The concept of medical cannabis makes some skeptics scoff. It is wild for some to believe that a puff from a joint or bong rip could be medicine. Part of this skepticism has roots. Medical doctors have no current guidance on how a patient would dose out a pipe hit compared to an edible. That may change with recently published research.
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Standardized bong rips?
A University of British Columbia (UBC) research team paper seeks to standardize medical cannabis dosing across consumption methods. Medical doctors prescribe medications based on these science-based recommendations. Previously, there were no such recommendations for weed.
Standard dosing is a recommended amount of a prescription based on a patient’s weight to achieve the clinically desired effects. These doses are set based on four phases of clinical research facilitated by the federal government.
UBC, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, sought to change this in the recently published paper. Licensed cannabis producers have provided financial support to two study authors, and one formerly served as Director of Indigenous Bloom.
The team addressed dosage through the lens of another nuanced weed topic: tolerance. They specifically targeted what a low dose would equate to. This study separated low, medium, and high dose needs across seven methods, dissecting the ideal amount for low-dose consumers.
Over 1300 people aged 18 to 93 participated in the survey, and 42 percent were women. This data set the Index of Cannabis Equivalence (ICE) and announced the low-dose comparisons across all seven consumption methods.
ICE asserts that equal doses are:
- Two puffs of a joint, pipe, and vape pen
- Bong rip
- Five milligram edible
- ¼ gram dab
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The standardization of units is a start but has limitations. There is no mention of product quality, cannabinoid formulations, or percentages. Bowl size or the amount of cannabis packed into a joint, pipe, or bong is also not specified. This oversight creates sizable doubt, as these factors can drastically alter product efficacy. Not all weed products are created equal, which must be considered in dose standards.
While limited, this marks a start for medical practitioners looking to prescribe weed. Like all studies, it is a stepping stone toward greater understanding. As with most cannabis research, there’s more work to be done.
