In 15 states and Washington DC, recreational marijuana has been legalized in the US. On top of that, there are 33 states where cannabis can be used for medicinal purposes legally.
These days, two-thirds of Americans say that it should be legal to use cannabis. This means that public perception of marijuana has radically changed in the last 50 years. In fact, only 12% of people in 1969 thought that weed should be legal.
Because of the changes in legality as well as the changing outlooks of Americans towards weed, many people are just considering feeling the effects of THC for themselves for the first time.
How much is the right amount when you’re just starting out, though? Let’s take a look at everything you need to know.
What Is THC?
The main psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant is THC. THC is responsible for the “high” one feels after smoking or consuming cannabis. These days, depending on what state you live in, you can find THC in additional forms other than just the smokable flower, including tinctures, oils, capsules, edibles, and more.
THC interacts with the endocannabinoid system of your body. By attaching to the cannabinoid receptors in your brain and nervous system, THC produces psychoactive effects and more.
Maybe you have heard about both THC and CBD and are confused about the difference. While these are both cannabinoids found in cannabis, they are not the same. One of the main differences between THC vs CBD is that the psychoactive effects that are associated with THC will not be felt if you consume CBD.
Have you been hearing the buzz about delta-8-THC? If you’re interested in learning more, check out this beginners guide.
What Are the Factors That Influence the Effects You Feel?
If you are smoking cannabis, there are a number of different factors that can influence how much you need in order to feel its effects.
The first factor is potency. This is going to have a major impact on how much you need to use. Cannabis has changed a lot in the last several decades, with strains being specifically designed to have a higher THC level.
Low-grade cannabis might have less than 10% THC, while high-grade cannabis might have 30% or more THC. For this reason, it’s important to have a sense of how much THC is in the cannabis that you have. Unfortunately, unless it has been lab-tested, there is no way you can really know how much THC is in cannabis.
However, proceeding cautiously is one way that you can learn how potent your stash of marijuana is. You can always smoke more but you cannot un-smoke what you have smoked.
Another factor that will influence how much cannabis you need to feel the effects of THC are your own physiological traits. Your weight, metabolism, respiratory system health, cannabinoid receptor development, and more will impact how little or how much you need.
Lastly, tolerance is a consideration. As you get more used to smoking weed, your body becomes accustomed to it and therefore needs more in order to feel the effects. If you have never smoked before you won’t have any tolerance, which means that you will need less now than you might in the future if you become a regular smoker.
What Are the Different Ways to Use THC?
With recreational and medicinal cannabis legal a number of states, a lot of THC products have popped up on the market and places where it is legal to sell. For this reason, there are a number of different ways that you can ingest THC.
Inhalation
The fastest delivery method for THC is inhalation. You will feel the quickest psychoactive effects this way, with the effects being felt within minutes. People might simply smoke cannabis flower, smoke THC vape oil, or dab concentrates like shattered THC.
Oral Ingestion
There are also a number of ways that you can ingest THC orally. This includes THC oil, edibles, capsules, or tinctures. With this delivery method, the effects tend to last longer but it also takes longer before you start to feel the effects.
Topical Application
You can also find THC in the form of balms, lotions, oils, bath salts, and salves. These are all applied directly to the skin. With this delivery method, you can typically only feel the effects locally, meaning that you probably won’t feel “high” in the same way using these products.
People sometimes find, though, that these products help to reduce inflammation and pain where they are applied.
Sublingual Administration
Lastly, you can also find THC in sublingual form. These are products like sprays, lozenges, dissolvable strips that you hold under your tongue for a period of time.
How Much THC Should You Smoke?
If you are smoking the cannabis flower in its old-fashioned form, you will most likely only need to take a few hits your first time smoking. You can start to feel the effects of cannabis instantly or it can take a couple of minutes to sink in.
For this reason, it’s a good idea to only take one or two hits and then wait for several minutes. This way, you can give yourself a little time to see how you feel. If it seems like you did not ingest enough after 10 or 15 minutes, you can take another hit.
Typically a beginner would not need to smoke an entire joint an entire bowl on their own to get high.
