The short answer is, it depends. There is tremendous variance in the amount of THC that will result in feeling high. This can be affected by individual differences in liver metabolism, genetics of cannabinoid receptors, and previous usage, to name a few.
Microdosing is something that is very personal. There is no magic bullet for all patients; it is different for each one. So keep experimenting until you find the dose that works for you.
First time microdosers should start off at 2.5 milligrams, maintain that level for approximately three days, and increase if necessary. But that can sometimes be difficult.
For those using cannabis regularly, an initial 48-hour period of abstinence is enough time to reset the endocannabinoid system. While this might seem like a relatively brief window after years of usage, a brain imaging study published last year tracked the number of cannabinoid receptors during a period of abstinence from cannabis. The results indicated that even in heavy smokers, the receptors bounced back to baseline levels after just two days.
After this neural cleansing, micro hopefuls should gradually reintroduce cannabis into their system, starting with just one milligram.
The goal is to use the dose that gives the most minimal noticeable effect. You are not trying to get stoned, you are not trying to get total relief from symptoms–you are just trying to get a little something. And then once you get to that dose where you feel a little something, stay there for a few days and then you can start gradually increasing if needed. And that typically falls somewhere between one and three milligrams per dose.
The use of lower doses can actually lead to increased sensitivity to cannabis over time, thus underscoring the importance of staying at low levels for the first few days of microdosing. While this is merely observational, tests on animals suggest that low-level doses of THC can result in an upregulation of the endocannabinoid system (for endocannabinoid production as well as expression of its receptors).
If you are building tolerance to THC, you are building tolerance to your body’s own cannabinoids, which are there for the purpose of promoting balance and health. So having a highly sensitive endocannabinoid system is extremely valuable for responding to illness, injury, and stress, and people can achieve that with low doses of cannabis.
For those who are using cannabis irregularly or for the first time, one milligram of THC combined with one milligram of CBD and gradually increasing the dosage (while maintaining the 1:1 ratio) until they feel something, then stay at that level for four days.
Everyone is going to get to the point where they increase their dosage and it will not work as well as it did before. And that means they have passed their optimal dose. That optimal dose is different for everyone. Finding it means going past it.