When I was younger, the only thing I knew about weed was the elusive “pot brownie” that highschoolers accidentally took too much of at house parties. But as I got older, edibles became more commonplace and took on even more forms than I could have ever imagined. Of course, one of the biggest deterrents from taking edibles is the lack of control people often feel over the amount of weed they ingest and the duration of their high. If you’d like to learn some more about how to properly dose edibles, read on ahead!
How do you measure edible potency?
Unlike a regular flower or concentrate, the cannabis content in edibles is measured in milligrams. The first thing you should get acquainted with is the potency of whatever flower you plan on using in your edibles. Without having this knowledge, your ability to properly calculate the dose of your edibles will be severely compromised.
How do I transform the flower into something actually usable?
Because raw cannabis doesn’t actually have a high THC, you need to put your flower through a process called decarboxylation. Decarboxylation is essentially the process that “activates” your cannabis. In order to complete this process at home, all you need is some heat and time. Go ahead and pop your finely ground flower on parchment paper covered baking tray and into the oven at 230 degrees Farenheit for 110 minutes for prime potency. Another way to accomplish this is to heat it in a butter or oil and straining it after, producing ready-to-use cannabis oil.
Extraction Efficiency
The accepted conversion efficiency is somewhere between 75% and 90%, but assume that your flower will convert on the high side (90%) to avoid surprises. You can always take more, but it’s much harder to sober up after taking too much.
How does it all add up?
To calculate how much THC, follow the steps below. For this example, I will be calculating the dosage with 10g of flower containing 10% THC.
THC Content 10% of 10g = 1000 mg of THC
Post-Carbing 1000 mg x 90% = 900 mg of Active THC
Extraction 900 mg x 60% = 540 mg of THC in oil
Portioning 540 mg / 10 mg per serving size = 54 standard portion
So… How much should I actually take?
For beginner edible takers, 1 to 5 milligrams of THC is generally recommended. On average, those who take edibles ingest 10 mg at a time.