Marijuana Business Magazine - March 2018

That’s why low-dose, or microdose, infused products in THC serving sizes of 5 milligrams or less are becoming increasingly popular.They deliver far less THC than the typical 10-milligram offerings. “Low-dose products mitigate the risk of overconsumption, said Michael Mayes, the owner of Quantum 9, a Chicago cannabis consulting firm, as well as Greenwave Provisioning Center, a dispensary in Lansing, Michigan. Mayes noted that divvying up an edible into smaller pieces carries a higher risk of error than ingesting a single microdose product.The low-dose products also fit consumer behavior. “Most consumers expect a single serving size to derive the expected benefit,” he said. Low-dose products offer another advantage: They can introduce newbies to marijuana. “Microdosing is particularly effective for a new consumer. And, as I’ve learned the last couple of years, it’s the way we should all be consuming – in small, regular doses daily – for a cannabinoid- efficient system,” said Mskindness B. She’s the founder of California’s Elixirs by Kindness, which makes the N ot every marijuana user wants to get stoned. Cannabis-infused product manufacturers are accustomed to hearing stories of consumers who concoct their own workaround to reduce the amount of THC they ingest from an edible. Typical methods involve cutting cookies in quar- ters, halving gummies or taking just a bite of a brownie. At the other end of the spectrum, manufacturers are also all-too famil- iar with the stories of consumers ingesting too much THC – and swearing off infused products for good after finding themselves curled up in a hallucinatory state. Christie Strong is marketing communications manager for California’s Kiva Confections. Photo courtesy of Kiva Confections March 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 41