As far as cannabis education goes, cannabis dosing for optimal medical relief is probably the most complicated topic in the entire canna-universe, and in our opinion the most important.
Before we move on the exact dosage guide, there are several factors we should consider beforehand, all of which have to do with the uniqueness of you as an individual and how that influences the effect you achieve with cannabis.
Understanding these factors will help you get the essential knowledge of not only how cannabis works, but also which ratio of cannabinoids you should aim for.

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FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE STARTING CANNABIS TREATMENT

1. THE DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLE:
People react to cannabis differently. This is mostly because of the differences in the genes age. physical fitness, psyche and gender.
This difference isn´t reserved only to THC sensitivity, but also goes for the needed quantity of other cannabinoids and results in how fast will a person reach their ¨sweet spot¨, the optimal amount of cannabinoids that should be consumed on a daily basis for the best medical results.
These inconsistencies aren´t  necessary negative, they just require that every patient has to find their own perfect cannabis regime, which can only be accomplished by trial and error.
Of course, there are certain exact directions to follow which will help you to achieve this and we will be covering all of them later on.

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2. REAL PLANTS ARE ALWAYS BETTER. (Full Spectrum)
Pharmaceutical companies have successfully isolated and subsequentyly artificially replicated the two main chemical compounds in cannabis: thetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and canabidiol(CBD)
The main reason why its always better to use real cannabis flowers is because of the so called ¨full spectrum¨, which can be described as an assortment of numerous cannabinoids and terpenes interacting with each other to maximize therapeutic potential of the whole.
Terpenes are organic molecules responsible for the unique aroma and fragrance of cannabis strains. Besides their aromatic nature, terpenes also have valuable therapeutic properties.
This symbiotic cooperation of terpenes and cannabinoids is also called ¨the entourage effect¨, and because each strain contains over a hundred different cannabinoids and terpenes, this is very important aspect to be considered.
Several studies have confirmed that the use of ¨full spectrum¨ cannabis products provides a much more beneficial effect comparing to the use of isolated compounds.
By the means of experimentation, a patient still needs to find the best possible strain for their individual condition, which is a completely different and also a very complex topic, mostly due to the complexity of our endocannabinoid system.
 

3. FOR MOST MEDICAL CONDITIONS USING THC AND CBD IS SUPERIOR.
Some patients will experience a greater alleviation of symptoms when using strains that have a high concentration of just one of these two cannabinoids.
For most cannabis patients, it is much more beneficial to consume cannabis varieties that contain both THC and CBD.
Combining THC and CBD is favorable for a number of reasons, and the main one is the previously mentioned ¨entourage effect¨ where these cannabinoids play off each other which maximizes their impact.
Whats also very important is that CBD considerably lessens the psychoactivity of THC, which is able to cause some cerebral unease, especially for people who are very sensitive to THC.
Cannabidiol (CBD) lessens the possible feelings of anxiousness and paranoia that are closely associated with THC.

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PROPER DOING OF CANNABIS: THE BASICS

The conclusions made in this section are in complete correlation with the research and practical experiences of Dr. Dustin Sulak, who is an integrative medicine physician, and one of the top medical cannabis experts in the United States of America.
Dr Sulak has helped over 18.000 medical cannabis patients find relief. You can learn more about him and his practice on Healer.com

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Now, besides the already mentioned extremely individualistic reactions to cannabis, another important aspect is the period of adaption to the psychoactive effect of THC.
A person who´s inexperienced with cannabis can be somewhat overwhelmed with the unusual sensations it brings, and because of this it´s very important to start slow and moderately increase the dose while closely observing the effect.
This means that if you are using cannabis for chronic pain for instance, you will precisely and systematically increase the amount of consumed cannabinoids until you start feeling relief.
On the other side, people who have been frequently consuming a lot of cannabis for recreational purposes can develop a tolerance which can also undermine the quality of medical treatment.
For these individuals it is best to cease consuming cannabis for a relatively short period of time(around two weeks) so that their cannabinoid receptors can grow back, in order to properly react to the healing compounds of cannabis.

If you are going to use for example, ELIXIO Oil std  8%(15%thc, 5%cbd) it is advised that for the first two days you consume around 2.5mg of THC per day =  2/3 drops
 

Getting used to the psychoactive qualities of THC slowly can be considered microdosing, and is especially advised if you are predisposed with a heightened sensitivity to this compound.
Using cannabis products orally before bed is also a fantastic for beginners, because the psychoactive effect can be avoided with this type of administration.
This method also induces restorative sleep, where THC performs much better as our body and mind are resting.

