This article is presented by Darwin Brands, a cannabis company based in Arizona, dedicated to helping consumers and patients enjoy cannabis with confidence.
Cannabis consumers look to microdosing for many different reasons. For new consumers, the practice can be a low-risk way to dip a toe in the water. More experienced users, meanwhile, sometimes want the medicinal benefits of cannabis without feeling stoned.
“Microdosing is about being able to use cannabis where you can still get a medicinal benefit or a therapeutic effect from consuming it, but not an intoxicating effect,” explains Jenny Corso, lead scientist for the premium cannabis brand, Darwin.
Whatever their reason for microdosing, consumers and patients should keep in mind that size isn’t all that matters. The makeup of the cannabis you’re consuming also plays a role in its effect, no matter the dosage.
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Exacting Extractions
Darwin’s Origin Series, made up of low-potency edibles and vape cartridges, is designed with microdosing in mind. The cannabis concentrate in these microdose friendly products is fine-tuned to allow for precise, consistent dosing.
“Our cannabis oil is CO2-extracted and then distilled three times,” says Corso. “By performing multiple rounds of distillation, we can concentrate certain cannabinoids that we want in our final products. We can also therefore omit things we do not want in our finished oil, like plant matter or unwanted cannabinoids.”
Determining Dosages
Because cannabis consumers come to the plant with different levels of tolerance and experience—and different needs—each individual has to figure out their own dose. For new consumers in particular, this can mean starting with a low dose, and, if necessary, gradually moving up until the desired effect is experienced.
Once a patient or consumer determines the dose they’re most comfortable with, they can repeat that microdose reliably and consistently, or level up the dose with more potent products.
While concentrated cannabis oils might seem a counterintuitive choice to use as the base for microdosing, they’re actually much easier to measure, making it easy to deliver precise doses that consumers can trust. To ensure that level of consistency, Darwin’s team tests their oil for potency at multiple points throughout the extraction and distillation processes.
“The precision piece is really important to our team, and it’s at the heart of our process,” says James George, co-founder of Darwin. “We have crafted what we feel are the most accurately dosed products on the market, in large part because of the pure base oil that we use.”
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Cannabis Oil in the Mix
That same cannabis oil is treated as a base ingredient in Darwin’s edibles, not as an afterthought added to a previously cooked treat. Corso says this helps make the dosing even more precise and homogenous. Darwin’s Caramel Hard Candies (part of their Origin Series), for instance, have exactly two milligrams of THC and 20 milligrams of CBD in them.
For many consumers, that’s enough THC to unlock the full potential of CBD without experiencing the intoxicating effects of cannabis. Another benefit of distilling cannabis oil three times means that Darwin’s oil doesn’t carry the flavor of cannabis into their edible products, keeping their sweet treats from tasting like grass.
Darwin’s triple-distilled cannabis oil, careful testing, and from-scratch baking all contribute to a process that takes the guesswork out of dosing. “We’re making sure that the products we craft today are going to be exactly the same as what you’ll get in six months’ time, no matter where you purchase them,” says George.
