Microdosing Marijuana for Anxiety - How it Works
Anxiety disorders are more prevalent among most individuals in the United States and worldwide. Statistics show that anxiety disorders affect approximately 40 million adults in the United States. With the increase in these cases, there may be varying prescription pharmaceutical medications to alleviate them. Despite the prescription medication helping to alleviate anxiety, they come with numerous adverse effects.
With the increased side effects of prescription medication, most residents in the United States are looking for an alternative to address or alleviate the adverse reactions. Most states have legalized medical marijuana use, which makes it a viable choice to alleviate anxiety disorders.
While marijuana offers the best natural alternative to alleviate your condition, the main problem with using marijuana is the THC’s effects. These effects make you feel you have a noticeable physical ability or change in cognition. Despite these disturbing effects of THC, there are appropriate ways you can consume cannabis while limiting the mind-altering and intoxicating effects of THC.
The emergence of microdosing alleviates patients from the harmful and intoxicating effects of THC. Experts reveal that it’s an efficient, responsible, and effective way of consuming medical marijuana.
Basics of Microdosing
Microdosing is an effective and safe marijuana consumption method that involves taking minimal marijuana amounts throughout the day. This amount is usually enough to enhance the perception sensation feeling and also lead to a significant cognition change.
Albert Hofmann, a Swiss Chemist, was the founder of microdosing. He started it as an LSD, which later developed into one of the most vital parts of psychedelic research. Since this time, many scientists have agreed with the concept as a slow catch and effective way to consume marijuana.
For instance, a researcher revealed that few individuals understand microdosing and how it works. Instead, most users prefer to continue using a high amount of High-THC marijuana strains. The use of high-THC strains comes from the assumption that more potency will be good when alleviating medical marijuana.
While most individuals fall for this belief, the increasing medical research suggests the contrary. When using medical marijuana, using less amount usually leads to more benefits.
In 2012, Portenoy et al. conducted a study on this matter. The five-week study involved 263 cancer patients, and where the researcher provided each group with nabiximol doses (a synthetic CBD/THC compound) daily. The patients were receiving varying doses, ranging from low doses (1-4 sprays), mild doses (6-10 sprays) to high doses (11-16 sprays). The findings showed that the patients using mild and lower dosages had the most effective pain-relieving effects.
In the traditional setting, most individuals associated microdosing with LSD or other psychedelics. Nevertheless, medics currently believe that lower THC doses usually provide a wide range of medical benefits.
Some experts warn against increasing THC consumption, as it may be counterproductive. Increasing the THC levels when consuming marijuana may reduce the health benefits the marijuana strain offers. Instead of helping to alleviate the condition, studies have shown high THC consumption can cause severe anxiety.
What are the Benefits of Microdosing?
Depending on your lifestyle and needs, microdosing marijuana provides a wide range of outcomes. For example, in some individuals, microdosing usually enables them to be productive and maintain a clear mind. Alternatively, some individuals consider it an effective method to release tension and stress.
Microdosing marijuana comes with numerous benefits to the body. Let’s look at the potential health benefits of microdosing marijuana. The actual benefits or effects usually vary with the different personnel needs, tolerance and lifestyle. Furthermore, there are no clinical studies on the beneficial effects of microdosing marijuana.
Inflammation reduction & pain relief
Taking smaller THC amounts can activate your endocannabinoid system. The activation of the ECS helps to relieve your pain without having the intoxicating ‘high’ feeling.
Nausea
Small marijuana doses can help mitigate nausea symptoms. Findings from numerous chemotherapy studies show that cancer patients can use marijuana to decrease nausea feelings and enhance their overall well-being.
Insomnia
Many users consider marijuana the best alternative to alleviate insomnia and other sleep disorders. Nevertheless, taking the dose during the day will be inappropriate as you may feel tired and drowsy, making it hard to complete your tasks. Studies reveal that microdosing cannabis provides relaxation and may induce sleep. You can also enjoy a natural sleeping pattern with little to no grogginess.
