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The wide array of cannabis products available to Missouri medical marijuana cardholders can be overwhelming, especially if you are new to the world of cannabis, or if you have experimented with cannabis years ago but feel out of the loop when it comes to medicinal-grade marijuana.
Walking into a dispensary, you can expect to choose from hundreds of options. This can be intimidating, but if you feel this way, you should know that you are not alone. But it would be a shame if a bad experience with cannabis stopped you from getting the relief you deserve.
Missouri patients are treating hundreds of medical conditions with marijuana. From chronic pain, to anxiety, to simply getting a good night’s sleep, medical marijuana can improve your overall well-being. A low tolerance should never stop you from getting the relief you deserve. With a little knowledge and a game plan, it’s easy to avoid getting “too high.”
Cannabis Can Still Benefit Those With a Low Tolerance
If you are someone with little cannabis experience or have used marijuana before, but have a low tolerance - THIS POST IS FOR YOU. We are going to provide you with some information on how to consume medical marijuana in a way that will help you avoid getting too high, so that you can get relief, feel better, and enjoy all of the benefits of your experience with cannabis.
Start Low, Go Slow
The phrase “start low, go slow” should be any new cannabis user’s mantra. The fact is that medical marijuana affects each patient differently, so it’s going to require some experimentation to know which products and strains will help you achieve your desired effect.
This part of the process should be fun, and it can be as long as you start with a low dose, and slowly ramp up to the desired effect. We don’t want to see you give up on cannabis to treat your condition because of a bad experience, so avoid doing too much too soon.
If you are new to medical marijuana (or are someone who hasn’t consumed cannabis in a long time), it can be tempting to consume too much too fast. If you are using marijuana to treat a condition, it’s natural to want as much relief as possible, and as possible. But iit usually takes some time to understand how your body reacts to your new cannabis treatments. Trust the process.
Keep a Cannabis Journal
Knowledge is power, and a cannabis journal can be your best friend on your new journey with medical marijuana. You can simply purchase a notebook to log which strains and products you have used, along with the dosage, followed by how you felt during your experience. Of course, if you’d like to get even more detailed, you could get a fancier marijuana logbook, like this line of cannabis logs from Goldleaf.
Consume One Product at a Time
Experienced cannabis connoisseurs often have their own routine, and a variety of favorite products that they prefer. We encourage you to try all of the products that interest you. Missouri dispensaries are full of some amazing marijuana products, and you should experience all that is available.
We also encourage you to make your own DIY cannabis products if that is something that interests you. However, we suggest trying these items one at a time. This will allow you to ascertain the specific effects of each product. Different delivery methods and means of consuming marijuana are going to affect you differently - not to mention different strains and dosages. Be patient. Cannabis will still be there. You don’t have to try it all at once. Enjoy the journey.
Start With the Lowest Dose Possible and Increase Gradually
That’s what “start low, go slow” is all about. We know you want relief, but the smartest way to avoid getting too high is to consume the lowest dose, then consider how you feel. If that dosage doesn’t do the trick, increase gradually until you reach the desired effect.
Here are some tips to go along with the most common ways to enjoy medical marijuana products:
Smoking or Vaping
Vaping cannabis or smoking is the method of consuming marijuana that will produce the fastest results, at least of any of the product formats available in Missouri. When you smoke or vape marijuana, you will generally start feeling the effect within five to ten minutes.
When consuming marijuana via smoking or vaping, your high will most likely start to wear off within one to three hours. This is important to consider when planning your day, especially if you are using enough to feel impaired.
It is worth noting that you can find cannabis flower with a lower THC concentration in some Missouri dispensaries. Finding low-THC vape cartridges is more difficult. Their concentration is often around 70 percent or more, so we’re not kidding about starting low. If you are looking for the lowest THC concentration possible, make sure to voice this to the dispensary employees, and they will assist you with making your selections.