There is no reason to smoke more cannabis than you need to. In fact, there is some logic in trying to keep your tolerance low. Otherwise, this habit will simply cost you more money as time goes on.
The same goes for THC vape oil. When you are just starting out, it’s best to just take one or two hits to see how it makes you feel. After a few minutes, you can always take more if that’s what you want to do.
How Much Is Enough When It Comes to Edibles?
Everyone is different, so there is no such answer to how much THC a person should ingest. Edibles are different than smoking as it can take a lot longer to feel the effects. For this reason, it’s important to be very careful with them, because it’s easy to think that they are not working and take more than you should before the effects kick in.
With edibles, it usually takes between 45 minutes in two hours to start to feel the effects. This means that you have no idea whether you took enough or too much until that time comes.
It is recommended by the state of Colorado for first-time users to take a 10 mg dose. This is a reasonable dose to start with as edibles can impact everyone differently.
It’s important to start small and be sure to wait at least two hours before you eat any more edibles. Ideally, though, you would wait until at least the next day to try a higher dose.
If the edibles you are eating are homemade, it can be difficult to know how potent they are. In this case, it can be a good idea for someone else who is an experienced user to try them out first to get a sense of their strength.
If you are driven to try homemade edibles out for yourself, only take one bite or even less so that you don’t overdo it. You can always take another bite in two hours if you desire.
A seasoned user might take as much as 50 to 100 mg at a time. However, for a beginner, this could create a very negative experience.
How Much Concentrate When It’s Your First Time?
If you are wondering how much you should dab as a first-time user, the answer is very little. What you should do is take the smallest amount that you think you would need and then divide that by two. This is a truly small amount and this is the appropriate amount to start with.
When you are a beginner, it can be tempting to try and show off. However, you really should not try and impress anyone when you are a first-time user. In fact, this will likely end up backfiring when you end up ingesting more THC than you can handle. Whether you are using shatter THC, wax, budder, sauce, or crumble, remember to start small.
What You Should Know Before Using THC
Before you try THC in any form for the first time, there are a number of things you should consider.
First, you should ask yourself if this is a good time for you to have your first experience of cannabis. You will want to be well said, well-rested, and feeling positive about yourself. You also want to make sure that you are in the company of people that you trust and enjoy.
It’s also important that you trust the cannabis that you have or the THC products you are using. Whether they come from? You trust the person who is giving it to you?
Another question you should ask yourself is whether or not you have something to do later on the day. If the answer is yes, you should probably wait until a day when you don’t have any commitments.
Take stock of how you are feeling. Are you feeling anxious, sad, or stressed? Are you intoxicated in any way?
If so, wait for another time.
You also want to make sure that your first cannabis experience happens in a place you feel comfortable in. Make sure that you are somewhere where you could safely lie down for a while or go off by yourself and comfortably listen to music. Trying cannabis for the first time in a place that you are unfamiliar with is not necessarily the right thing to do.
You also want to stay away from mixing your drugs. If you have already been drinking, save trying cannabis for another day. Drugs can interact in ways that are more than the sum of themselves, so it’s best to keep them separate.
As mentioned earlier, it’s always best to start small and wait a while to see how you feel. If you are smoking THC this means wait 15 to 20 minutes before having more. If you ingested edibles, it means you should wait at least two hours.
If the effects you are feeling from cannabis are enjoyable, does not necessarily mean that consuming more will make you feel even better. Having too much can make you feel nauseous, dizzy, or even feel like you’re experiencing vertigo. Too much can also make you feel paranoid.
If you have ingested too much weed, you don’t want to panic. While it is possible to take too much, no one has been known to have died from a cannabis overdose.
Lastly, make sure that you have eaten some food before you try cannabis for the first time. If you try THC with an empty stomach, it can drop your blood pressure quickly in a way that can make you lightheaded. They could even lead you to collapse or become unconscious if you do not eat some food and make sure you are hydrated.
THC: How Much Is Right For You?
When you are trying out THC for the first time, no matter the form, it’s important to listen to your body. Everyone is different and there is no need to try and show off to your friends or try to prove anything to yourself. The most important thing is that you create an experience that is positive for you, so that should be your main focus above all else.
Did you find this article on THC interesting? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog for more fascinating and informative content!
