Your first time: a practical guide

Three independent sources converge on the same starting dose, which is unusual enough to be worth trusting. Health Canada advises looking for edible products containing 2.5 mg of THC or less. A 2021 international Delphi consensus on cannabinoid dosing recommended initiating THC at 1 to 2.5 mg. MacCallum and Russo's practical dosing paper suggests 2.5 mg at bedtime, or 1.25 mg for younger, older, or otherwise cautious users.

That range — 1 to 2.5 mg of THC — is your starting point. A typical commercial gummy is 10 mg. You want a quarter of one.

Inhaled cannabis reaches peak effect within about 5 to 10 minutes and lasts 2 to 4 hours. Oral cannabis takes 60 to 180 minutes to peak and lasts 6 to 8 hours.

For a first experience, that difference matters more than anything else. With inhalation you find out quickly whether you have had enough. With an edible, you find out ninety minutes later, and if you were wrong you have another six hours to think about it.

For inhaled products: one or two puffs, then wait a full 30 minutes before deciding anything.

For edibles: take your dose, then wait four hours. Not two. Four. Health Canada puts full effects at up to 4 hours.

This single rule prevents most bad experiences. Edibles accounted for 10.7% of cannabis-attributable emergency department visits in one Colorado study while representing 0.32% of sales — a roughly 33-fold disproportion, driven almost entirely by people redosing during the delay.

Somewhere familiar, someone you trust nearby, nothing you need to do afterwards, and no alcohol. Do not drive — NASEM found substantial evidence that cannabis use increases the risk of motor vehicle crashes.

It will be unpleasant and it will pass. Sit or lie down somewhere quiet. Drink water. Remind yourself that the feeling is temporary and that this is a known, self-limiting experience.

Get medical help for chest pain, difficulty breathing, seizure, or loss of consciousness — or immediately if a child has consumed cannabis.

Do not use cannabis if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Be cautious if you are under 25, if you have a personal or family history of psychosis or bipolar disorder, or if you take warfarin, clobazam, or an immunosuppressant.