What's the standard dosage for pot?

fruitfly

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Oct 28, 2003
Messages
8,071
SEATTLE — Patients using marijuana for ailments ranging from chronic back pain to cancer are allowed by Washington state law to possess a two-month supply of the drug. But medical marijuana doesn't come with a standard dose or even a standard method of taking the drug.

The 1998 law has never spelled out how much usable pot nor how many plants make up a 60-day supply.

Now the Legislature has demanded an answer to the question by July, and the state is holding hearings to ask experts and citizens for their opinions on how to determine a two-month supply.

"There is so much you will have to take into account," says Joanna McKee, founder of Seattle's Green Cross Patient Co-op. "What about people who eat it? How different is the amount they need from people who smoke it?"

McKee was one of many who spoke at a state health department public meeting this month in Seattle. More than 100 people attended, and about 45 people spoke. Another meeting in Spokane drew similar numbers.

Most people at the meetings were clearly medical marijuana advocates. So are most who have posted comments on a Washington Department of Health website, but a few have written to express dismay at any use of marijuana. "It is a waste of our time and resources to address this non-issue," reads one such comment.

But the issue is crucial for patients who use medical marijuana.

"What has ended up happening is that in each county, law enforcement effectively decides what constitutes a 60-day supply," says attorney Alison Holcomb, Marijuana Education Project director for the state ACLU. "And in some counties, that amount has been set at zero."

Of the 12 states that protect medical marijuana patients from state prosecution, Washington is the only one without clear guidelines on the amount a patient or designated caregiver is allowed to possess.

Those amounts are different in almost every other state. Oregon allows the largest supply -- 24 ounces or six mature plants -- and several states only allow patients to have one ounce of usable marijuana on hand. In California, state law sets a limit of 8 ounces or six mature plants, but cities and counties are free to establish higher guidelines.

32724411.gif


Dr. Gregory T. Carter, a professor of rehabilitative medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine who studies the effects of marijuana in treating patients with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, says that all of these codified limits may be too low.

"There are so many variables here. Even if you just look at smokers, you have to look not only at the quality of the pot, but also at the efficiency of the smoker," he says. "Some people are better smokers than others."

Carter and several colleagues studied the dose amounts used on a federal study of medical marijuana, which has been in progress for more than 30 years. Based on this, he says that a 60-day supply works out to nearly 4 1/2 pounds per patient -- far more than the amount allowed by any state.

And, he says, "that's probably a pretty conservative estimate."

Tom McBride, executive secretary of the Washington Assn. of Prosecuting Attorneys, welcomes the change in the law. "It doesn't make sense for a judge or prosecutor to have to determine how much a sick person needs -- that's a medical decision, and I've always felt it should be made by a doctor."

McBride says he isn't worried about a high limit shielding recreational pot dealers.

"Under Washington law," he says, "group growing and distribution isn't legal, and codifying a 60-day supply won't change that."

Many advocates hope the state will ultimately allow patient co-ops to grow and distribute medical pot, as is the case in some parts of California. But no one expects that to happen here any time soon.

Bruce Mirken is director of communications at the Marijuana Policy Project, a national nonprofit group that works for both medical and recreational marijuana policy reform. He worries that Washington's new definition will be set too low, but at the same time emphasizes that safe access remains the larger issue for all medical marijuana patients.

"It's going to remain a problem, as long as the federal government remains hostile to medical marijuana," he says.

That worry was reflected in many of the comments offered at the Seattle meeting.

Caroline Welch, 47, was one of the first to tell her story. Diagnosed with stage-three ovarian cancer earlier this summer, Welch attributes much of her ability to withstand her treatment to medical marijuana.

"There were people producing it for me before I knew I'd even need it," she says. "It would have taken me till next summer to cultivate the plants, get the knowledge base. There is no way that I could have done it."

McKee, of the Seattle patient co-op, said she had worked with thousands of medical marijuana patients over the years. "I have never seen anyone with a 60-day supply. I have seen people with a few ounces, a few plants," she said.

Public comments on the issue will be accepted until the end of the year, and in early 2008, the department of health will publish a proposed rule. The final rule must be in place by July, which is also the deadline for the health department to report back to the Legislature on the issue of safe access to medical marijuana.
----------------------------------------------------------------
What's the standard dosage for pot?
Washington state allows a 60-day supply of medical marijuana. Now the Legislature wants to know how much that is. Any ideas?

