Appendix B - Marijuana for Medical Purposes - Information re: Authorization Amounts
- Various surveys published in the peer-reviewed literature suggest that the majority of people using smoked or orally ingested marijuana for medical purposes reported using between 10-20 grams of marijuana per week or approximately 1-3 grams per day.
Source: Health Canada (2013) “Information for Health Care Professionals: Cannabis (marihuana, marijuana) and the Cannabinoids.” - Average daily dose of dried marijuana of various potencies used by patients in the Netherlands’ Medical Cannabis program was 0.68 grams per day (range 0.65 – 0.82 grams per day).
Source: Hazekamp, A., and E.R. Heerdink. “The Prelevance and Incidence of Medicinal Cannabis on Prescription in The Netherlands.” Eur.J. Clin. Pharmacology, published online April 16, 2013. - An international, web-based, cross-sectional survey reported mean daily doses with smoked or vapourized marijuana were 3.0 grams (median for smoked marijuana was 2 grams per day; for vapourized marijuana was 1.5 grams per day).
Source: Hazekamp et al. “The Medicinal Use of Cannabis: An International Cross-Sectional Survey on Administrative Forms.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2013. - Information obtained from the Israel medical cannabis program suggests the average daily amount used by patients was approximately 1.5 grams.
Source: Health Canada personal communication - The upper level to the safe use of dried marijuana for medical purposes would be around 3 grams per day, and this level of use should be considered only in very circumscribed conditions. This dosing level would apply to experienced users of marijuana for medical purposes only, not first time marijuana patients.
Source: The College of Family Physicians of Canada. “Authorizing Dried Cannabis for Chronic Pain or Anxiety, Preliminary Guidance.” Sept. 2014.