"I suffer from degenerative disc disease and arthritis in my back, hips and neck. I’d like to experiment with microdosing high CBD products for pain relief (and to avoid being high). I have a 4:1 oil for vaping — how much cbd to thc would be in 1 hit? In otherwords, how many hits should I take? I have found that I’m highly sensitive to THC and can feel slightly high, but still functional, with a dosage of 1 MG.
I tried what was supposed to be a high CBD tincture, but even taking 1/2 of the recommended dosage I overdosed so badly I could hardly speak and had to call out sick from work. I’ve been afraid to try tincture again after that.
Also is there any benefit / pain relief for arthritis using an external balm or rub? "
First of all, the amount in “1 hit” depends on the particular vaping device being used, as well as the concentration of the oil being vaped. A company named Dosist makes vape pens that address this issue, although I have no personal experience with them. Try to remember that the enormous variability of individual response to cannabis makes it hard to give more than general dosage guidelines. <1 mg of THC is certainly a ‘microdose,’ as most normal sized individuals require >3-5 mg for noticeable effects. Quantifying what you are taking is a good idea, and finding preparations that help with this is important in discovering what is helpful for you. But “recommended dose” means something in a medical context that might not apply in the same way when it comes to cannabis. Regarding CBD, this term is almost meaningless. There is no known dose of CBD shown to be lethal, or even toxic! Any recommendation regarding how much to use is based on folk medicine, not clinical science. Folk medicine contains the truth of tradition, so I’m not suggesting it be disregarded, but at this point the “recommended dose” of penicillin and CBD should not be considered in the same category of recommendation. Along those lines, my anecdotal experience with topical cannabis preparations for arthritis pain is that more patients report benefits than I would expect if it had only placebo value. Therefore, I completely endorse giving it a try for any local effects it may provide.
drelkind