Verify / dosageYour job: Choose a starting dose and adjust it safely.
This page is about dosing a finished tincture — droppers, timing, sublingual vs swallowed, and titration. It assumes you already have a tincture in hand. Need to make one first? See our how to make a cannabis tincture guide for the Green Dragon and QWET extraction methods.
Tinctures are the easiest homemade format to portion in small increments. A calibrated dropper or a 1 ml syringe lets you measure by volume rather than by eye, and sublingual and oral use differ in onset and duration. Before dosing, calculate your tincture's potency with our dosage calculator using the flower weight, THC percentage, and alcohol volume from when it was made.
Sublingual vs Oral Administration
| Factor | Sublingual | Oral (Swallowed) |
|---|---|---|
| How | Hold under tongue 60–90 sec | Swallow directly or add to food/drink |
| Onset | 15–30 minutes | 45–90 minutes |
| Peak | 1–2 hours | 2–4 hours |
| Duration | 2–4 hours | 4–8 hours |
| Intensity | Moderate, more controllable | Stronger, liver-processed (11-hydroxy-THC) |
| Best for | Small portions, faster onset | Longer-lasting, meal pairing |
Why oral feels stronger
Dosage Tiers
| Tier | THC (mg) | How This Amount Is Usually Described |
|---|---|---|
| Microdose | 1–2.5 mg | Below a typical retail serving; often used to test a new batch |
| Low | 2.5–5 mg | Half of a common 5 mg dispensary serving or less |
| Standard | 5–10 mg | Around one to two standard dispensary servings |
| Strong | 10–25 mg | Multiple servings at once; unpleasant for anyone without built tolerance |
| Very Strong | 25–50+ mg | Far above a retail serving; only meaningful with established tolerance |
Microdosing Protocol
Microdosing means taking very small portions (roughly 1–2.5 mg) on a regular schedule rather than a full serving. We describe how people portion it — what it does for you is between you and a clinician, and homemade potency is an estimate either way.
- Starting dose: 1 mg THC sublingual
- Timing: Same time each day, ideally morning or early afternoon
- Adjustment: Increase by 0.5 mg every 3 days until you find your minimum effective dose
- Goal: The smallest portion you can still notice — the point of the ladder is to stop climbing early
- Breaks: Many people schedule days off; tolerance builds with regular use
How to Take Tincture Sublingually
- Use a calibrated dropper to measure your dose
- Place drops under your tongue
- Hold for 60–90 seconds without swallowing — this allows absorption through the sublingual blood vessels
- Swallow the remainder
- Wait at least 30 minutes before considering additional doses
Golden rule of edibles
Using Tinctures in Food and Drinks
When added to food or drinks, tinctures act as edibles — longer onset, stronger effect, longer duration. See our cannabis drink recipes and gummy recipe for specific applications.