Cannabis Self Titration Suggestions

Drug titration is a technique used to arrive at the lowest effective dose of a medication for an individual patient. The lowest effective dose is less likely to cause side effects and will minimize medication costs. The technique varies by route of administration. All techniques should be done with the patient keeping a journal, entries made several times per day and with medication administration, tracking severity of symptoms, degree of symptom improvement and any side effects experienced. The journal will be used to guide therapy and is critical to obtaining optimal results.

The general principle for all routes of administration can be summed up as:
start with a low dose, wait an adequate time for effects to set up, slowly add additional small doses to reach desired effects.

Topical Administration
Applied to the skin as needed, topical titration is easy and intuitive. Apply a small amount to the affected area. Wait 15–30 minutes to evaluate response before administering additional doses. Topicals are a good choice for superficial joint pain, muscle spasms and skin conditions.

Inhalation Administration
Inhalation, by smoking or vaping, results in effects within minutes of use. The rapid onset of effects makes titration by this technique simple and intuitive for most patients.

An inhalation of cannabis is consumed, then wait several minutes (5–10) for full effects to develop. If symptom control is inadequate, repeat the process until satisfactory response. If significant side effects occur during the titration, the last dose which was well tolerated will be the usual dose to control symptoms. Administer as needed to control symptoms.

Inhaled cannabis works rapidly but usually has a shorter duration of effectiveness than other routes of administration. This makes it a good choice for treating intermittent and short lived symptoms.

Tinctures – Sublingual Administration
Extracts of cannabis are concentrated and mixed with a vehicle, usually an oil, for sublingual (under the tongue) administration. The blood vessels under the tongue permit relatively rapid and reliable absorption into the circulation. Effects are usually seen in 15–45 minutes and typically last 4–12 hours. This makes tinctures a good choice for chronic, long lived symptoms. Chronic conditions seem to require a longer period of time for the maximal effects to be realized, particularly with inflammatory and psychological symptoms, so initial doses should be used from several days to a week before evaluating response.