Inconsistent dosing is a frequent complaint among medical cannabis patients. Different strains provide different outcomes. Potency varies not only between strains, but often within strains. Different delivery methods provide different levels of potency and activate at different intervals.
Reliability and Consistency
This inconsistency makes it difficult to medicate with cannabis as reliably as pharmaceutical medications. Additionally, recent research has shown that CBD, the non-psychoactive anti-inflammatory derivative of cannabis, is most effective at a specific dosage point. When the dose is too high, it loses efficacy. The same is true when the dose is too low.
This is called a bell-shaped dose-response and can be a complicating factor when trying to achieve repeatable results.
Thankfully, the cannabis industry is becoming more scientific and clinical in its approach to the plant, resulting in more consistent products. Technological advancements both in manufacturing and consumption are gradually moving the industry toward more consistency.
New Approaches to Dosing Accuracy
Stratos, a Colorado-based business, is one company that’s devoted to a consistent experience. They offer pharmaceutical-grade THC- and CBD-based products. Their level of consistency is so refined that their tablets can be split in half and deliver exactly half of the labeled dose.
Stratos’ Co-founder and VP of Development Charlotte Payton shared her thoughts on their work, “We knew we could bring our pharmaceutical and scientific expertise to the cannabis industry and help improve customer experience with our products … You would expect that [consistency] with anything else you buy over the counter. Why not this?”
Another company leading the way in repeatable accuracy is Gofire, a healthcare technology company. Their newest release, the Gofire Inhaler, was just issued a patent for its precision-dosing capabilities, unique convection heating system, and its medical-grade design and materials.
The inhaler is intended for plant-based medicines and can be used with flower or concentrates.
A Win for Medical Patients
Dr. Michael Keller, medical director at Summit Primary Care in Denver, was quoted in Gofire’s recent press release stating: “Precise dosing and a repeatable experience are exactly what physicians like myself have been wanting in order to feel completely comfortable recommending alternative medicines to our patients.”
He continued,“I have long believed that plant-based medicine has great therapeutic potential for many conditions, but both myself and my patients have frequently been disappointed by the inability to correctly dose and manage its use. [This] technology is the answer to a lot of prayers.”
The inhaler comes with a free subscription to their dosing app which allows patients to re-create consistent experiences and connect with the app community for advice and suggestions.
If cannabis is ever going to be treated as a legitimate medicine, more companies will have to embrace a scientific approach to growing, manufacturing, distribution, and consumption. Each step of the process must be tracked for repeatability, and strains must stay consistent so users know what to expect during each and every use.
CEO of Gofire Peter Calfee offered this takeaway, “We want to offer people the same dosing precision they expect for any other kind of medication, whether it’s a prescription they receive from their doctor or an over-the-counter remedy.”
Subscribe to the Cannabis & Tech Today Newsletter to learn more about Gofire’s efforts to make cannabis medicine predictable and prescribable.
