A guide to ingesting THC in various forms
How much THC in a hit will depend on several different factors including the strain you use and how you choose to ingest it. How it will affect you varies based on personal tolerance rather than measured by the amount of THC. To simplify things, we have completed an easy to navigate guide to help explain how to know exactly how much THC is in a joint, dab, or gram of weed.
What Is THC?
THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is a crystalline chemical compound that is the main component responsible for the psychoactive effects produced by ingesting marijuana. It is one of 113 different cannabinoids that are found in a cannabis plant. Raw cannabis does not contain THC. Instead, it provides THC-A which can be activated into THC using a method called decarboxylating which is where the bud is heated to a temperature of 340 F.
Comparing Smoking Methods
When figuring out how much THC in a gram of marijuana is present, you will need to know the method that you will use to smoke it. No matter which way you choose to smoke weed you will lose some of the THC from your product. When using a joint, bowl, or bong, you will generally lose between 60% and 63% of the THC content as it is inhaled. In comparison, vaping cannabis will lose you up to 46% of the total THC. To compare exactly how much THC is in each one we will need to assume we are all packing our bowls with the same strength of marijuana. For this example, we will use Blue Dreamwhich has a medium 11% THC content.
Base Strain: Blue Dream containing 11% THC
How Much THC In A Joint?
The average joint will contain 0.5 grams or 54 milligrams. You will consume approximately 20 milligrams while losing almost 34 milligrams in total.
How Much THC In A Dab?
The average das will contain 0.5 grams or 54 milligrams. You will consume approximately 29 milligrams while losing almost 25 milligrams in total.
How Much THC In A Bowl?
The average bowl will contain 0.5 grams or 54 milligrams. You will consume approximately 22 milligrams while losing almost 32 milligrams in total.
How Much THC In A Gram of Weed? Each of these measurements assumesthat one half of a gram is used at a time. To estimate the amount of THC in a gram simply take the number you get from the method you choose and multiply it by 2.
Smoking vs Eating THC
Smoking- When cannabis products are smoked, they are inhaled and immediately absorbed into the bloodstream once absorbed through the lungs. The effects of smoking THC are instantaneous and short-lived, in general kicking in immediately and wearing off after as little as one hour.
Eating- When you eat THC in ediblesit is the liver that processes and metabolizes it which takes much longer to complete. THC edibles can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 full hours before the user will begin to feel the full effects. They can last longer and are considered much more intense since a user can continue to feel high for up to 12 hours after ingesting.
Edibles
Edibles are slightly different in their recommended dosing which tends to start as low as 5 mg for new users and 10 mg for more experienced ones. Here you will find an explanation using one THC infused cookie that contains 10mg of THC along with recommended dosing for various experience levels.
Recommended dosing using one THC infused cookie that contains 10mg THC.
Beginner- Beginners should start at half of a cookie which would contain 5mg of THC.
Casual Experience- Those with casual experience may have better luck with one half to three quarters of a cookie or 5mg -7.5mg of THC.
Regular Experience- Regular users of cannabis products are recommended to begin with one full cookie which contains 10mg of THC although most seem to prefer a range of between 10mg and 30mg.
Intermediate Experience- Intermediate users are the most experienced in the use of cannabis products and those who have likely built somewhat of a tolerance through consistent use. For them, it is recommended to begin anywhere from 20mg to 25mg and often can find enjoyable doses that go as high as 80 mg of THC.
