Edibles are the easiest way to have a long, uncomfortable evening if you get the math wrong. They're also the easiest, most reliable way to have a good one if you get it right. Here's the math.
The number to remember: 2.5 mg
For a first-time customer — or someone coming back after a long break — 2.5 milligrams of THC is plenty. Most edibles in Washington come in 5 mg or 10 mg pieces (the state caps a single piece at 10 mg and a whole package at 100 mg). Cut the 5 mg gummy in half. That's your starting dose.
Why so low? Because edible-THC is processed by the liver into a compound that's roughly four to five times more potent than the THC you'd get from smoking. The "I smoke regularly so I'll be fine on a 10 mg gummy" calculation almost never holds up. Different mechanism, different math.
Wait 90 minutes — actually wait
Edibles take 60 to 90 minutes to fully come on. Longer if you ate a heavy meal first. Shorter if you took it on a near-empty stomach. The most common dosing mistake we hear about at the counter goes like this:
"I took a 10 mg gummy. Nothing happened for 30 minutes. So I took another. Then the first one hit and I was way past where I wanted to be."
If you don't feel anything at 30 minutes, that's normal. If you don't feel anything at 60 minutes, that's still normal. Two hours is the right window before you make any decision about a second dose.
A starting menu
These are the dose levels we describe at the counter. Where you land depends on tolerance, body chemistry, what you ate, and what you're after.
- 2.5 mg — first-timer, returning after a break, low-tolerance. Detectable, not overwhelming. A glass of wine equivalent for most people.
- 5 mg — Washington's per-piece cap. Comfortable for occasional users. Noticeable.
- 10 mg — regular consumer territory. New users should rarely start here.
- 20 mg+ — high-tolerance regulars. Not a starter dose. Ever.
Always read the package — the per-piece dose is on the front, and the per-package total is on the back. A 100 mg gummy bag with 10 pieces is 10 mg per piece. A 100 mg chocolate bar scored into 20 squares is 5 mg per square.
What to do if you are too high
It happens. Here's what helps and what doesn't.
- Helps: sit down, drink water, eat something with protein or carbs, put on a familiar show, breathe.
- Helps: CBD. Some people reach for a 10 mg CBD tincture or gummy alongside the THC. Worth keeping a bottle around if you dose with edibles often.
- Doesn't help: caffeine, sugar alone, lying down in the dark with anxious thoughts running. The ride is going to last another two to four hours regardless. Set yourself up for it.
It's uncomfortable. It's not dangerous. There has never been a recorded fatal overdose from cannabis. The worst case is "I never want to do that again," not the ER.
Pairings and form factors
Beyond gummies, edibles come in:
- Chocolates — usually scored into 5 or 10 mg squares; melt-in-mouth onset can be slightly faster.
- Drinks and shots — 10 mg micro-shots are increasingly common; onset is often the fastest of any edible because of liquid absorption.
- Baked goods — cookies, brownies, rice crispies. Usually 10 mg single-serve.
- Tinctures — drops under the tongue. Faster than swallowed edibles (15-45 minutes) because of sublingual absorption.
If you want predictability, gummies and chocolates are the best choices — uniform dosing per piece. Drinks and tinctures kick in faster but the lower-onset-time means timing matters more.
What we do at the counter
When a first-time customer asks for an edibles recommendation, we walk through three things: tolerance, intent (sleep, social, mood, recovery), and how long the experience needs to last. We'll usually pull two or three options at different dose levels and walk you through which we'd start with. The 2.5 mg starting dose isn't us being conservative — it's the math.
Ask. We'd rather have you in here ten minutes longer at the counter than dosed wrong on the couch.
This information is general cannabis education for adults 21 and over. We're not making medical claims, and edibles affect every person differently. If you have questions about how cannabis interacts with prescription medications, that's a conversation for your doctor.
