The basic principal for dosing medical marijuana is to start with a low dose and to go slow in taking more until the effect of the first dose is fully realized, because the effects of cannabis are not always immediately felt. Starting low and going slow allows patients to accommodate for the different experiences they may have.
Cannabis has a wide margin of safety and there is limited risk of overdose. However, caution is warranted until a patient fully understands the effect that the cannabis may have. Dosage varies greatly among patients, even when treating the same condition.
Many patients are more comfortable with oral administration of medical marijuana. Patients should consider, however, that absorption is slower when medical marijuana is taken orally, with lower, more delayed peak THC levels and reduced bioavailability of THC and CBD due to extensive metabolism in the digestive tract. While some studies have suggested that 3–5 times the quantity of medical marijuana is required to be taken orally to achieve the same effect as smoking, PharmaCannis recommends each patient start low and goes slow.