Here's what beginners should know when recreational cannabis becomes legal
Jun. 27—As Maryland's legalization of recreational cannabis approaches on July 1, many people may be looking to use the drug for the first time. The Frederick News-Post spoke to a few cannabis experts about what beginners should know before they try it.
Once the legalization goes into effect, adults ages 21 and older will be able to possess, use and grow cannabis. For personal use, individuals can possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis, 12 grams of concentrated cannabis, products containing up to 750 milligrams of THC or two cannabis plants.
When people think of how to use cannabis, they might initially think of smoking, which is one of the most common ways to use cannabis — but cannabis comes in several forms, according to Dr. Anand Dugar, the founder of Green Health Docs.
Green Health Docs provides evaluations for medical marijuana cards and helps add patients to Maryland's medical cannabis registry. The company opened its first clinic in Frederick in 2017.
"The main thing for the beginner to understand is that you don't have to smoke it," Dugar said. "There are many other ways ... that will give you similar effects if you're not someone that has ever smoked or wants to smoke of any kind."
Aside from smoking or vaporizing cannabis in its flower form, other cannabis products include edibles like gummies, pills, patches and sublinguals, which are taken by placing the product under the tongue. There are also cannabis concentrates similar to vape pens with cartridges.
Cannabis comes in various strains, but the two umbrellas that strains fall under are sativa and indica. Sativa strains are more stimulating and helpful to get someone into a creative space, Dugar said, while indica strains are more relaxing and ideal for trying to fall asleep.
Strains can also be a hybrid of sativa and indica, which provide a balance of the strains' effects and may be ideal to manage conditions like chronic pain, Dugar said.
D'nise Rebelle, store manager at the dispensary Curaleaf on Urbana Pike, said one common mistake beginner users fall into is taking too much cannabis too quickly, particularly with edibles. Edibles take longer to take effect, so people may continue taking more of the edible to get high more quickly.
Rebelle's biggest recommendation for beginners is to "go low, go slow." Even if a person thinks a dosage like five milligrams may be a low dosage, she said beginners should break that edible down into halves or fourths and go up from there.
"You can always add on, but once you're there, you're there," she said. "That is the biggest pitfall that most people fall into ... especially people that have never tried before. You don't have a tolerance really built up."
Dugar listed some common side effects people can expect from using cannabis, such as red eyes and a dry mouth. Cannabis can also have a neurological effect where people feel like they're floating.
Occasionally, people may experience hallucinations or psychotic episodes — but Dugar said this is rare and usually happens with the most potent products.
Rebelle said there's not truly a "hangover" people should experience after using cannabis. However, if a person feels like they're too high, she recommended using CBD products to help mitigate the cannabis' psychoactive effects.
CBD is one of the main active components in cannabis, but the THC in the drug is what causes psychoactivity.
People can become dependent on cannabis, Dugar said, but the dependency is more psychological than physical. He also said to his knowledge, there are no documented deaths specifically due to overdosing on cannabis.
He emphasized that the side effects from cannabis are only temporary rather than life-threatening, making the drug "very safe" as a medication and recreational product.
"The main goal of what I want people to understand is if you're new to using cannabis, you can try it out and just use small amounts," Dugar said. "The downside is pretty low, but the up side could be really, really good."
