The Dosing Dilemma

Cannabis has been used for thousands of years by people across the world, both medicinally and recreationally. Despite this, the plant’s cultivation and consumption has been illegal throughout most of the world until relatively recently. Many states have chosen to remove at least some degree of restriction, though the plant still remains federally illegal in the United States.

The federal illegality of cannabis has stifled research into it and its therapeutic effects for decades. Until recently, the only way to study it was to create synthetic versions of cannabinoids or receive cannabis grown at a federal facility. This cannabis is far below the quality of what is found at legal dispensaries in states across the country, This is because it is much less potent and highly processed, thereby removing compounds called terpenes. These compounds are integral to the effects cannabis has on the user. This discrepancy in quality creates a disconnect between what is observed in the lab when compared to the experiences of real world users. As a result, the use of cannabis has virtually no established dosing standards.

This lack of established standards has made the use of cannabis a guessing game for even the most experienced of users. All too common is the story of a medical marijuana patient going to their doctor to ask how to dose the drug, only to get a response to the effect of, “roll up a joint and stop smoking when you feel you’ve had enough.” Unlike with other medications, doctors have no way to prescribe metered doses of cannabis via its most common consumption method, combustion. The proposed method might sound appealing to a daily smoker, yet confounding to a first-time medicinal patient seeking treatment for their ailment. The result of this inconsistent, impersonal dosing method is an unpredictable — and often undesirable — experience for the user.