Things to Keep in Mind when Microdosing Marijuana to Get Optimal Results
When microdosing marijuana for anxiety, you have to consider various things to enjoy the benefits. These things include
● Consult your physician first
● You can only attempt microdoses of psychedelics if you’re experienced and understand safe handling.
● With chronic consumption resulting in negative effects, you should only take them intermittently.
● Consider incorporating breathing exercises and meditation with microdoses to increase the effectiveness.
● Avoid mixing cannabis microdoses with other drugs, like alcohol
Types of Microdoses
Despite cannabis microdosing involving small doses to get the best effects, the process comes in various types you can consider to suit your needs. Choosing the appropriate type will help you alleviate your anxiety disorders.
Below are some of the common micro-dosing types you can consider to alleviate anxiety
Sub-microdosing
It’s a type of microdosing that involves taking small doses, usually 10-100 times lower than the standard marijuana dose. Taking these doses allows the drug to get more subtle in the body. Experts recommend this medication for individuals who are sensitive to medicines.
Ultra-microdosing
Ultra-microdosing involves doses that are 1-10 times lower than the standard or required doses. This type of microdosing allows the marijuana compounds to produce a greater effect. Ultra-microdosing is vital for individuals seeking to enjoy the medication's full range of effects.
Macro-dosing
Marijuana macro-dosing involves consuming approximately 10-100 times more than the required or standard dose. This dose allows the drug to produce greater effects on individuals requiring a full range of effects of the medication.
How Can Microdosing Help with Anxiety?
Studies show that marijuana produces a biphasic effect when you use it to alleviate anxiety and stress. Biphasic effects mean that when you take marijuana in low doses, the tetrahydrocannabinol will help to alleviate stress or anxiety disorders. However, taking the herb in higher doses may trigger or worsen anxiety or stress.
In a study, researchers from the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago suggested that marijuana’s THC effects are dose-dependent. The researchers observed that when patients took low THC doses, it helped reduce nervousness or tension in a public speaking session. Nevertheless, the test or control participants experienced high anxiety levels during the session at high doses.
In another 2015 study, the researchers published the results in the ‘Neurotherapeutics.’ The researchers observed that injecting CBD microinjection into the Midbrain Dorsal Periaqueductal gray (DPAG). The DPAG is an integral part of the brain that triggers anxiolytic (anxiety-relieving) effects.
In the analysis of the results, the researchers claimed that the preclinical evidence they gathered during the study showed the efficacy of CBD in alleviating anxiety and stress disorders. The study also showed the effectiveness of the study in alleviating other issues like SAD, OCD, PD, GAD, and PTSD.
The results were the same in a similar study that the research team published findings in the ‘European Journal of Pharmacology. The team observed that injecting microinjections of marijuana CBD into the basal ganglia structure (substantia nigra brain region) resulted in panicolytic effects.
Panicolytic is a term that experts use to refer to a reduced flight instinct or sensitivity in animals as they encounter dangerous fight-or-flight situations. The authors or researchers revealed that the microinjections helped to create the panic-like defensive mechanism or behavior.
Does Microdosing Marijuana have Disadvantages?
It’s evident that microdosing marijuana provides the best benefits from minimal doses. Besides the consumers limiting psychoactivity, microdosing also provides a cost-effective way for the users to alleviate their symptoms.
Regardless of the numerous benefits microdosing offers, most experienced users may find it daunting to adopt the consumption method and achieve consistent moderation. The biggest challenge for micro-doing cannabis is getting the appropriate dose to produce great results.
Some websites and articles may provide a formula to calculate the generic dosage. Despite helping you get the dosage, the appropriate quantity or dosage usually varies between individuals. For instance, in some individuals, two milligrams may be appropriate, while the quantity might be ineffective in some users. The best way is to start with lower doses before gradually adjusting, especially if you’re new or a beginner to marijuana.
We’ve got various ways you can consider microdosing. Below is one of the ways you can choose for your microdosing:
Take one THC mg, and abstain for two days; on day three, take one CBD mg (preferably via tinctures to ensure correct measurements. You can consider maximum safety, good health, and comfort by responding to the following questions:
● What is your current level of comfort or calmness?
