Dosage for homemade edibles can be a little tricky whether you’re making them for yourself or sharing some with a friend. You never know how much to eat, how much weed to add to it, or what to expect. Don’t worry, we’re here to demystify dosage for edibles.
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THC Edible Dosage
If you’re buying edibles from a dispensary, you may not have to guess how much THC is in them. While THC dosage in edibles varies, dispensaries usually have a lower amount of THC.
GoodRx says “Edible doses are typically standardized by law, usually at 5 mg per serving. Some states offer low-dose edibles, with as little as 1 mg per serving.”
Five milligrams (mg) of THC, according to Healthline can make you feel mild effects.
Here is a table with the THC dosage and their effects so you can get a better idea of what to expect.
| Effect | THC Dosage (with some tolerance) | No tolerance |
| Mild | 10–15 mg | > 2.5 mg |
| Moderate | 15–30 mg | 2.5–5 mg |
| Strong | > 30 mg | 5–10 mg |
So, if you follow our Toasty Garlic Bread Sticks recipe where we use cannabutter, you’d be ingesting about 20-25 mg THC per breadstick. That means you’ll get a moderate high if you have some amount of tolerance to THC. However, if you’re a newbie to weed or have no tolerance to THC, this may be too strong for you.
Even though this chart is a handy guide, it may not ring true for everyone.
As Healthline points out, your habits and physical makeup affect how you experience edibles, namely your:
- Weed tolerance
- Diet
- Metabolism
- Sex
- Weight
There will also be people who feel no effects from the THC in the edibles no matter how potent it is.
In addition, Healthline also points out you’ll experience THC differently depending on how you consume it.
Healthline says, “THC tolerance isn’t the same for smoking and edibles. Edible THC typically produces more intense effects.”
They recommend starting with a low dose of THC for your edibles even if you smoke marijuana regularly.
Edible Dosage Chart Weight
Let’s examine edible dosage based on weight.
To do this, we will be using an edible dosage calculator.
If you love doing math, you can scroll down and check out the calculations later.
To keep things simple, the THC percentage will remain constant at 10%, and the serving size will be 2. The amount of tablespoon of extract and amount of melted butter in cups will remain at one. You can adjust the dosage for edibles based on your own recipe.
| Amount of Cannabis (in grams) | THC percentage | Amount of oil/melted butter | Total milligrams of THC for the entire extract | Total milligrams of THC per tbsp | Total milligrams of THC per serving: |
| 1 | 10 | 1 | 1000mg | 6.25mg | 3.13mg |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | 2000mg | 12.50mg | 6.25mg |
| 3 | 10 | 1 | 3000mg | 18.75mg | 9.38mg |
| 4 | 10 | 1 | 4000mg | 25mg | 12.50mg |
How Much Weed Oil for Edibles?
You’ll want to know how much THC is in your weed. To make things super easy for yourself, you can infuse your edibles with cannabis oil or tinctures since you’ll be better able to gauge dosing with them.
How many milliliters of tincture or cannabis oil you should use depends on how potent it is and the desired effects.
According to ACK Natural, “In a 1 fl oz bottle, one full dropper equates to 1 mL, so we advise starting with a quarter dropper or less if you have a low tolerance or do not regularly consume high amounts of cannabis. You can go for half a dropper if you feel more confident.”
However, tinctures may not be the best way to add THC to your cookies or brownies.
ACK Natural says high heat may neutralize the tincture and diminish its medicinal qualities.
Don’t worry tinctures can still be useful for edibles.
ACK Natural recommends using tinctures in your sauce, dressing, or even your tea.
How to Calculate THC Percentage in Bud
If you want to know how much THC is in a dose, you have to know the amount of weed (grams) and the THC concentration.
For the most accurate measurements, you’ll have to head to a dispensary where this information is readily available.
If you’re planning on making edibles with bud, you’ll want to pay attention to this equation.
Weight x THC%= THC per weight
Let’s look at an example.
If you have 5 grams of weed, let’s find how much THC is in one gram. We recommend converting it to milligrams first.
1 gram of weed= 1000mg
Now, look at the THC % on our package. Let’s say it is 20%.
Your THC per weight is:
1000mg x 20%= 200mg of THC is in your gram of bud.
Since you have 5 grams, you have 1000mg of THC in your 5g bud.
If you want to make weed brownies or cookies you may want to make cannabutter.
You can infuse your 5g of weed into 1 cup of butter or whatever the recipe calls for.
Let’s look at an example:
½ cup = 8 tablespoons
¼ cup= 4 tablespoons
1 cup is equal to 16 tablespoons
If the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of butter then you divide the amount of THC in one cup by half: 100mg/2= 500mg of THC for half cup.
You then divide that number by the number of servings. If the recipe is for 2 servings then you’re getting 500mg/2= 250mg per serving.
This is purely hypothetical of course and 250 mg is a lot even for an experienced stoner.
Remember, if you’re not feeling the effects, Healthline recommends waiting 24 hours before taking another dose.
Takeaway
The dosage of edibles may be tricky at first but fortunately, there are a lot of resources out there for you. If you don’t want to manually do the calculations, (we don’t blame you), you can always use an edible calculator to help you along. Remember, start low and slow with edibles. If you’re not feeling the effects and are tempted to reach for another brownie, don’t. Wait it out, the effects are coming.
