Dose

A dose is the quantity of cannabinoid (typically mg THC and/or mg CBD) delivered in a single administration and absorbed by the consumer. Dose is distinguished from serving (a regulatory packaging unit) because individual physiology, route of administration, and bioavailability mean that identical mg-THC servings produce different internal doses. Peer-reviewed pharmacology shows wide inter-individual variability in response to oral THC (Schlienz et al. 2018 Drug Alcohol Depend; Vandrey et al. 2017 J Anal Toxicol), with 11-OH-THC formation after oral ingestion producing stronger and longer effects than inhaled THC at matched doses. The ASTM D8270 terminology standard formalizes dose-related vocabulary used in regulatory and laboratory contexts. Clinical cannabis dosing increasingly follows "start low, go slow": 2.5 mg THC initial dose, titrated every few days (MacCallum & Russo 2018). Citations: Vandrey R et al. JAMA. 2015;313:2491-2493; ASTM D8270 Standard Terminology Relating to Cannabis; Schlienz NJ et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2018.