A Cannabis Quickstart Guide

Start with Flower

There are two primary ways to consume cannabis, inhalation and ingestion. Smoking flower, when guided by our flower dosing guide, provides the most control in generating a great experience that is customized to your individual preferences.

Strains

Cannabis flower is available in thousands of different strains and three broad categories of sativa, hybrid, or indica. These categories have become synonymous with describing the perceived effects of a strain-- sativa strains are uplifting and indica strains are sedating. Although sativa and indica are useful classifications to describe the physical characteristics of a cannabis strain, they do little to help us predict its actual effects. (read more)

A Cannabis Flower Dosing Guide

With the creation of increasingly more potent flower combined with the many emerging possibilities for inexperienced cannabis consumers to expect precise experiences from consuming the plant, there is a strong need for a standardized cannabis flower dosing system that specifically targets the amount of THC made bioavailable to the consumer. We built that and provide it for free. (read more)

This is Flower

Cannabis evolved to grow naturally in many parts of the world. In its original form, the plant adapted to local growing conditions to create a variety of original strains called ‘landraces’. Landraces are divided into two main categories, Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis Indica, which describe the physical properties of the plant in its indigenous state. Sativa strains grow in warmer environments that support a tall, slender plant—up to nine feet in height. Indica strains come originally from the mountainous areas of Nepal and India where the plant adapted to life in tougher conditions by growing shorter and sturdier. The thousands of strains commercially available today all trace back to landraces. (request the full report here)

Flower Potency Explored

In the US in the 1960's, the average potency of cannabis was roughly 3% THC with a THC:CBD ratio of 14:1. It is almost impossible to purchase a match to that today. Prohibition incentivized high potency flower production through the development of new strains and improved growing techniques. For indoor growers, maximizing the possible THC production for each grow light was an incentive. That means higher potency strains, shorter growing cycles and new growing techniques to increase THC production within the individual plant. (request the full report here)

Stages of the Cannabis High

Psychedelic experiences, including those created by cannabis, are highly individualized. Two people consuming the same dose of the same product may have vastly different experiences (see our post on the eight factors that shape a cannabis high for more on that). 

While predicting cannabis outcomes is challenging, there are ways to exert influence over your experience and increase the probability of a positive result. Equipping yourself with the knowledge of what to expect is one such tool. To better prepare you for the experience and provide guidance in both enjoying and controlling what you may encounter during the high, here is a framework outlining a map of the cannabis high from smoked flower. (request the full report here)

Being High vs Being Stoned

The experience of cannabis can initially be described between two ends on a spectrum: being high and being stoned. When first experimenting with cannabis, many consumers have profound experiences getting high. Consumers who enjoy being high may end up smoking both more frequently and in larger doses. Over time, many of those consumers gradually slide down the spectrum from getting high to getting stoned.

Some people prefer being stoned, and actively pursue that state of consciousness. Most consumers, however, lament this progression and become frustrated should they find themselves stuck only getting stoned. (request the full report here)

Baseline/Tolerant/Dependent/Disordered Use Spectrum

We initially segment cannabis consumers by THC consumption (amount and frequency) into four levels:

1. Baseline

2. Tolerant

3. Dependent

4. Disordered

For a consumer who starts with no recent THC consumption, it takes 3-5 days for THC to completely clear the human body after getting high. We consider this as returning to baseline. Most baseline consumers experience as much of a high as they want with one to three doses (see A Cannabis Flower Dosing Guide). 

Consume more frequently than about twice a week and THC starts to accumulate in the body. This has both physiological and psychological effects.… (request the full report here)

Factors that Shape the Cannabis High

We created an eight variable model that gives a comprehensive overview of factors that shape the cannabis high. This is our roadmap to understanding how individuals have a wide range of experiences from consuming cannabis. Only part of this roadmap resides in the cannabis product itself. The rest are parts of you, your life and the broader environment you are in. Considering all the variables that contribute to a cannabis high is the path to getting the best experiences you can from cannabis. It is also a path to a mindful approach to your own consciousness, with and without cannabis. (request the full report here)