In the recently published book, A Really Good Day, Ayelet Waldman, a former public defender, law professor with a substantive knowledge of U.S. drug laws and current writer and author who has struggled with bipolar disorder, described a month where she treated her disorder (illegally) with daily “microdoses” of LSD, following the research being done around the world, including at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
For those not familiar with the term. Micro-dosing is the practice of using medicines with a psychoactive effect with such a small daily dose that the effect becomes almost subliminal. Ms. Waldman called it, “using a dose small enough so it doesn’t cause trippy hallucinations.” Although her approach was unscientific, unauthorized, unsupervised and illegal, she was pleased with the results after a lifetime of dealing with her bipolar issues.
She was not the first to take this step. The word had been getting out that micro dosing could tame the drug and give it far more medicinal value that any previous study in the 1960’s and 1970’s and ever noted. In essence, find a way where, medicinally, less is more. (starting to sound familiar?)
So, it seems only fitting and sensible that a much safer medicine with psychoactive properties, notably cannabis, would be the next object of micro dosing. It started about 3 years ago and its use is trending, especially in women, according to a study by BSD Analytics, a firm that does research on cannabis consumer trends.
Linda Gilbert – the Managing Director of the Consumer Insights division for BDS Analytics – says this is part of a trend towards more mindful use of marijuana.
“They’re not looking for inebriation,” Gilbert told Civilized. “They’re looking to take the edge off of their anxiety or their pain, or as one guy said, ‘just slow down all the thoughts that are racing around in my head all the time.'”
This is largely coming from people who want to avoid the dysfunctional experience associated with overdoing their cannabis intake. BDS notes that 18 percent of people who have used marijuana in their life have had an experience where the THC created an experience where they felt they were too impaired to function or to enjoy themselves.
Just how much is a Micro-dose? First, it needs to be said that it is not for everyone. There needs to be a “clinically significant dose”, or one that treats your symptoms. For many, that must involve enough THC to enjoy the psychoactive effects, especially when it comes to dealing with severe anxiety attacks with PTSD or the sharp, acute pain from various ailments. It would defeat the purpose of using cannabis as a medicine if you took a “sub-clinical” (not enough to treat your symptoms) dose. But many have been able to prevent migraines by micro-dosing with 5 mg of THC or less. It really depends on the individual and it would be best if you not only consult with your doctor but also keep a journal of your doses and effects if you wish to try micro-dosing
Naturally, it would be hard to micro-dose by smoking, since smoking is more about hitting a threshold than obtaining a specific dose. But you could measure your dose by timing the appropriate vape pen pull or using capsules or drops of tincture. Metered dose inhalers, such as the Muv product, soon to be released in Florida by AltMed, will be available and ideal for micro-dosing.
But one of the best ways would be using edibles. Many folks make edibles with distillates like Truclear, and, if properly and thoroughly distributed throughout the mixture when making edibles should produce uniform results in the individual products. But professionally made edibles, with labeled and lab-verified THC amounts would be best, when they are finally available in Florida. As one purveyor of edible products designed for micro-dosing, Kiva (out of California), stated, one can be “body functional and mind free.”
We are still learning about all the aspects of this medicine even though it is older than our oldest civilization, and it still has so much to teach us. We thought it was just a way to get inebriated. We were wrong. Our legislators thought it is dangerous and are finally learning that they were wrong.
Now we are finding, that in some cases, less is more, according to Dr. Allen Frankel of Green Bridge Medical in Santa Monica. He finds patients can control anxiety and stress and be more productive at work, with more energy.
Although it may not be for everyone, micro-dosing is a trend which might be for many Floridians.
Ask your doctor.