For chronic pain – based on YOUR personal preference try using cannabis in one of the following ways: smoking, a dry herb vaporizer, a vape pen or a tincture. A 1:1 ratio of CBD: THC in your vape oil or flower is a good starting point (research seems to show that THC and CBD work better together for pain than alone). If you desire less psychoactivity try a 2:1,3:1, or 4:1 ratio or higher of CBD: THC. If you desire more psychoactivity try a vape cartridige or flower higher in THC.

What time of the day it is also factors into how many people use cannabis with many taking advantage of the sleep-inducing effects of THC by using a more THC dominant product in the evening, and a lighter product during the day with more CBD, like a 1:1, 2:1 or 3:1 ratio.

Conferences I have attended have shown that slowly increasing the amount of puffs you take from a single puff every 4-6 hours day one to one to three puffs every 4-6 hours, on day two, greatly reduce unwanted side effects.

Does CBD or THC help with pain by themselves? Sure! There seems to be data indicating CBD and THC help reduce pain individually. Some patients I see do end up using some THC in the mixture which gives them better relief. CBD only products are commonly used by those avoiding the THC high or that need relief when at work and being under the influence of THC is not tolerated.

Be aware of the wide range of dosages for which CBD has been orally dosed in the literature. Different dosages have been anywhere from a few milligrams a day to hundreds of milligrams a day in humans in different trials. I would slowly try increasing dosages until you find something works for you, or add in some THC. We often have patients report finding CBD dosed orally working well for them when they dose it around 1mg per kg of body weight. We commonly see humans dosed with between 100mg-800mg of CBD twice a day in research we review.

Research shows that most people orally dosing THC end up using between 5-20 milligrams every 4-8 hours to aid in pain and sleep. Start low and go slow! Remember cannabis can take 2 hours to feel the effects from if you metabolism is slow.