Getting Started With Smoking or Vaping
When you begin, just take one or two puffs (just one if you are using a vape cartridge), and take a break. Wait for at least ten minutes before you smoke any more. If you still feel like you haven’t reached where you’d like to be, then take another one or two puffs, and another break. Repeat this process until you hit your sweet spot, taking note of how many puffs it took you to get there.
The next time you smoke, try to do just a little less than your total from the previous time. This will make up for the extended time it took you to get there previously, and will prevent you from getting rapidly buzzed, which can become uncomfortable.
Edibles - The Most Delicious Way to Enjoy Your Medicine
Medical marijuana edibles are one of the best ways to use cannabis for those who use it to treat chronic pain, mostly because they are known to produce a “full body high,” The high can last much longer than smoking marijuana - sometimes up to eight hours. Edibles are also more discreet than smoking or vaping, because they simply look like food or candy.
Edibles are also one of the easiest ways to get too high. Since the high lasts a long time, you’ll want to exercise caution and make sure not to over-do it. When you first start with edibles, select a product with the lowest doseage you can find. For your first time, just take a fourth to a half.
Remember - edibles are notorious for taking a while to kick in. Sometimes it can take a couple hours for an edible to take effect. Most stories about people getting too high are from those who were convinced their edibles weren’t working, because they didn’t feel anything, and decided to eat more. Then, the THC kicked in all at once, causing them to get way too high and they were forced to ride it out. Being patient is the key to avoiding this.
How to Enjoy Edibles
Edibles are known to sneak up on you, We suggest clearing your calendar all day for the first time you try them. Also, eat something light beforehand, and stay hydrated throughout the day.
We’ll use gummies as an example of how to begin. Before you start - check the dose. Ideally, you’ll find a product with either 5mg or 10mg of THC per gummy. If the gummy has 5mg of THC, start with half. If it has 10mg, start with one quarter. This may not seem like much, but this plan will help you avoid consuming too much your first time.
Wait for two hours before taking more. Even if you don’t feel it - wait. If 2.5 mg of THC wasn’t enough, take another dose of an equal amount. Observe how you feel after each dose, but regardless, do not take more than two doses in a single day.
If it feels like you took too much, that’s okay, there’s no need to panic. The effects will subside within a couple of hours. Get something to eat, drink water, and watch television or listen to music until it wears off. Then, try taking half of what you took the next time you try it.
On the other hand, if you were comfortable with the amount you took, repeat that same schedule for a minimum of two weeks and up to a month.
You can work your way up gradually to larger doses over time. Once you understand the effects edibles have on you, you might take larger doses at once, combining the two doses you took previously into one. When you increase your dosage, it’s a good idea to do so on another day when your calendar is clear. Do this slowly over time until you find your edible sweet spot!
Sublingual Tinctures
When it comes to tinctures, you have a couple of different dosing options. You can either take them sublingually (under the tongue), or you can combine them with food or drink, essentially creating an edible.
If you take a tincture sublingually, you should feel the effects somewhere between twenty minutes to an hour later. If you combine the tincture with your food or beverage, it will work like an edible, and could take up to two hours to kick-in, in which case we recommend following the same guidelines in place for edibles.
If you are taking the tincture sublingually, the guidelines are similar for edibles, but you will be able to cut the wait time in-between doses to a single hour instead of two.
Treat Yourself to Relief
Now that you know the best tips and tricks to enjoy cannabis without getting too high, all you need is your Missouri marijuana card. If you don’t have your card yet, we can help you with that. Our doctors are standing by to take you through a quick and easy evaluation to see if you qualify. Schedule an appointment with a marijuana physician online by CLICKING HERE, or give us a call at (877) 303-3117 to talk to a patient support representative.
Doctors Who Care.
Relief You Can Trust.
At Missouri Marijuana Card, our mission is helping everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce the stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
Call us at (877) 303-3117, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
Check out Missouri Marijuana Card’s Blog to keep up to date on the latest medical marijuana news, tips, and information. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to join the medical marijuana conversation in Missouri!
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