The Gotham Dosing Guide for First-Time Cannabis Users

Getting into cannabis for the first time can be a little intimidating. While there are many benefits to cannabis, with one of those benefits probably being the reason you find yourself wanting to dabble, there are also potential risks such as anxiety, nausea, and dizziness also known as “greening out” that could come from THC overstimulation and overconsumption. Since everyone starts out with zero tolerance, it’s important to be mindful of how and what you consume for the first time, to experience the highs of cannabis rather than the potential lows, which is why we’re here with research and recommendations to make sure you’re first time is a pleasant one.

What to Expect from Your First Cannabis Experience?

Cannabis affects you through the endocannabinoid system, and different cannabinoids and terpenes affect you in different ways. THC is the main psychoactive component of the various cannabinoids and the reason you get high from consuming, so it’s recommended that you start out with low-potency THC strains and low doses. Another cannabinoid that helps balance out the psychoactivity of THC is CBD due to its calming properties, so cannabis products with both THC and CBD are actually the least likely to produce any adverse effects for anxiety-prone beginners and it’s recommended to lean indica for your first time to curb any excess anxiety with their typically calming effects.

What Is the Safest Starting Dose for First-Time Cannabis Users?

When it comes to choosing the means of consumption, such as flower, edibles, or vapes and the like, each means has its own quirks to be aware of. With edibles, it’s their delayed onset. It’s recommended to start with a small dose, such as 2.5 milligrams, with 5mg being a standard dose. A common mistake first timers make is by taking a second dose, which can lead to both doses kicking in later in an overwhelming fashion. For inhalation (vaping/smoking), it’s recommended to take it one puff at a time. Start with one puff and assess the effects. With smoking, be careful of the respiratory risks, and with vapes be careful of the subtlety of the inhalation.

How Should First-Timers Prepare for Their First Cannabis Experience?

Last but not least before our recommendations, it’s important to remember that your environment, physical and mental state all affect your experience. Be in a safe and comfortable space, make sure you’ve eaten and try to go into it with a positive headspace. Have snacks in case the munchies hit and water for good measure. Be with a friend if you’d like or by yourself if that makes you most comfortable, just as long as you’re safe and in the proper setting to enjoy your experience. If you do find yourself having a negative experience, get some fresh air or find somewhere safe to lay down. Stay hydrated, use deep breathing exercises and don’t panic. Remember that the effects are temporary and the unpleasant feelings will subside. Now that we’ve gone through a crash course on how to consume for the first time, we do of course have some recommendations:

What Are the Best Cannabis Strains for First-Time Users?

The Collection VARIETY PACK | 6-Pack

Drew Martin’s The Collection variety pack comes with six low-dose botanicall blended pre-rolls. There’s two of each strain type among the pack, with botanicals like ginger in the sativa, rose petals in the hybrid, and lavender in the indica. The entire pack comes in around 15% and with the variety allowing for exploration, it’s perfect for a newbie trying to dabble and figure out what they like.

Apple-A-Day | APPLE Gummies

Eaton Botanicals Apple-A-Day gummies come in at 2.5mg of THC a pop while having 10mg of CBD to balance out any anxious feelings that may come. While we don’t recommend beginners consuming on a daily basis, Eaton’s Apple-A-Day is made to be a casual gummy that you could eat every day. It’s low dose and comes with a combination of different botanicals to help give you both a mental lift and physical boost to elevate your day.

BLISS | 1 g AIO

Ayrloom’s Bliss AIO vape is apart of their mood line of vapes, specifically crafted with the cannabinoids and terpenes to produce a certain feeling, in this case being bliss. They’re slightly less potent than most distillate vapes while retaining a less jarring flavor profile and full spectrum effects than live vapes for those just jumping into the world of vapes and cannabis for the first time.

NORTHERN LIGHTS | 3.5g Flower

Back Home Cannabis is known for their outdoor grown legacy strains, with Northern Lights being good old reliable indica flower. Without the bells and whistles of most strains nowadays, Northern Lights coming in at only about 25% THC, is a classic soothing strain perfect to unwind after a long day or cap the night off without sending you over the moon.

Mullein Chairlifts BLUEBERRY SWIRL x TRICROSS | 2-Pack

Eaton Botanicals is back once again, this time for their prerolls though. Eaton’s prerolls all come with mullein in them, a plant that’s good for lung health. The idea is that “if you’re going to inhale some THC, you might as well give your lungs some TLC in return”. As a result, it’s a great choice for beginners that want to smoke, but have worries about the impact it may have on their lung health.

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