I’ve written before about the benefits of microdosing: you’re less likely to have “overdoses” (getting too high to work, study, or even stand up), less likely to cause health problems or interactions with other medications, and less likely to get negative side effects from cannabis (anxiety/paranoia/panic, generally from getting too high too fast, especially with sativas). But I never really made the practical aspects totally clear.
Well, a picture is worth 1K words and all that. So here’s how I normally load my MFLB vaporizer. Most MFLB users know that the factory recommends you load the “trench” until level with the “shelves” on the sides. I load it like this, which is enough for one or two days of frequent vaping (for me, anyway):
You’ll notice that’s way lower than the “shelves”. This makes it easier for me to dump it out into my AVB recycling container when it’s time to switch strains, since I won’t agonize over “wasting weed”. It also helps because when I bang the MFLB on my desk a few times, the cannabis flips over and separates a bit, which exposes fresh weed to the screen.
OK, so the other day I was thinking, “I know I really vape only a tiny bit at a time, so what if I loaded just that much into the trench so we could visually see how little that actually is?”
That teeny tiny bit of now well-vaped weed got me to a solid [3]. And my tolerance hasn’t changed at all in 2½ years of using cannabis daily!
It’s true that I have a high sensitivity to most drugs, but it’s also true that though my wife has a higher tolerance than I do, hers hasn’t changed appreciably either since she started using medical cannabis regularly.
TL,DR: To keep a low tolerance, use as little cannabis as possible for your desired effect.
So if you want to save a bit of money (OK, a lot of money…I go through only a gram in 2 to 3 weeks at this rate!) on your cannabis usage, and use the least amount possible for health reasons, I invite you to take a tolerance break if necessary, and start smoking, vaping, or ingesting much smaller amounts than before!
I LOVE ALL YOUR POSTS OLD HIPPIE YOU ARE WHAT I STRIVE TO BE.
Great timing, man…Felicity even saw that! Now I just have to convince her that I didn’t pay you to say it 🙂 Thanks so much and nugs and hugs!
Funny, I tend to use high tolerance in the same way. You can get some hash or bud in Colorado that is so high in THC and CBD that one hit, no matter the method, could send you to the moon, getting you accidentally too high. This happened to me a lot early on, but I’ve just slowly increased my intake over the years to the point where I can predict exactly what a 25% sativa is going to do to me before smoking it. I understand the vaping culture but something about it just isn’t as satisfying to me. It might be the smoking part of it that I miss since I don’t smoke cigarettes any more, or it could also be that I enjoy some of that extra fuzziness that comes with a good bong hit vs. the clear-headed high that comes with vaping. I definitely switch back and forth but vaping definitely makes for easier micro-dosing than smoking, unless you’re using something like BHO and a nail or healthstone.
Funny, was thinking and researching this same topic last week specifically on micro-dosing and found this pdf….“Mullaways Medical Cannabis Treatment Plan by Design”. They also encourage to include a Hemp based diet wich I started 2 days ago with a surprising entourage effect! Been successfully medicating on high THC strains for 4.5 years, 1-2 grams over a day period, but for some reasons losing effectiveness…Yin-Yang. Cluster Headaches (chronic) onsets reappeared 3 weeks ago and started to use high CBD strains mixed with your normal so.cal. dispensary type THC strains with good results so far. Too early to tell for total efficacy but very optimistic. In desperate need to start growing and where to get good clones?…financial hardship!
A great pleasure, as always Ye Old Hippie! For the greater good of mankind!
Thanks for the info and encouragement. Hope you feel better soon! BTW, you probably already know this, but I’ve heard that sativas are better for migraine type headaches than indicas. I suspect high CBD will help too. Nugs and hugs!
Realize you wrote this years ago…but have you heard about doing psilypsibin (sorry about spelling), to rid yourself of cluster headaches? What about breathing 100% pure oxygen? I ask because I suffered with Clusters from 14 years old-37 years old. What a nightmare ordeal. I finally outgrew them. They never returned once they went…thank God!! While suffering with them, did a lot of research. Found a specialist out in Encino CA-Dr. Lee Kudrow (now retired. The actor Lisa Kudrow’s father)! He ran a bunch of tests on me. Ultimately prescribed 100% pure oxygen, delivered at a rate of 7 liters per minute, for up to 15 minutes, using a re-breather bag. (You need Dr’s prescription. Then buy/rent a tank & regulator from a medical supply place…listed in yellow pages). Anyway, I could hardly believe it, but it was like I had been given a magic wand! Got one of those killer headaches, grabbed the oxygen and started breathing. Within about 3 minutes it was ENTIRELY GONE!!!. I mean UTTERLY VANISHED!!! Plain & simple; it was a miracle. Suddenly, life was no longer a terrifying war. It was a struggle that I knew I would win, and could put aside. Quite a difference in perception! As for the drugs…read about doing hallucinogen mushrooms to kill off Clusters…I personally was never brave enough to try; had already had one terrible drug experience and was unwilling to risk such an experience again. But read about people who had taken this route and swore about how gloriously free of pain, and also the RETURN of the headaches. The mushrooms had somehow broken the cycle and killed off the disorder-at least for a few years at a time. Sometimes forever! Anyway-hope you have found your own path to safety and relief. If not, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND the medical oxygen route. My Father also goth Clusters some years after me. Oxygen worked like a charm for him as well! Blessings-
You will definitely feel the difference when you are used to a high THC strain vs. high CBD type.
First thing I noticed that you really don’t want to use your normal THC strain. Receptors is sending a signal. Best to All!
Also, apparently, unlike higher doses which desensitize your neuroendocannabinoids, the receptors of your evolved “natural” cannabinoids have been found to become more receptive with microdosing,and thus you become more sensitive. Sensitive is good – Woe to the human operating with diminished endocannabinoids.