● Do you find it easy to breathe?
● Can you generate a genuine smile easily?
You can grade your responses to each question on a scale of 1-10. You can consume marijuana again after scaling these answers. Wait for approximately 45 minutes before grading these answers again. Experts recommend slightly increasing the cannabis dosage by one mg if you realize no changes in the scaling or overall score.
You can keep repeating the trick or step until you realize a change in the score. The moment you realize changes in the score or grading, it shows your minimum effective dosage. You can also use this dose as a personal marijuana threshold. You can gradually increase the amount or dose until you reach the optimum level where you don’t realize any symptoms.
Different Microdosing Consumption Methods
Choosing the best microdosing consumption effect will enhance great results. We’ve got three main dosing methods you can consider for consuming marijuana. These methods include
Edibles
Experts reveal that marijuana edibles best suit individuals who don’t like smoking marijuana and want an option that’s easy to measure. Unlike smoking which provides an immediate impact, marijuana edibles have a gradual impact after taking them.
Smoking
Besides many individuals viewing it as a classic way to take marijuana, it’s an appropriate choice for microdosing. It’s difficult to measure the quantity of marijuana you take through smoking precisely.
Vaporizing
Vaporization can be a better alternative to smoking, as you can get accurate measurements of the dose. We’ve got a wide range of vape kits and liquids in the market you can consider when starting your marijuana microdosing.
How do you Microdose Weed?
Getting the perfect cannabis dose depends on multiple factors. These factors include your previous experience taking cannabis, your endocannabinoid receptors, and current THC tolerance.
Regardless of your threshold, starting with low doses and increasing gradually will be vital. Let’s look at the appropriate way of microdosing cannabis:
● Start the dosing with approximately one or two mg of THC.
● You can adjust the dose gradually each day until you achieve your desired therapeutic effects.
Microdosing cannabis concentrates
Commonly, you can only get 10 mg of marijuana in a one-millimeter concentrate. Thus, the best way to start the dose and achieve your desired therapeutic benefits is by starting with a one-tenth milliliter.
Experts reveal two THC liquid extract drops equals 1mg, which is the best starting dose.
In rare cases, inexperienced users having extremely lower THC tolerance will start with the lowest amount, as this amount would cause a head buzz. If you still have lower THC tolerance, it’ll be vital to try one THC concentrate drop for some days before building up the tolerance and increasing it to two drops per day.
Remember that when taking this start-up dose, wait 30-60 minutes to check if you’ll feel anything. You’ll have gotten the dose right if it doesn’t get you high immediately after consuming.
However, if you feel a strange feeling in your body or head, the dosage might be high; it’ll be appropriate to get back to the previous step to build up your THC tolerance before adjusting the dose.
At the start-up dose, you can begin increasing it gradually by enhancing one drop every day for a few days to reach the optimal health dose.
Understanding your optimal THC dosage is straightforward. You must stop increasing the dosage after feeling some THC psychoactive effects. Experts advise that you take one drop less each time to get back to your optimal dosage after you feel intoxicated with the current dosage.
Microdosing marijuana flowers (with vaping and smoking)
Vaping or smoking is the best way to microdose marijuana flowers if you can’t find high-quality marijuana concentrate. Below is an appropriate way to microdose marijuana flowers by vaping or smoking.
Take one marijuana flower puff and hold it for some seconds before exhaling. Wait approximately ten minutes to notice any changes the dose causes in your body. If it doesn't have any changes, you can repeat it or have another puff.
It’ll be wise to be patient during the process. It helps you determine your optimal marijuana dosage, especially for beginners.
Microdosing cannabis edibles
After purchasing your marijuana edibles from the dispensary, it’ll be wise to check the THC level on the product description.
After getting the THC levels, split the products into even pieces to ensure that each piece has one mg of THC.
It might take you a long time to understand if the particular dose is appropriate for your needs, as the body needs to digest the edibles for the body to release the cannabinoids into the bloodstream.
