Responsible Cannabis Use Basics #2: Finding Your Minimum Effective Dose
Finding your minimum effective dose can help derive more enjoyment from cannabis, while also unlocking new use cases.
I firmly believe that the effects of cannabis both in the moment and in your life in general are largely dependent on dosage. This makes dosage control a core Smart Cannabis Use strategy.
I’ve written before about purposefully defining the right dosage for each high.
And in a future post, I will write about how to be mindful of your cannabis dosage over time.
But both of these require a baseline of accurate cannabis dosing – a famously difficult task for many reasons:
First off, people’s sensitivity to cannabis varies wildly. I, for example, am much more sensitive than people I typically partake with, and can easily green out if I’m not careful.
Second, the plant itself contains countless psychoactive compounds, from THC to CDB to various terpenes, and each strain is different. This means is that 0,1 gram of cannabis from one batch can boast very different potency and effects than 0,1 grams from another.
Throw in the differences between hash, edibles, kief, oils, tinctures, mooncakes, etc, and comparing doses becomes truly challenging.
Some of this ambiguity we just need to live with, but that should not stop us from approaching dosing in a controlled manner. And I believe the first step in controlled dosing is finding your minimum effective dose (MED): the smallest possible dose where the effects of cannabis are still palpable.
Small doses energize
You may think that small doses like your MED produce less potent and enjoyable effects than large doses.
But at least for me, the difference between small and large doses is not so much quantitative as it is qualitative. When taken in very small doses, cannabis actually acts as a stimulant with a noticeable energizing effect. It is only as the dose increases that the effects become more sedative.
And this is one of the reasons why discovering your minimum effective dose is important: it unlocks entirely new use cases for cannabis, such as when you need to get things done without any brain fog.
Of course, I know the strain and form of cannabis also greatly affect the psychoactive impact profile. But at least with my trusty dry herb vape, I have seen the energizing effect of small doses consistently across different strains.
How small is small enough? Find your minimum effective dose.
I think most people would be surprised by how small their minimum effective dose is.
To find it, I recommend you start with a tolerance break. This way, you’ll be able to see gauge your true MED when you are most sensitive to the effects.
Next, prepare a dose so small that you are 100% positive that you will feel NOTHING AT ALL. The goal is to approach your MED from below, which is why you need to start as small as possible, especially since you may over-estimate how much weed you need.
For example, my own MED was much smaller than I anticipated. I use a Volcano vaporizer with a Filling Chamber Reducer, and my MED is just a few “grains” of cannabis on the bottom of the dosing capsule. The total volume of the herb is around that of a match head. But when I vape 2-3 bags of it, I can feel the effects prominently – as long as I pay attention.
So again, to find your MED, start with a dose where you are confident that you DEFINITELY won’t feel anything.
And as you’re consuming this first trial dose, give yourself a chance to perceive even subtle effects. Don’t distract your mind with anything else: screens, music, conversation, etc. A Come-up Meditation can be a handy way to encourage this focus.
Whatever you do, be sure to pay attention to any noticeable effects of the cannabis.
If you feel something, take a break for 2-3 days, and then reduce the dose to a quarter of what you took before.
If you really don’t feel anything, then the next day, increase the dose by 50%.
Continue in this manner until you’ve found the smallest possible dose where you feel the effects. This is your minimum effective dose.
Once you’ve discovered it, immediately prepare another MED, while the amount is fresh in your memory. Try to anchor a mental image of how much this dose is. You can also photograph it, or if you have a very accurate scale, you can use that to measure the exact fraction of a gram that constitutes your MED.
You may wish to repeat this process with every new batch of cannabis, so you’re always aware of the true MED for each one.
Once you know your MED, you have much more maneuverability in what kind of high you choose to have, with a range of clear-headed, energizing options now hopefully available. You’ll be in a good position to determine the right dosage for your chosen purpose, and also for various dosing progressions and strategies, which I will write about later.
Enjoy responsibly 😎
-G.G.
Smart Cannabis Use is for informational purposes only. You need to be aware of and abide by the laws in your area. Please also be aware that cannabis is not suitable for everyone, such as minors or those with certain mental health conditions. You are responsible for your own choices and actions.
