Tools

Dose planner

Where a new patient starts, how to step up without overshooting, and how to turn a milligram dose into a measurable volume. Reviewed by Tiffany Keathley, Pharm.D..

Starting dose

Pick the form you are holding. The range is for a new patient with no tolerance.

Starting amount

One small puff, wait, then decide.

A milligram number is not meaningful for flower (smoked), so the dose is a single small inhalation. Dried flower that is burned and inhaled. It comes on fast because the lungs absorb it directly, and it wears off sooner than other routes.

Start low, go slow

Tiffany's standing rule: hold each step for at least 3 days before increasing.

Onset: 1 to 10 min
Peak: 10 to 30 min
Duration: 2 to 4 h
Watch: Smoke is hard on the airways. If you have a respiratory condition, this is the route to skip.

Titration schedule

A day-by-day template. Change the numbers to match what your prescriber suggested and print the result.

Starting dose (mg)

Step size (mg)

Hold each step (days)

Ceiling (mg)

Capped at 25 mg on this page.

Titration schedule by day range
Days	Dose per step	What to do
Days 1 to 3	2.5 mg	Take this amount and note how you feel.
Days 4 to 6	3.5 mg	Only step up if the last step did not help and caused no problems.
Days 7 to 9	4.5 mg	Only step up if the last step did not help and caused no problems.
Days 10 to 12	5.5 mg	Only step up if the last step did not help and caused no problems.
Days 13 to 15	6.5 mg	Only step up if the last step did not help and caused no problems.
Days 16 to 18	7.5 mg	Only step up if the last step did not help and caused no problems.
Days 19 to 21	8.5 mg	Only step up if the last step did not help and caused no problems.
Days 22 to 24	9.5 mg	Only step up if the last step did not help and caused no problems.
Days 25 to 27	10 mg	Ceiling reached. Talk to your prescriber before going higher.

This is a template to discuss with a prescriber. A person stops climbing at the first dose that helps; most people never reach the ceiling. If a step causes dizziness, racing heart or confusion, drop back to the last comfortable step.

Milligrams to millilitres

For tinctures and oils. Enter what the label says about the bottle, then the dose you want.

Total mg in the bottle

Bottle size (mL)

300 mg / 30 mL = 10 mg per mL.

I want this many mg

2.5 mg is 0.25 mL, about 5 drops.

I measured this many mL

0.5 mL of a 10 mg per mL oil is 5 mg.

Drops assume 20 drops per mL, which is the usual figure for a standard dropper. Droppers vary, so the marked line on the dropper is a better measure than counting drops.

The ranges are aggregate published starting points for THC in a new patient. They are not a prescription. Your prescriber may start you lower, especially if you take other sedating medications; run your list through Check my meds first.