking or vaping cannabis by choosing a low-THC flower and taking one small hit at a time. You’ll want to make sure you take time in between each puff or vape to wait for the cannabis to take effect.
You can also try microdosing with oils or edibles you make at home. Just be sure to start low and go very slow—2.5–5 mg doses are a good place to begin, with two to three hours of wait time in between to see how each dose affects you.
Microdosing Will Encourage More People to Try Marijuana
For more than two years, I’ve been microdosing marijuana successfully. It has helped me improve my health. In addition, I’ve also noticed the positive mood enhancement benefits that come with microdosing.
Microdosing cannabis also allows me to stay active both physically and mentally. For these reasons, I’ve been a huge proponent of microdosing and have sought out all manner of microdosed marijuana products on the market.
Microdosed cannabis products will not only address a big gap but will also entice new consumers to give cannabis a try—especially those who are more fearful of the plant due to a past bad experience with it or negative stories of friends who overdid it with marijuana.