By Lynn Marshall, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 23, 2007


Link
 
You might want to correct your little map, it is 1 ounce in Alaska thanks to that faggot Murkowski (Type in "corrupt" and "Alaska" in google see what the fuck is happening to this state.....) But that is only if it is tried under an analog (YES A FUCKING ANALOG) of crystal methanphetamine. EDIT* But it is 4 oz. here in reality if your get caught. Now how's that for corrupt? Oh, theres a problem with Meth in the Mat-su valley? OH SHIT LETS ADD WEED TO THIS BILL.........And yes it did pass way before we got this http://www.juneauempire.com/images/120306/15652_500.jpg worthless stupid fucking dumbass bitch who just happens to be mildly attractive (and I do mean MILDLY) to be the leader of "Alaskas future".......fucking face. Shit our old speaker of the house is going down for corruption for taking $9000 as a "bribe" for oil production a multi-BILLION dollar a year industry..........but that is neither here nor there.

Yeah they should defiently limit MJ before MORE people start over dosing.....Oh, wait...............
 
I don't think the dosages are that crazy. An ounce is enough for any given time. (unless you eat it). And 3 plants should be enough if you know what your doing.
Not to mention that if your only growing and using for personal use.
So long as your laying low and not mixing with sketchy individuals, the police would never even know.
But it does make me think....my step mom lives in Nevada and has MS. Shes one cool step mom too. Her MS isn't bad (at the moment) but shit :D

It's kinda hard to get any standard dosage (besides smoking till your high...). But if you read a few books, find some help with someone with a green thumb, those 3 plants can produce some shit that is wayyyyyyy better than a first time grower's attempt. So that even if you only can have one ounce, it'll be one ounce of some of the best.

it's hard for state governments to agree on medical marijuana when the federal government is still pumping out anti-marijuana propaganda.
 
as long as you can buy additional quantities whenever you need i dont see what the problem is.
does anyone know who is responsible for growing and supplying dispensers,i would really love to get into that industry =D
 
Carter and several colleagues studied the dose amounts used on a federal study of medical marijuana, which has been in progress for more than 30 years. Based on this, he says that a 60-day supply works out to nearly 4 1/2 pounds per patient
There is no way in hell a two month suppy would be anywhere near four and a half pounds per patient, unless they have a massive tolerance and it's some schwag... Medical MJ at compassion clubs or w/e theyre called provide HEADS, not some fuckin doo-doo weed, and I don't think anyone needs to smoke that much over two-months if they have some good bud...

..Basically, that's bullshit, and I'll admit, there are probably some who may smoke that much but they are definately the vast minority.
 
Chubba75 said:
Even with a massive tolerance, one ounce of good bud a week doesn't just keep me high... it keeps me in bed.

and ounce a week is totally reasonable for someone who smokes a lot..

but still one ounce a week over 8 weeks is only 1/2 lb not 4 pounds lol. i think one lb would be more than enough
 
Last edited:
I dont see how you can lay out a standard dosage as it really can range so greatly from person to person.

But theres a huge difference between medical dosage and fun dosage. You could take 1 big hit from a bong of some high quality and get full medical benefits, but somehow i doubt thats what people prescribed it are doing, at least i wouldn't.
 
^ some people prescibed opiates for pain management take huge doses that even recreational users wouldn't try
 
Australia. Not Followin'. Not 'Bein Progressive..."~?

I t'aught it would
be amazin'
that The
You Esse',
Aye,
would have
decrim'ed cannabis
before
Da Colony Of Aust.,
but,
well,
lead the way...

The amounts seem to be fairly reasonable...

I actually can' believe it's not butter...

PEACE
UnS
8) :\ :)
 
frizzantik said:
^ some people prescibed opiates
for pain management
take huge doses
that even recreational users wouldn't try

An' need them.
It's difficult to moderate.

*Take that, only writin' BLMod's*

But,
more importantly...,
I needed more benzo's than I was takin' fo'
a fair while,
an',
well,
with the anxiety I was sufferin',
it nearly drove me
ston-col'
crazy...

Especially under fairly touchy laws,
I think (from afar),
that it seems like a cool amount...

...but each script/amount/allowance* should be assessed by
a) Person suffering
b) Doctor-(B)


Assessment is hard,
but so is cuttin' someone's heart out an' showin' it
to their face*!
(* may have only been in a movie).

But in both Australia & to a slightly lessa degree USA,
pain med's are kep't fear-locked,



(God, Malpractice. Scientology, Profiteering, S.Wrong. Cupboard, The Fellowship, House, Weeds, The Anti-anti-anti-ect. Pty. Ect. Ltd.)



PEERFEARSCRIBIN'
UnS
:\
 
Chubba75 said:
Smoking over an ounce a day? No bloody way is hell.

Key word being smoking. I daresay most using it for medicinal reasons would be either orally consuming it or using a vaporizer, both of which require significantly more product than smoking. People using it medicinally may choose to smoke it as well, though I feel many would avoid this due to the stigma (not to mention the negative health effects) associated with smoking any plant material.

