Accurate Education – Marijuana (Cannabis) – Dosing: Flower vs Pharmaceutical Products

Marijuana Dosing – Flower vs Pharmaceutical Products

When transitioning from the use of marijuana, particularly smoking joints or bowls in a pipe or bong or vaping, it is helpful to get some estimate of how much THC is generally delivered from plant-based use. Of course many variables come into play making exact comparisms impossible. But it is possible to get ballpark estimates one may use to guide the transition from use of plant to pharmaceutical products.

Smoking a “Joint”

With respect to smoking pot in the form of a joint, research indicates the average amount of marijuana plant in a joint is 0.3 gm. Obviously, if one roll thin “needles” or fat “hoagies,” one should adjust this estimate. In assessing the THC content of contemporary pot, the percentage of THC in the pot ranges from very low (<5%),  to low (5-10%), moderate or “good pot” (10-15%), strong (15-20%) and very strong (>20%). Most patients use 1–3 g of herbal cannabis per day, whereas < 5% of patients use > 5 g per day . Tolerance may develop to the benefits and over time dose escalation may be observed.

It is estimated as a ballpark figure that for each percentage of THC in the pot, smoking an average joint would be dose equivalent to 1 mg of THC for each percent THC in the marijuana. In other words, smoking an average joint of 1% THC pot (weak pot) would deliver a 1 mg dose of THC and smoking an average joint of 10% THC pot (average pot) would deliver a 10 mg dose of THC and smoking an average joint of 15% THC pot (strong pot) would deliver a 15 mg dose of THC. This estimate would be dependent also on how deep one inhales and how long one holds their inhalation before exhaling.

Smoking a “Bowl”

Smoking a “bowl” in a pipe or bong would equate to the use of about 0.25 grams, slightly less pot than an average joint. But this method is thought to deliver 10-20% more THC. Thus, one might predict one bowl would deliver 1.2 mg of THC if smoking 1% THC pot (weak pot) or 22 mg if 15% THC pot (good pot).

Vaping

Vaping is considered a more efficient method of THC dosing and is estimated to deliver about 1.5 times as much THC or 50% more as compared to smoking. Thus compared to smoking an average 10% THC joint that would deliver about 10 mg of THC, vaping the same amount of this pot would deliver about 15 mg of THC.

Typical Vaporizers designed for use with loose marijuana flower have a small “oven” chamber that allows for loading up to 0.3 gms of flower to be vaped. The vaporizer heats the flower to 360 – 420 F over about 45 seconds until it is ready for inhalation. There are multiple brands and models available in vape shops and on the internet but they are not sold in LA. One popular oven-style vaporizer is the Pax 2 which sells for $150 on the manufacturer’s website. See: List of Cannabis Flower Vape Devices

Common oven-style vaporizers for use with loose marijuana flower typically have a chamber capable of holding up to 0.3 gm of flower to be vaped. As a rule of thumb, loading 0.3 gm of flower rated at 18% THC would allow for a maximum delivery of up to approximately 50 mg THC, less 30–50% of cannabis lost to ‘side-stream’ smoke, equating to a THC dose of about 25-30 mg THC.

In summary, these estimates are necessarily inaccurate but are provided to establish some ballpark estimates to guide one in transitioning to pharmaceutical cannabis-based products with defined amounts of THC dosing. Additionally, studies have determined that pot smokers tend to overestimate their use of pot.

Most importantly, one must remember that the final therapeutic benefits as well as side effects are not determined by THC alone but depend largely on the other constituents present in either the plant or the pharmaceutical product. These constituents include not only the very important CBD but also other cannabinoids and terpenes found in both plant and pharmaceutica products. Furthermore, not only the amounts but also the ratios of these other constituents may be important.