The Peach State is inching close to having their first cultivators and dispensaries open—and many Georgia patients will get a marijuana card and try cannabis for the first time.
While many will likely already have some experience with products like cannabis flower, low-THC cannabis oil might be a brand-new experience for both new and experienced users.
In this Georgia Marijuana Card Guide, we’ll cover some best practices for consuming cannabis, and how to handle low-THC cannabis oil for the first time!
Recreational vs. Medical Marijuana
While most people will likely have experimented with cannabis at least to some degree, cannabis patients often approach the plant somewhat differently than recreational users.
While recreational users often purchase products to consume at times when they want to experience the effects from cannabis, medical marijuana patients usually take cannabis to experience medicinal effects at either specific times, or in intervals for patients with chronic conditions.
Right off the bat, that puts the two categories into very different boxes, although the plant largely remains the same whether it’s recreational or medicinal.
Often patients are on a treatment plan that can help regulate their dosages based on their symptoms.
For example, a PTSD patient might schedule their cannabis intake at the beginning and throughout the day for its mental benefits, or a person suffering from intractable pain might only need to use their cannabis when there is a flare up of pain.
It’s important to have a plan, and understanding what symptoms you want to address with cannabis can help you identify when and how much cannabis to use.
This will become an important staple along the way, helping to guide you into a smooth treatment plan that gives you the medicinal benefits you need, while retaining the cognitive function required to perform your daily activities.
How to Dose Cannabis Products for the First Time
Because every cannabis strain, product type, and person will be different, it is medically unreasonable to believe there is a concrete dosage size or frequency that applies to everyone.
Everyone’s biology will drive how cannabis products work specifically for them, which can be wildly different from person to person.
However, there are some rules for getting familiar with cannabis and its various product types that most certainly do apply to everyone, regardless of their biology and the product type they’re trying out.
Rule #1. Start small, stay small.
If you’ve never tried cannabis before or you are trying a product for the first time, take the smallest dose possible. Always.
Every story that starts with “I took too much” can be avoided by not taking enough. You can always take more, but never less, so treat your medicine like a date, there’s no need to get married to it right away, it’s perfectly fine to flirt with it a bit first.
Rule #2. Wait, and then wait some more.
For trying out cannabis products for the first time you need to get a handle on how long effects will last.
This will certainly depend on the dosage size, so the last thing you want are effects that are too strong that last too long, so stick to rule #1 and you’ll be able to get an idea of the duration of your experience.
Certain strains and product types can have a long onset or even a delayed onset, so be sure to wait longer than you think is enough time. The rule of thumb is if you’ve felt like it’s been enough time, wait another 30 minutes before taking another dosage.
Rule #3. Learn what works and what doesn’t.
Inevitably, if you use cannabis for a long enough time, you will probably get to experience a few unpleasant effects, whether it’s paranoia, a racing heartbeat, or silly mental effects, if you go a little overboard (and we all have), you’ll get familiar with what doesn’t work.
Fortunately, none of the effects are permanent, nor are the psychoactive effects of cannabis life-threatening, so ultimately you will be safe but maybe a little uncomfortable.
This is especially true for certain people who will feel overwhelmed from a very small dosage the first time. Cannabis use will build tolerance, which will change how potent the medicine feels over time, meaning the same dosage that might have caused extra anxiety in the beginning can become the right dosage once you’ve built tolerance.
If you stick to these three rules when dosing your cannabis products for the first time, you’re likely to have a smoother experience.
And although cannabis works differently for everyone, common sense can help make your experience much more amicable, especially in a medical setting.
Get Your Georgia Marijuana Card
As a Georgia marijuana patient, you can legally purchase up to 20 ounces of low THC cannabis oil. For Georgians, this means getting the relief you need naturally and organically, and Georgia Marijuana Card is here to help.
Reserve your appointment today and get $25 off when we start processing applications!
Feel free to give us a call at (866) 781-5606, and we can help answer your questions about getting medical marijuana in Georgia.