Total Game Changer: Is Microdosing Better for Reducing Tolerance Than a T-Break?
Counterintuitive – but so good!
Haven’t posted anything for ages (sorry!), but I’m now so excited about something that I’m jumping back in the saddle! 🤠
I’ve always been amazed at the power of really small doses of cannabis (see below).
It’s not just that they seem to pack more of a punch than the amount would suggest, but also they hit different. A small dose seems to give disproportionately more of the good (euphoria, energy, creativity, empathy), and less of the bad (munchies, stupor, goldfish memory, paranoia).
Previously, I have called these microdoses. I was wrong.
A true microdose is supposed to be subliminal.
I knew that from microdosing acid. And I also knew that people microdose cannabis and report benefits. But somehow I never felt the urge to explore these subliminal cannabis doses and had just lazily labeled my matchstick-head sized crumbs as “microdoses,” even though they got me noticeably high.
That is, until I stumbled upon this quote in some old notes of mine (from a Leafly article)
“Sulak has also noticed that the use of lower doses can actually lead to increased sensitivity to cannabis over time, thus underscoring the importance of staying at low levels for the first few days of microdosing. While this is merely observational, Sulak notes that tests on animals suggest that low-level doses of THC can result in an upregulation of the endocannabinoid system (for endocannabinoid production as well as expression of its receptors).”
Now this was interesting. Everyone knows that after a break, your first high will hit the hardest. But the more you consume, the more your tolerance goes up. You get desensitized and need larger doses. So to resensitize (and for other good reasons) we
But Sulak’s comment suggests that actually, for resensitization, consuming a true microdose might be more effective than full abstinence.
This is called a biphasic response: low doses and high doses can have opposite effects.
Sounds wild, so I wanted to try it for a few weeks. A little experiment.
To control the dose, I used the levers of inhalation time and cannabis amount: I filled up my Xmax V3 vape chamber about a quarter of the way to the top, without tamping. (The amount is roughly equivalent to a small kernel of corn.) I then heated it to 203 °C, and when ready took a drag of 5–7 seconds. I did this three to four times a day during weekdays, starting after my morning shit and meditation (not concurrent), and ending about three hours before bedtime.
For me, this dose is just on the cusp of being liminal. Like I can feel something’s different right after the hit, but I wouldn’t say I’m high.
But the real kicker is what comes after microdosing. Whether I abstained from Mon–Fri or microdosed Mon–Fri, the difference in Saturday’s session was astounding.
On Saturday, I only vaped a matchstick-sized crumb (what I would’ve previously called a “microdose”).
I was skeptical and expected, maybe, at most, something like this:
[concentrates intensely, then starts nodding and smiling]
“By jove, I think it really does feel better!”
But it was actually like this:
[shocked expression, rushes to check how much cannabis was in vape]
“What?! This… This can’t be right.”
I shit you not, the latter happened multiple times. I just couldn’t believe how high I felt.
Now, I am aware that actual scientific backing here is sparse and unreliable, because it has been studied on rats, and I am not a rat. (Well, I did snitch on Jimmy Two Shoes, but you know what I mean.) So it’s entirely possible that what I’m experiencing is just a placebo effect.
But holy shit – if this is a placebo effect, it is one I am glad to have!
I’d compare the “perceived” resensitization effect of microdosing for four days to something similar to a six-month t-break!
Even better, this resensitization allows me to get high from very small doses when I’m not microdosing, so I find myself getting the more favorable mix of pros to cons I mentioned earlier: more euphoria, openness, empathy; less paranoia, grogginess, distraction.
True microdosing has been such a game-changer for me, and the fact that it’s so unintuitive just blows my mind.
I will continue with this experiment a little bit longer and then, as with all experiments, take a t-break to reassess objectively. But the immediate effects of microdosing seem like a very good tool to have in one’s cannabis belt.
Let me know if you’ve tried this and what your experiences were like!
Happy highs!
-G.G.