You may have to wait approximately 45 to 90 minutes for the edible to get past the body's digestion process. Thus, if you can’t feel any psychoactive effect after 90 minutes, you can add or increase the dose until you attain your optimal level.
What are the Suitable Conditions for Microdosing?
Marijuana can be important for treating a wide range of conditions. However, not the same dosage or type of cannabis can treat the conditions. You can alleviate some conditions by microdosing the marijuana, especially if you require it to medicate the whole day.
For instance, you can't use the same microdosing procedure for anxiety to alleviate migraines or headaches. There is a huge variation in the frequency of use and the dosing procedures.
Experts reveal that microdosing will work well for anxiety, depression, and stress disorders. Studies also reveal that some individuals have started using small marijuana doses to alleviate their focus and sleeping pattern.
Remember, lower THC doses can alleviate depression, while taking higher doses regularly may trigger or aggravate the disorders.
Thus, microdosing marijuana for anxiety or depression, below are vital things you have to consider to achieve great results:
● Choose the appropriate strain. It’ll be wise to keep off high THC strains and consider those with a THC: CBD ratio of 1:1. Importantly, consider the high CBD strains to achieve optimal results.
● You can use an appropriate strain blazer tool to choose the appropriate medical marijuana strain to suit your needs. The tool will help you browse through the different strains on the market to choose the right one.
What Strains offer the Best Microdosing Options?
There have been limited studies and research on microdosing. The limited studies on the issue make it hard to choose the right strains for microdosing. Nevertheless, experts advise that you consider using Sativa strains with a moderate CDB level to help counteract THC’s psychoactive effects. Sativas are well-known strains for enhancing an uplifting experience. Below are some of the best options you can choose for your microdosing:
Tsunami crush
Tsunami crush comes with an 11% ratio between CBD and THC, making it one of the best strains. It's a potent Sativa cross coming from NYC Diese and Sour Diesel that most users consider it one of the most popular and finest medical cannabis strains. It releases a slow but more potent cognitive effect after high consumption.
Pineapple Thai
Pineapple Thai is one of the rare 100% Sativa strains. This strain is well-known for its tropical pineapple and pleasant sweet aroma, while some users love it due to the spicy or sweet taste of exhalation. The strain has approximately 24% THC and 5% CBD. Many users usually prefer maximizing its numerous health benefits via microdosing.
Kaua’i Electric
It’s another alternative to a pure Sativa strain originating from the Hawaiian islands. The marijuana strains have an average of 4% CBD content and 18% THC level, which makes it offer an intense experience after taking the strain. Experts reveal that the strain’s power trail is the best location to find its high-quality natural realm.
Pinetrak
It’s a cross-marijuana strain between the Thai and Mexican Sativa plants. The Pinetrak is one of the most potent marijuana strains, having up to 21% THC content and 4% CBD that works to limit the psychoactive effects resulting from the high THC. Experts recommend this strain as it has the ability to provide users with creativity and a rush of energy.
Happy Hiker Haze
This strain comes with a 22% THC and 2% CBD content. With this THC: CBD ratio, the Happy Hiker Haze marijuana strains are capable of providing users with a euphoric and rapid feeling that mostly results in happiness and joyous laughter. After microdosing it, this strain leads to a happy and relaxed feeling for the rest of the time.
Bottom Line on Microdosing Marijuana for Anxiety
While it’s not popular, microdosing usually has numerous advantages. After taking microdosing, most users have experienced various health benefits without having to deal with the intense psychoactive effects. Studies show that most users are willing to microdose in an area where medical cannabis offers more surprising effects. While enjoying microdosing, most seasoned smokers or users have reported a positive impact on their health conditions or symptoms.
Microdosing offers the best way to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of marijuana, especially for anxiety. Getting a medical marijuana card will help you access this product. HappyMD offers a straightforward evaluation and process for getting your medical marijuana card online. Schedule your next appointment with us to get the recommendation and the medical marijuana card to allow you access to potent marijuana products. The right marijuana product will help alleviate your anxiety and improve your quality of life.
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