Researchers at the University of British Columbia say they have created a new way to quantify what constitutes a single serving of cannabis.

UBC Okanagan researchers Drs. Zach Walsh and Michelle St. Pierre recently created an Index of Cannabis Equivalence (ICE) as a way to standardize cannabis dosing across different consumption methods.

The study says up to this point, efforts to standardize what is considered a dose of cannabis have focused on cannabinoid content without considering individual user’s tolerance or the mode of consumption. 

Published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs in December, the study determined that two puffs on a joint, pipe, or herbal or concentrate vaporizer, are equivalent to one hit on a bong, a 5 mg/THC edible, and ¼ dab of a concentrate. 

The 1,300 participants in the study were from 18 to 93 years of age, all with a history of cannabis use, but researchers caution that the users had a lower tolerance, which could differ from the experience of users with a higher tolerance. 

“Different cannabis consumption methods can produce varied psychoactive effects, which makes it difficult to establish comparable doses across products,” explains Dr. St. Pierre, a member of UBC’s Therapeutic, Recreational and Problematic Substance Use Lab.

“The ICE addresses this challenge by providing user-informed equivalencies grounded in psychoactive effects, offering a practical framework to help individuals make informed decisions and better manage their cannabis use.”

The ICE proposes equivalencies for “low-dose” cannabis consumption based on user-reported experiences. An analysis of data from more than 1,300 participants aged 18 to 93 revealed these low-dose equivalents:

“The standardization of units of cannabis products in a manner similar to what has been achieved for alcohol is a step towards establishing standard doses across different modes of cannabis administration,” concludes the study.

“By creating practical and user-centred guidelines, the ICE can support harm reduction, public health initiatives and consumer education while improving consistency in research and policy,” says Dr. Walsh of UBCO’s Department of Psychology.

Featured image via UBC Okanagan

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