Finding a safe and effective dose for medical cannabis
Medicinal cannabis is proving to be an effective form of treatment for an extensive list of medical conditions, ranging from anxiety to fibromyalgia. However, it’s important to find the right balance of chemicals, such as THC and CBD ratios, in order to target symptoms, which is why medicinal cannabis should be administered by a health professional.
There are lots of different routes of administration to choose from, such as tinctures, creams, lotions, pills and raw flowers. A health professional can help guide patients toward the right route of administration for them and determine a safe and effective dose.
Using titration to find a safe medicinal cannabis doses
When patients first start using medicinal cannabis, a good way to determine safe dosing is through titration. This is a supervised process that gradually increases the amount of medication given to a patient to determine their optimal dose. As it’s incremental, medical providers are able to gauge a patient’s reaction to the drug and mitigate any negative impacts.
Everyone’s body is unique when it comes to drug responses, and medical cannabis is no different. There are many factors that go into finding a safe and effective dose for a patient, such as their body’s metabolic rate and the method of delivery for the drug. Even things like the age of the patient and their genetic profile can impact the overall effectiveness of the drug, impacting dosing as a result.
Finding the right dose for safe medicinal cannabis
The general rule for medicinal cannabis is to start low and work up to an optimal dose. This lowers the chance of any negative side effects impacting treatment while working towards finding the right dose to make the treatment worthwhile. Medical cannabis takes a variable amount of time to start working depending on the route of administration. For example, vaping yields results in a few minutes, whereas edibles could take over an hour.
Is there a universal optimal dose for patients?
Loosely speaking, a good optimal dose for most patients is anywhere from 1 ml to 2 ml of medical cannabis per day. However, every patient is unique and will experience different results, which is why processes such as titration are essential. Getting the optimal dose for a patient can take a week or two, but in some cases, it could be a month before patients find their optimal dose. It’s quite common for patients to use a higher concentration of CBD for daytime usage before switching to a higher concentration of THC in the evenings.
If you’d like to learn more about finding the optimal dose for medical cannabis, or would like advice on safe medicinal cannabis use, please contact the London Cannabis Clinic on 020 7118 0250.