A few pounds may sound like an extreme amount to the recreational user but I'm sure these estimates would have had some solid research behind them. The strength of the product is also a key issue, and I highly doubt first time medicinal growers would be attempting a hydroponic setup. At any rate, I doubt this is merely a case of a "pro cannabis" group over exaggerating the amounts required for medicinal use in an effort to allow more pot onto themarket for recreational users.

Look at Canada's laws for example. Anyone whose seen the "Urban Grower" videos on youtube will be able to attest to the more liberal limits placed on medicinal growers. For example, one person had over 100 plants growing in their garage, and this wasn't even the limit - the permit allowed them to grow more, but they simply didnt' have the space. Surely these laws are also based on solid research?

Of the biggest concern to me is that my own country, Australia, has no legal acceptance of the medicinal use of Cannabis, despite the large amount of research showing how beneficial it can be to people with certain illnesses. The law is different depending on what state you are in, but in my state (South Australia) we have fairly relaxed views to the recreational use of cannabis. During the nineties one could grow as many as 12 hydroponic plants and only receive a $150 fine which was considered a civil offense (same as a speeding ticket). This law was initiated in 87 to ease the burden on courts from the numerous cannabis cases they had to deal with, the vast majority of which would have been benign in nature. Since then we've taken 3 steps backwards in terms of policy, now only allowing 1 outdoor plant to be grown for personal use. On the plus side though we still have a personal limit of 100g's (or close to 3.5 ounces).

Given that we've traditionally been fairly acceptive of cannabis, it makes it even more of a shame that there is nothing in the law allowing its medicinal use. It's not uncommon for a doctor to suggest cannabis to patients either, provided they have used it before, can obtain it and that it is helping to reduce the pain they are in.

In the end of the day, I daresay having a medicinal limit that is higher than nessecary is far more benificial than having a limit that is far below what is required for the patient.
 
peaked said:
Key word being smoking. I daresay most using it for medicinal reasons would be either orally consuming it or using a vaporizer, both of which require significantly more product than smoking.

Not sure what kind of vaporizer you're using, but that's just flat-out incorrect. If you're using more than you did when smoking, you're not using it right.
 
I've used a number of vaporizers - including the "Volcano" and the "Vapir" (both of which are high quality digital vapes) and a local Australian one called the "Vapourtron" which is a simple electric unit containing a brass plate that heats the plant matter, with a glass bulb surrounding it. Having considerable experience with each of them, I'm positive that I was using them correctly.

When you smoke it, there are a few reasons that prevent you from using a huge amount. For a start, the smoke is harsh, and for the irregular smoker, generally not too pleasant. As such people are unlikely to consume more than about a maximum of 10 pipes/water pipes for one dose. The method of smoking also means you're generally going to only be using a small amount per each "cone" (or a "bowl", or whatever your terminology may be). The high itself also includes more alkaloids than when vaporizing and as such produces more varied (and IMO more enjoyable) effects.

When people use a vapourizer, there isn't any pain resulting from consuming their dose, and the amount of plant matter that can be turned into vapor for a single breath is far greater than the amount of weed one can smoke through a pipe in one breath. Its not uncommon for people to put a gram into a vape just for one inhalation (and then proceed to put a few more grams thru it before they reach their dose level). I'd really like to see someone try and smoke a gram through a bong in one toke/draw/hit. Since the high lacks some of the effects of smoking it, people may also be inclined to consume more and more to try and reach effects more akin to smoking it - without realizing that it will never happen from the vapor.

I do see what you're trying to say though. One gram of bud has the same amount of THC in it, regardless of whether its combusted or vaporized. So theoretically the same amount of plant material should produce essentially the same amount of THC in the body, regardless of which consumption method is used (not including orally). In practice however, the reasons outlined above lead people to - generally speaking - use more plant matter on a vaporizer.
 
Last edited:
peaked said:
I do see what you're trying to say though. One gram of bud has the same amount of THC in it, regardless of whether its combusted or vaporized. So theoretically the same amount of plant material should produce essentially the same amount of THC in the body, regardless of which consumption method is used (not including orally). In practice however, the reasons outlined above lead people to - generally speaking - use more plant matter on a vaporizer.

One of the reasons why vaporizers are better is because you aren't combusting the plant matter. By combusting, you lose a lot of THC which you can save by using other methods. I also don't really understand how you come to the conclusion that vaporizers use more plant matter.

Also, I have a vaporizer and only use on average 0.3 grams per packing. Each packing gives me 3 bags (regular turkey size bags) and it only takes me 1 bag to feel satisfied. My tolerance is also moderately high as I use daily.
 
Never having been in America can I ask how this works?

You get a prescription I assume then you're allowed to obtain or grow your own or do you walk to the pharmacy and get the state sanctioned crop?
 
Top