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INCREASING THE DOSE
For the first two days the daily dose should be somewhere aournd 2.5mg of THC. (2/3 drops of Elixio Oil)
If the effects aren´t satisfactory yet (and the most likely won´t be, because the starting dose is there to ease you into therapy), increase the dose by +1mg of THC (4 drops) for the next two days.
Continue to increase the amount in such fashion(every two days) until the desired therapeutic effects are achieved.
In the event that you start experiencing unpleasant side effect, lower you daily dose


REACHING THE DAILY AVERAGE LIMIT
Dr Sulak claims that the majority of medical cannabis patients usually find relief with approximately 15mg(18drops / 6,7 drops every 8,9hs) and advises not to go too far overboard, more than 30mg(36drops / 6,7 drops every 6,7hs)  of THC, PER DAY, is usually associated with unwanted psychoactive effects for many novice users.
These quantities are for strains: 4/1, 3/1  (thc/cbd ratio)

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Patients who are not too sensitive to THC can go even past this without any adverse effects, but for the majority the daily regimen of 15mg of THC should be more than enough.
Considering the subjectivity of cannabis, if you are feeling great with quantities that are exceeding this amounts(and you feel that the beneficial effects could be greater) feel free to increase your dose without any hesitation.
Also, if you choose to follow the microdosing method(one drop every 15min) you should also consider the 15mg(18drops) a day THC average, which suits a great percentage of patients
 

As the ratio of CBD to THC increases:  2/1, 1/1 (THC/CBD) the total number of miligrams and drops increases for a better effect . Besides reducing the perceived psychoactivity of THC, CBD also intensifies the positive effect of THC, especially in regards to chronic pain and the diminishment of inflammation.​

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Reaching the perfect amount of cannabinoids is very much a personal journey, and should be understood as such.
 

For specific conditions such as epilepsy and anxiety consuming higher in cannabidiol(CBD) provides much better results for a very big percentage of patients. ElIXIO CBD(16%cbd, <0.3%thc). Also a better choice for pediatric use.
The most important aspect of CBD medication is the acknowledgment that the whole-plant formulations and extracts are far more beneficial than the ¨pure¨single-molecule isolates.
This is because single-molecule CBD lacks the critical help its get from various terpenes and other trace-amount cannabinoids which are found in all the cannabis varieties.
An isolated CBD compound gets ¨robbed¨from the cohorts which help this cannabinoid to create a maximal therapeutic impact.
This synergistic effect is paramount for a successful CBD treatment, and because of this make sure to get either an actual high-CBD strain with miniscule of THC such as our ELIXIO CBD oil 8%

With whole-plan strains(Full spectrum), extracts you will need much smaller quantities to reach a desired effect, you will also experience fewer side effect and a wider therapeutic window when compared to an isolated CBD molecule.
 

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THE BIPHASIC PROPERTIES OF CANNABIS
What separates cannabis from the other medications are its biphasic properties.
With classical pharmaceuticals, a larger dose usually brings about a more potent therapeutic effect.
Cannabis doesn´t share this characteristic, because these biphasic properties entail that smaller and larger doses create contrary effects.
This means that after a certain point of increasing the dosage the beneficial effect will start to diminish and adverse effects will begin to increase.
What´s somewhat troubling is that this ¨sweet spot¨ is different for everyone and, because of this, medicating with cannabis requires a lot of personal experimentation.
The side effect of cannabinoid overindulgence closely resemble some of the symptoms that cannabis is able to relieve with correct dosing, and these include anxiety, troubles with sleeping, panic attacks and paranoia.
Because cannabis is a completely natural and non-toxic substance rest assured that these adverse effect are only temporary and utterly non-threatening to your general well-being.

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ELIXIO LAB CONCLUSION
As time pases and cannabis becomes more socially acceptable, more people are slowly starting to realize the colossal therapeutic potential of this plant.
Even though our understanding of the precise mechanisms and other important factors is still very limited, we now possess enough data to objectively  conclude that cannabis is without any doubt extremely helpful for a very wide range of medical conditions.
Consuming cannabis as a medicine is still a complicated task, and the only way to make it easier is through knowledge.
In order to use it correctly, first you have to understand how it works.

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